Courses Taught
PSYCH 1 General Psychology
PSYCH 14 Abnormal Psychology
About Dr. O'Leary
Greetings. My name is Dr. Bernadette A. O’Leary and I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself as your professor.
I am a professor of Undergraduate Psychology at California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach State, CSULB, or CSU, Long Beach) and Santa Monica College (SMC). I have been teaching undergraduate psychology courses since Spring 2006. Most of my course topics range from Introductory/General Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Child & Adolescent Development and Developmental Psychopathology. These courses are a great “fit” for my academic and clinical experience. I love the idea of introducing students to the wonderful and diverse field of psychology and my clinical experience bods well with both Abnormal Psychology and Developmental Psychopathology. With all of the classes I teach, I infuse the textbook information with clinical and personal examples as a way of bringing the concepts “alive” and making learning fun and engaging.
My undergraduate degree is a Bachelor of Science, Business Administration: Accountancy from CSULB. I worked as an Accountant/Tax Specialist for 10 years before I decided to pursue my “life’s work/calling” in psychology. I obtained a Masters of Arts (M.A.): General Psychology from Pepperdine University and a Doctorate of Psychology (Psy.D.): Family Psychology from Azusa Pacific University. My doctoral dissertation was entitled “Critical Literature Analysis on Female Childhood Sexual Abuse: Exploration of the Concept of Forgiveness in the Healing Process”. In addition to my academic degrees, I am also a licensed clinical psychologist (State of California). My clinical expertise has focused on work with children and adults who have encountered a myriad of traumas (physical and/or sexual abuse), domestic or intimate partner violence, mood disorders, anxiety and stress-related disorders.
I trust that our journey together as professor and student will be enlightening for both of us and that you will complete my course with an advanced understanding of the science of mental processes and behavior and how these two can be impacted by biological and environmental factors.
Awards/Honors
Jung Endowed P/T Faculty Award, CSULB 2016
Certificate of Completion, 40-Hour Domestic Violence Education, 2010
TFCBT Practice Certification, 2009
“Special Contribution to Diversity", APU 2007
Activities/Passions
Soles4Souls.org Charity Ambassador (I conduct local shoe drives & travel with S4S to local & international locations for shoe distributions); Yoga practitioner; Fitness & Nutrition "fiend". The photo of me above was taken at the home of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge in Marrakech, Morocco.