David Shepard Associate Professor 714-278-3327 Office: EC-432 dshepard@fullerton.edu

Personal Biography

When I'm not working as professor or counselor, there's a good chance I'm watching a movie on television. My other interests are eating foods from different countries, eating food in different countries, cooking, British mysteries, and driving with my wife to places we've never been to before.

We live in a small house in the small village of Pacific Palisades, which overlooks the ocean. It's pretty close to paradise. I grew up in a seaside town in New Jersey; I think I live near the ocean now because it connects me to the best memories of my childhood.

The other thing about me is that I'm a mid-life career changer. For 15 years, I was an educational filmmaker and writer of Saturday morning animation, specializing in comedy shows. Although counseling is a serious endeavor, I believe laughter is important in both the classroom and in therapy sessions.

Teaching Interests

I teach couples counseling, the class in fundamental counseling skills, theories of counseling individuals, and practicum (group supervision). I like teaching both beginning and advanced students. I'm especially interested in the relationship of counseling theories to actual clinical practice.

The core of my teaching philosophy is that I see myself also as a student, continually engaged in the process of studying, and reflecting on the field of counseling. My role as a teacher is to share my learning process with my students. For one thing, I enjoy talking with students about my own struggles with theoretical and clinical issues in dealing with clients -- with the question of, "How can I be a better counselor for this client?"I believe that my sharing my struggle sends two important messages. First, being a counselor is a life-long journey of honest self-reflection and growth. Second, there are no right answers or right ways of doing things in the field of counseling; that just because I am a teacher, I do not have a hold on truth when it comes to dealing with human beings.

Research Interests

I have two research interests. The first is in the impact of male gender role socialization on men's psychological well-being. In other words, are there negative costs to the pressures men face to be "a man" and "masculine" in our society? Research that looks at this question can help counselors better serve male clients. My second research interest is in counselor training and supervision. I want to know what other counselor educators have done to make their teaching more effective, so I can grow as a teacher. I also enjoy writing about and sharing my teaching strategies with other counselor educators from different programs.