The MSP community would like to recognize and honor the academic service of Ann Smith, PsyD, who has resigned her position as a Core Faculty member after the 2020/21 academic year.
Dr. Smith joined MSP in 2009 as Associate Faculty and has been a member of the Core Faculty since 2010. She shared in the responsibility of maintaining the integrity of the academic programs of MSP and teaches several clinical and theoretical courses, including Humanistic Psychology and Psychotherapy, Identity Formation, Lifespan Development, Group Psychotherapy, and Psychotherapy of Trauma. She used experiential teaching methods and brought her clinical experience into the classroom.
“Ann is a supportive colleague who has really fostered the community of care ethic at MSP,” said Dustin Shepler, PhD, Core Faculty member at MSP. “I’ve heard one student describe being in class with Ann as ‘a warm hug.’ She is heavily invested in her students’ development as not only professionals, by as people.”
Dr. Smith provided supervision for students in clinical training, advised PsyD I students, and mentored student independent scholarship projects. Dr. Smith also served as one of the faculty advisors for IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Alliance) since 2017. In 2018, she started a human trafficking task force at MSP.
“Ann is a caring and compassionate teacher and clinician. She has upheld MSP’s humanistic tradition in word and act,” said President Brown. “I’ll miss her peaceful presence on campus, and her wonderful smile that often brightened my day.”
Dr. Smith maintains a general private practice in Ferndale and has pursued advanced study and supervision related to trauma and dissociation, eating disorders, attachment theory, and reproductive psychology. In recent years, her clinical and academic work advocates for women and children with complex trauma in both medical and legal realms.
We wish Dr. Smith all the best in her future endeavors. The MSP community has benefited greatly from her enthusiasm, her wisdom, and her dedication to humanistic psychology.
