Education/Licensure:
MA Existential Phenomenological Psychology from Seattle University, 2014
BA Psychology, Central Washington University, 2009
BS Interdisciplinary Studies – Social Science, Central Washington University, 2009

Contact:
Campus: Des Moines & Pierce County Centers
Phone: (509) 963-3813
Email:  Cynthia.Engel@cwu.edu

Interests & Expertise:

Existential/phenomenological psychotherapy; abnormal psychology, substance abuse, recovery and resilience; the experience of life transitions; the experience of being “other”; the history of deinstitutionalization; social justice issues within underrepresented groups, Black Lives Matter, gender and LGBTQIA communities; serial killers.

Courses Taught:

IDS 289 – Introduction to the Major

IDS 353 - Bedlam to Bellevue – On Being “Mad” in the US from 1960 to Present

IDS 389 – Academic & Career Exploration

IDS 489 – Senior Portfolio

PSY 300 – Research Methods in Psychology

PSY 310 – Multicultural Psychology and Social Justice

PSY 346 – Social Psychology

PSY 415 - Behavioral Medicine and Health Psychology

PSY 438 – Substance Abuse and Dependence

PSY 460 – Cognitive Psychology

PSY 478 – Behavioral Neuroscience

PSY 483 – Psychology of Gender

Background:

My journey with Central Washington University began as an undergraduate student on the Des Moines campus.  I graduated from CWU with a double major, Psychology and Interdisciplinary Studies Social Science, in June of 2009. I returned to Highline Community College to gain certification as a Chemical Dependency Professional. Until Spring 2012, I returned to CWU each quarter to act as a teaching assistant on the Des Moines campus, assisting in core psychology classes. In June 2014, I graduated from Seattle University with a Master's degree in Existential-Phenomenological Psychology. My goal had always been to return to teach at CWU, and I am excited and honored to be here.

My academic and professional passions are reflected in the courses that I teach: Social Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Substance Abuse and Dependence, Multicultural Psychology and Social Justice, and Bedlam to Bellevue, a new IDS offering that explores the history of the mental health care system and its impact on the individual and society. 

In my free time, I love reading. In fiction, I favor Tom Robbins, John Irving, Christopher Moore, and Chuck Palahniuk, in no particular order.  For non-fiction, Mary Roach, hands down.  I listen to true crime podcasts and am an avid fan of My Favorite Murder.  I am still a practicing volunteer therapist and on the Board of Directors with Psychotherapy Cooperative, a non-profit organization that provides low cost psychotherapy to members of our community who do not have access to mental health care.  And when I have time off, I take frequent and long road trips to National Parks with my husband and two kiddos; and I haunt thrift shops in the Seattle area.