Matt Englar-Carlson Associate Professor 714-278-5062 Office: EC-452 mattec@fullerton.edu

Personal Biography

Although my professional identity is important to me, I further define myself by broad interests outside my profession. As a lifelong athlete (I began running at age 5), I always have some athletic pursuit captivating my focus. My passion these days focuses on two wheels as I am cycling fanatic who dreams of someday riding Mont Ventoux, Alpe d’Huez, and the Joux Plane. In terms of professional sports, I am true to my roots and always cheer on teams from Wisconsin.  All types of music seems to be playing in my head or around me. Finally, I am drawn to self-trained American folk artists, and try to track down interesting galleries or artists when I visit new places.  All of these interests, however, take a back seat to time spent with my wife Alison and my three-year old son Jackson.

Teaching

As a professor, I teach a variety of classes but like to focus on classes that emphasize the core theoretical concepts that underlie the field. I tend to teach from a constructivist perspective, encouraging students to blend their own emerging views of counseling and education with the dominant discourse on best practices, current research, and developmental theory. In addition, I work to create a classroom atmosphere in which the pluralism inherent in modern clinical practice and life is addressed and enhanced. I believe that effective teaching is focused on helping students become critical thinkers who can assess ideas from multiple viewpoints and perspectives. However, counseling is not about remaining in one’s head, thus I tend to teach experientially allowing each student to “try on” and practice concepts and strategies in a supportive setting. Counseling is a verbal profession in which the classroom must allow for interaction and observation of individual and group processes.  I teach Counseling Theory, Family Systems, Groups: Practice and Process, Beginning and Advanced Practicum, and more recently, Final Project. One of the greatest joys of working at a university is the time spent mentoring students in an effort to assist students towards meeting their goals. Don’t be a stranger, stop by my office and let me know if I can be of assistance.

Scholarship

My scholarly interests are broad, yet mainly focused on two aspects of diversity, men’s issues and social class. In reference to men, I am interested how masculinity influences well-being, interpersonal relationships, and self-identity. This exploration extends to how men ask and receive assistance from the mental health field. As such, I hope to continue working to train mental health professionals to be aware of, receptive to, and able to clinically address the needs of men. My secondary interest is the broad realm of social class and how it comprises and is often omitted from discussions of diversity and multiculturalism within the field of counseling and psychology.  Selected recent publications include:

Kiselica, M.S., Englar-Carlson, M., & Horne, A.M. (Eds.) (2007). Counseling troubled boys: A guidebook for professionals. New York: Routledge.

Kottler, J.A., & Englar-Carlson, M. (under contract). Learning group leadership: An experiential approach (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Nelson, M.L., Englar-Carlson, M., Tierney, S., Hau, J. (2006). Class jumping into academia: Multiple identities for counseling academics. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53, 1-14.

Englar-Carlson, M., & Stevens, M. (Eds.). (2006). In the room with men: A casebook of therapeutic change. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Englar-Carlson, M., & Shepard, D.S. (2005). Engaging men in couples counseling: Strategies for overcoming ambivalence and inexpressiveness. The Family Journal, 13, 383-391.

Sperry, L., Lewis, J., Carlson, J.D., & Englar-Carlson, M. (2005). Health promotion and health counseling: Effective counseling and psychotherapeutic strategies (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Mahalik, J.R., Good, G.E., & Englar-Carlson, M. (2003). Masculinity scripts, presenting concerns and help-seeking: Implications for practice and training. Professional Psychology: Research & Practice, 34, 123-131.

Pope, M., and Englar-Carlson, M.  (2001). Fathers and sons: The relationship between violence and masculinity. The Family Journal, 9, 367-374.