Christian Itin

Christian Itin, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Social Work at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Itin has over 30 years of experience working in the field as a senior counselor, clinical program director, substance abuse/mental health intervention specialist and various teaching positions. He has been teaching at MSU Denver since 2012 and was chair of the Department of Social Work 2012-15.

Itin has also been teaching at Humboldt State University as professor emeritus since 2012. He is the past president of the Association for Experiential Education. Itin co-wrote and funded several grants; and has been a keynote speaker and presented at many events around the world. He launched the online Master of Social Work program at Humboldt State and has been actively involved in the development of MSU Denver’s online Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work program.

In addition, Itin has a long history of community service involvement. Currently, he is a member of the Strategic Action Planning Group on Aging, a member of the Association for Experiential Education, a member of Adventure Therapy International Committee and a committee member on the Institutional Review Board at MSU Denver. His research interests include group process, leadership, wilderness therapy, adventure therapy and experiential practice. Itin has published many articles over the years. His most recent publications are “Adventure Therapy: Nondeliberative Group Work in Action” for Social Work with Groups journal and “The nature and meaning of adventure therapy” for Connecting with the Essence of Adventure Therapy book.

Itin received his doctorate in social work and a master of social work from University of Denver in 1997 and 1987 respectively and a bachelor of social work from Cornell University in 1984.