Faculty of Alliant: Dr. Gerald Michaels

By Bridgette Colwell, Spring 2009

Dr. Michaels has been an associate professor in the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University, San Francisco Bay Area campus, for 20 years. He is also the director of the child and family track at the Psychological Services Center, which is a clinic in Oakland that is Alliant-affiliated. Dr. Michaels specializes in parent and child relationships and family development and child assessment. Here at CSPP, he is a professor of psychodiagnostic assessment. He also teaches a research proposal and design course for Psy.D. students and frequently acts as a chair or committee member on students’ dissertations.

Before his career at CSPP, Dr. Michaels completed his graduate work at the University of Michigan. He attained a Ph.D. in clinical and developmental psychology. Although it is clear that he is a clinical psychologist, what you may not know is that Dr. Michaels is also a developmental psychologist. He has extensive training in development, with an emphasis on normal children and their developmental processes, Piaget and social development.

Currently, Dr. Michaels enjoys teaching, particularly psychodiagnostic assessment, and is working on a new research project through the PSC. The new program focuses on preventative interventions with high school students in charter schools throughout the Bay Area. The goal is to make mental health non-stigmatized and give each student an individualized mental health plan. This project, which takes a wellness and positive psychology approach, is currently underway.