College Hosts Talk for Students Interested in Mental Health Careers

The latest speaker in the Office of Career Advisement’s ongoing series of career talks, Gregory Wood, MFT, on Saturday offered advice and encouragement to students who are interested in pursuing careers in mental health, psychology, and counseling.

“I think it’s an exciting time to think about being a therapist as a Catholic because there are so many neat things happening in the field,” said Mr. Wood. “This is a field in which we get to overtly practice the Spiritual Works of Mercy; it’s right there in our profession. We are doing that all the time, in that we get to pray, regularly throughout the day, if we’re praying with or for our clients.”

Gregory Wood, MFTA licensed marriage and family therapist for more than 25 years, Mr. Wood operates a private practice in Ojai, California, and also serves as the College’s counselor, keeping regular hours on campus. Although he works with clients of diverse beliefs, he specializes in assisting those who seek to integrate the Faith into the therapeutic process. During his talk with the students, in which he outlined the various career paths possible in the field of psychology, he stressed that there is a natural complementarity between the spiritual life and mental health. “There is a legitimate overlap between what we might know from a psychological standpoint and what we know from a theological, spiritual standpoint,” Mr. Wood explained.

Mr. Wood’s talk, the first of several planned career events for the 2016-2017 year, was a joint venture of the Office of Career Advisement and the Careers in Healthcare student group. At the end of his presentation, Mr. Wood answered students’ questions and offered his assistance to anyone seeking a career in mental health.