Topic: Psychology/Mental Health
Shawn Worthy
Shawn Worthy, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Human Services at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Worthy began his career as an instructor at Northern Illinois before working in many clinical settings for behavioral and therapeutic services. He joined MSU Denver in 1995 and received tenure in 2002. Worthy has served as the chair of the Human Service Department, as well as the interim vice president of the Student Services Division and has also worked as the director of Mentoring and Summer Bridge Programs with Student Services at MSU Denver. He currently serves as the MSU Denver NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative. Worthy has also worked as a clinician and psychotherapist at the Children’s Hospital of Denver and The Urban League of Denver.
He has done research and published work extensively about sports psychology on how all levels of skiers cope with fear. Additionally, Worthy has conducted research on domestic violence, teen suicide and other issues related to children and families. He has worked clinically with adults and teens infected with HIV. Worthy has researched, published and presented at many conferences and workshops striving to understand diversity as it pertains to engaging people of color. He currently serves on several community boards and commissions, which focus on youth and violence.
Worthy received his doctorate and master’s in clinical psychology from Northern Illinois University.
Mary Ann Watson
Watson taught Psychology of Sexuality at Metropolitan State University of Denver since 1974. She is a professor emeritus of Psychological Sciences.
Watson has published many papers throughout her academic career, including “SAMD: Diversity Division – My Journey,” “Female Circumcision from Africa to the Americas: Slavery to the Present” and “Bereavement in the Elderly.”
Watson has contributed to several documentaries, including, “Wearing Hijab: Uncovering the Myths of Islam in the United States” and “Africans in America: The Unfolding of Ethnic Identity.” Watson has won several Telly Awards which honor excellence in film and video productions. Watson also had a cameo role in “Combover: The Movie,” which screened at the Denver International Film Series in 2005.
Watson also maintains a private clinical and consulting psychology practice in Denver.
Randyl (Randi) Smith
Randyl (Randi) Smith, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her areas of expertise include professional ethics, service-learning, and human sexuality.
Smith is a licensed psychologist and a licensed clinical social worker. She has been working in the mental health field since 1987, providing services in a variety of settings ranging from inpatient psychiatric hospitalization to school-based counseling to home-based family therapy. Smith has her own private practice where she focuses on adult and adolescent treatment, and on marital/couples therapy. She is the chair of the Psychologist Examiner Board for the State of Colorado. Smith has worked with various community partners since she started teaching, including Colorado High School Charter, New Foundations Nonviolence Center, the Denver Rescue Mission, Urban Peak Denver, the Karis Community and CHARG.
Smith received her doctoral in counseling psychology from the University of Denver in 1999 after completing her doctoral internship at Denver General Hospital (now Denver Health Medical Center). She also received a master’s in social work from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s in human ecology from Cornell University.
Dorothy Shapland
Dorothy Shapland, Ed.D., is an assistant professor at MSU Denver, with expertise in a multitude of areas concerning early childhood education. She has more than 30 years of experience as an early childhood educator. Her research includes relationship building with students and families, social-emotional skill development in the early grades, and creating inclusive learning communities in the early grades. She has presented on a number of topics, such as “Born Scientists: Encouraging and Developing Scientific Inquiry with Young Children,” and “Reducing Challenging Behavior & Supporting Young Children’s Social Emotional Development.” She is a founding member of the VOICES Diversity Council, Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children, and a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children as well as the Association for Childhood Education International.
Anna Ropp
Anna Ropp teaches Introduction to Statistics for Social and Behavioral Sciences, Psychology of Group Prejudice and Multicultural Psychology.
Ropp has taught at Metropolitan State University Denver since 2010.
Her current research interests include students’ perception of the campus and classroom environment for LGBTQ individuals as well as individuals’ responses to discrimination. Ropp also is currently researching weight prejudice.
Steven Rissman
Steve Rissman, N.D., is a professor a faculty member in the Integrative Health Program in the Department of Health Professions at Metropolitan State University of Denver. His focus areas center around the health of men and boys and he has developed one of the first men’s health care academic programs in the nation.
Rissman teaches classes related to men’s health including: Men Across Cultures, Anger in Men, Men and Addictions as well as Father’s and Fathering. In addition, Rissman is also the lead instructor for a clinical pathophysiology class, which he has taught for more than 15 years.
Rissman has studied, taught and worked in the fields of men’s health for over 20 years. He has committed his naturopathic medical practice to improving the lives of men and boys by working with those suffering with anxiety, compulsive behavior, anger issues, lack of motivation or direction, chronic pain and any physical health issues. Rissman also has a private practice at his farm office, north of Denver, working with men and boys.
