Faculty
Barnaby B. Barratt, PhD (Harvard University), PhD/DHS (IASHS)
Director of Studies; Fellow, Parkmore Institute.
Director of Studies; Fellow, Parkmore Institute. Dr Barratt is internationally eminent as a radical psychoanalyst, somatic psychologist, sexuality consultant, and practitioner of tantric meditation. Having earned his first doctorate in Psychology and Social Relations, he trained postdoctorally at the University of Michigan’s Neuropsychiatric Institute, and later earned a second PhD in Human Sexuality. Dr Barratt was for many years Professor of Family Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Wayne State University. He has taught at many institutions in the USA (including Harvard University, the University of Detroit, Pacifica Graduate Institute, Sofia University, the University of Florida, and Prescott College). He has been a Senior Research Fellow at the WITS Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Witwatersrand, as well as Visiting Professor both there and at the University of Cape Town. A Past President of the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists, Dr Barratt is a clinical member of the International Psychoanalytic Association and the European Association for Body Psychotherapy. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association as well as the American Association for Psychoanalytic Psychology, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology. He currently serves on the Editorial Board of Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society, of Psychoanalytic Psychology, and of the International Journal for Body Psychotherapy. He has authored over eighty scientific and professional articles, as well as twelve books, including Sexual Health and Erotic Freedom (2005), Liberating Eros (2009), The Emergence of Somatic Psychology and Bodymind Therapy (2010), What is Psychoanalysis? (2013) and Radical Psychoanalysis: An Essay on Free‑associative Praxis (2016), as well as Beyond Psychotherapy: On Becoming a (Radical) Psychoanalyst (2019). Dr Barratt has a longstanding history as an activist for human rights and civil liberties, including serving previously as Chair of the International Board of Directors for the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance.
Robert K. Beshara, PhD (University of West Georgia)
Professor of Psychosocial Studies; Fellow, Parkmore Institute.
Dr Beshara studied theater and music at the American University in Cairo and then earned his Master’s in Fine Arts at Governors State University in Chicago. He is currently Assistant Professor of Psychology at Northern New Mexico College. Within the speciality of consciousness and society, Dr Beshara’s doctoral thesis in psychology was titled “The Ideology of (Counter) Terrorism-Islamophobia/Islamophilia and the Ethico‑Political Subjectivity of US Muslims: From Decolonial Psychoanalysis to Liberation Praxis.” He identifies himself as a scholar‑activist. He is a critical psychologist, who is committed both to theorizing subjectivity in relation to ideology and to radical qualitative research (for example, discourse analysis) around this topic, and also a guerrilla filmmaker, whose second feature film was recently released. Dr Beshara has written and published extensively on topics such as George Bush’s “war on terror,” the contemporary rise of Islamophobia, pornography, postmodern cinema, long distance romance, and Buddhist psychology.
Zelaika S. Hepworth Clarke, MSW, PhD (Widener University)
Professor of Human Sexuality; Fellow, Parkmore Institute.
Dr Clarke is a sexologist who specializes in cultural and clinical issues, as well as the philosophy of human sexuality. She has studied and worked all over the world, including spending time in Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Trinidad, Jamaica, Netherlands, and Cuba. Since 2014, Dr Clarke has specialized in the method of decolonizing autoethnography and is especially known for her research in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, which investigated Ọ̀ṣunality, an African centered, sex positive, post colonial paradigm that affirms diversity in sensual and sexual pleasure. Prior to earning her PhD, Dr Clarke was awarded Master’s degrees in Social Work and also in Education (with a specialty in Human Sexuality). She is certified in African centered social work practices, in public health delivery responding to complex emergency situations, and in reproductive health advocacy. She has presented papers at dozens of professional conferences, nationally and internationally, on topics such as non phallocentric sex, decolonizing sex education, healing trauma, and “rewriting and rerighting black herstories.” Dr Clarke is passionate about engaged scholarship that undoes the negative effects of colonialism and also contributes to the struggle against internalized oppression. In this respect, among her many interests, she lists sensual sexual liberation, intersectional mindfulness, the development of counter oppressive discourses, and the promotion of epistemic justice and diversity within the field of sexuality.
Wade H. Cockburn, PhD (The Chicago School)
Associate Professor of Bodymind Healing; Fellow, Parkmore Institute.
With a highly successful background as a business consultant, Dr Cockburn has focused for the past decade on personal change processes achieved through his extensive experience with yoga, humanistic psychotherapy, family systems and psychoenergetics. Basing his private practice in both Oregon and Texas, he is much in demand not only as a psychotherapist but also as a strong and inspirational motivator with a remarkable talent for evaluating and facilitating solutions to personal and group difficulties. Throughout his professional activities, Dr Cockburn is passionate about authentic communication, personal integrity and ethical conduct. He is certified in Relational Somatic Psychology, Ahern’s Therapeutic Massage, and Pranic Energy Healing, as well as being a Registered Yoga Teacher. Dr Cockburn has a particular interest in working with vulnerable adolescents and in dispute resolution. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology and is a clinical member of both the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy and the European Association for Body Psychotherapy. Dr Cockburn’s research experience includes qualitative investigation of somatic aspects of individual dynamics in family settings.
