Shannon Deets, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology

  sdeets@thiel.edu
  724-589-2060
  Academic Center 258

“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” –Carl Jung

Education:

• Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology (2013) – Gannon University Erie, Pa.
• M.S. in Community Counseling (2004) – Gannon University Erie, Pa.
• B.S. in Biology (2000) – Allegheny College, Meadville, Pa.
• L.P.C. (Licensed Professional Counselor)

Courses Typically Taught:

• Orientation to Psychology (PSY 100)
• General Psychology (PSY 150) 
• Abnormal Behavior (PSY 300)
• Counseling Methods (PSY 370)
• Microcounseling Skills and Evidence Based Treatment (PSY 371)
• Research with Human Participants (PSY 373)
• Counseling Special Populations (PSY 410)
• Topics in Psychology: Depth Psychology and Dancing Mindfulness (PSY 450)

Psychology Majors and Minors

What do I love most about Thiel College and/or Psychology?

“Thiel is a small school full of magnificent people helping students learn to embody their own potential. It is truly impressive to watch students grow here no matter where they begin. Shy students learn to become leaders with compassion, integrity, and vision. Academically bright students stretch their understanding to new frontiers through incorporating diverse areas of study, research, and real life experience. It is possible to launch your ideal future here while being nurtured and supported in an environment where professors put students first. What I love most about Thiel is working with students!”

Research Interests:

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.” –Carl Jung

Through my research I ultimately seek to understand what it means to be human in a world with tremendous need for social change. Current studies explore the electrical changes in the cerebral cortex that occur as a result of altering ones consciousness through authentic movement and the therapeutic application of embodied consciousness. It is through understanding consciousness that we can improve humanity by applying research findings to addressing social injustice and mental health symptom manifestation at the individual and societal level. Inherent in this research is a focus on group dynamics, civic leadership, therapeutic interventions, and counselor training. This hope of improving the world in which I live has been a driving principle in my research from the beginning. As such, my previous research was an outgrowth of counseling experience with marginalized groups, families, and individuals who manifested psychological symptoms related to their diminished societal status.

Some of the issues I have examined through research include:

• EEG activity of the Cerebral Cortex while altering consciousness through movement
• Phenomenological Models of Consciousness Induced through Authentic Movement
• Rural Mental Health
• Mental Health Interventions in Elementary School Settings
• Clinical Issues
• Social Justice Issues

Selected Publications and Presentations:

Deets, S.L. (2015) –Consciously connecting: Using the Deets model of altered consciousness induced through movement therapeutically. Presented at the Science and Nonduality Conference, San Jose, Calif.

Polvinale, K. (student researcher) and Deets, S.L. (2015) –Consciousness expressing itself through creation :A re-examination of the Deets model of altered consciousness through movement. Presented at the Science and Nonduality Conference, San Jose, Calif.

Deets, S.L. (2014) –Phenomenological model of consciousness altered through dance, implications for phenomenal and content questions of consciousness: Presented at the Towards a Science of Consciousness Conference, “20th Anniversary The Tucson Conference”, Tucson, Ariz.

Deets, S.L. (2014) –Phenomenological model of consciousness altered through dance, Implications for phenomenal and content questions of consciousness: Presented at the Northwest Pennsylvania Psychological Association, Erie, Pa.

Deets, S.L. (March, 2006) –Societal and systematic bias against individuals with limited financial means: Training presented to behavioral, clinical, and administrative staff at Associates in Counseling and Child Guidance, Meadville, Pa.

Deets, S.L. (Sep., 2005) –Rural culture, Considerations for the ethical therapist: Training presented to clinical staff at Associates in Counseling and Child Guidance, Meadville, Pa.