Having grown up on a farm and spending a great deal of time in the outdoors, Rissman has a deeply rooted curiosity for the laws of nature, particularly the science of disease process. As a result, he has an ability to illicit the story of one’s unique disease process and to perceive what needs to be cured in each individual man or boy using homeopathy, botanical medicines, therapeutic nutrition and other insightful methods intended to help lead men on the journey through the abyss of illness. He has also published several articles including “Health Effects of Anger in Men” and “Getting Behind the Mask: Improving Quality of Care for Male Patients.”
Rissman received his doctor of naturopathic medicine from Bastyr University in 1996.
Aaron Richmond
Aaron S. Richmond, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
With almost a decade of professional teaching experience, he has taught over a dozen different psychology and education courses. Richmond has garnered several awards for excellence in teaching and mentoring, including the Psi Chi Excellence in Teaching Award, the Psi Chi International Regional Faculty Advisor Award for the Rocky Mountain Region and the Society for Teaching of Psychology Jane S. Halonen Award for Excellence in Teaching. He is a member of several professional associations. Richmond served as the Vice President for Programming for the Society of the Teaching of Psychology and is past-president of the Northern Rocky Mountain Educational research association. He currently holds several positions on editorial boards including the journals Teaching of Psychology, Journal of Educational Psychology, and the Journal of Experimental Education.
In more than 70 peer reviewed journal articles, books, and book chapters Richmond has explored effective pedagogical approaches to instruction in both k-12 and higher education. He specifically investigates cognitive and elaborative processes, model teaching competencies, the efficacy of instructional strategies, and various other topics in the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Richmond received his doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Nevada-Reno in 2006, a master’s in applied cognitive psychology from Montana State University in 2002 and a bachelor’s in social sciences from University of Montana in 1999.
Nancy Rich
Nancy Rich, M.A., is an affiliate professor in the Department of Human Services in Counseling at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her areas of expertise include psychology and counseling for first responders, trauma, crisis intervention, emotional ramifications of terrorism, first responder stress and emergency mental health. She teaches Advanced Behavioral Analysis, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma Informed Care, Trauma Resilience to Terrorism, Disaster and War, Psychopathology and the Mental Health Clinician, among others.
Rich has been teaching at the college level for 30 years. Prior to joining MSU Denver, she worked as an instructor at Red Rocks Community College, Saint Anthony’s Hospital Paramedic School, and Denver Sheriff’s Department Academy teaching a variety of subjects in criminal justice and emergency response. Rich also has years of experience in the mental health field working as a program manager and clinical supervisor for trainees. She has earned the Outstanding Contributions in the Field award from both the American Critical Incident Stress Foundation and the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. She also received the Lifetime Achievement award from the Internation Critical Incident Stress Foundation.
Her areas of research include mental health issues within emergency response personnel, crisis intervention, and disaster response. Rich is the author of “Critical Incident Stress: An Occupational Hazard” published in Colorado Trooper. She is the co-author of “Summer Therapeutic Program – STEP: A Hospital Alternative for Children” published in Behavior Modification Approaches To Parenting. Rich has given nearly a dozen presentations and appearances to speak on topics like The Columbine Shooting and Hurricane Katrina.
Rich earned her Master’s degree in psychology from University of Northern Colorado in 1980. She earned two Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Kansas – one in human development and the other in sociology – in 1971 and 1968, respectively. She is a licensed clinical professional counselor and a certified trauma specialist.
Jessica Retrum
Jessica Retrum, Ph.D., is associate professor and chair of the Department of Social Work at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Retrum has eight years of clinical social work experience in health and mental health related settings, including hospice, home inpatient care, in-home therapy and developmental disabilities. She was a recipient of the John A. Hartford Foundation Pre-Dissertation Award in 2006. Through her own research and affiliation with the Institute of Gerontology from 2005-2009, Retrum worked with many community non-profit organizations that serve the social, health and mental health needs of older adults and their families. She was also the partner postdoctoral fellow in Public Health Systems and Service Research (funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) at the University of Colorado Denver, School of Public Affairs from 2010-2013.
Her research background includes addressing the needs of underserved at at-risk isolated seniors; LGBT seniors using support to age in neighborhoods; and geriatric social work. She served as lead researcher for the AARP’s “Framework for Isolation in Adults Over 50.”
Retrum received her doctorate in social work from University of Denver in 2010, master of social work from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1997 and bachelor of social work from Illinois State University in 1996.