Loray Daws, PhD (University of Pretoria)
Professor of Psychosocial Intervention and Theory; Fellow, Parkmore Institute.
Loray Daws earned an M.A. Clin. Psych and PhD in Psychotherapy (Psychodynamic) before earning an M.Phil. degree in the philosophy and ethics of mental health. He is a registered clinical psychologist both in South Africa and in British Columbia, Canada . Since 1999, he has served as a psychotherapist, as well as holding multiple teaching appointments in major universities. Dr Daws has become internationally known not only for his work with Rorschach methodology but also as Co-Director and Senior Faculty of the Masterson Institute for the Study of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. Since 2009, he has resided on Vancouver Island in Canada, while still teaching and supervising in South Africa, the United States, Australia, and Turkey, as well as across Canada. He has held editorial positions with scientific journals such as the International Journal of Psychotherapy, Issues in Psychoanalytic Psychology, the South African Rorschach Journal, and Clinical Counselling and Contemporary Psychotherapy. He has also edited four books of psychoanalysis and existentialism. Dr Daws is currently completing his psychoanalytic training at the Institute for Object Relations Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis in New York. He is about to publish a book on the work of eminent psychoanalyst, Michael Eigen, and anticipates being awarded the Parkmore Institute’s Doctorate in Psychoanalytic Studies.
Ignacio Dobles, PhD (University of Costa Rica)
Professor of Psychosocial Intervention and Theory; Fellow, Parkmore Institute.
Ignacio Dobles Oropeza earned his masters in psychology and his doctorate in social and cultural studies at the University of Costa Rica, where he is currently full professor and researcher. He has also been director of the School of Psychology and of the Institute for Psychological Research at the University of Costa Rica. Dr. Dobles is the author of numerous articles in the fields of political social psychology and community psychology. His acclaimed books include Memorias del Dolor (2009), Militantes. La vivencia de la políticaen la segundaola del marxismoen Costa Rica (with Vilma Leandro, 2005), Ignacio Martín-Baró. Una lecturaentiempos de quiebres y esperanzas (2016), Inmigrantes. la experiencia colombiana y nicaragüenseen Costa Rica (withKrissiaAmador y Gabriela Vargas, 2014). Dr. Dobles has been a major advocate and active participant in the development of liberation psychology throughout Latin America. As a facet of his scholarly work, he has accompanied the communities and social movements of ‘campesinos,’ migrants, and environmentalists.
Reynold Ruslan Feldman, PhD (Yale University)
Professor of Humanistic and Wisdom Studies; Fellow, Parkmore Institute.
Professor Emeritus of English from Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, Dr. Feldman has had a distinguished career as a university teacher and administrator (Director, Dean, and Academic Vice President); educational innovator; international education consultant; collaborator in future planning with the renowned Dr. Jonas Salk, best known for discovering the breakthrough first polio vaccine; writer; academic editor; nonprofit (NGO) consultant and administrator; fundraiser; and tutor. A linguist who has studied ten languages and is more or less fluent in seven (besides English, the area of his doctorate, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, and Indonesian/Malay), he has ten published books. Among them are: The Exotic Mirror—Non-Western Images of the Educated Person (1981); A World Treasury of Folk Wisdom (1992, with Cynthia Voelke); Wisdom—Daily Reflections for a New Era (2000); Living in the Power Zone—How Right Use of Power Can Transform Your Relationships (2013, 2014, with Dr. Cedar Barstow, a Fellow of the Parkmore Institute); Terranautics 101—The Basics for Navigating an Uncertain Future (2015); and most recently Wisdom for Living—Learning to Follow Your Inner Guidance. He has also penned a memoir, Stories I Remember—My Pilgrimage to Wisdom: A Spiritual Autobiography (2009). He has taught, facilitated workshops, or consulted all over the world, and has guided more than five dozen doctoral dissertations in fields as diverse as nursing, sociology, psychology, business, and women’s studies. His areas of special interest, however, are 19th-century American literature, practical wisdom, applied ethics, nonprofit (NGO)leadership, inter-religious studies, contemplative practices (he has been a Sufi practitioner for more than 50 years), innovative education, futurism, utopian communities, creative nonfiction writing, creative editing, and character development.
Gerald J. Gargiulo, PhD (Graduate Theological Foundation at the University of Oxford)
Professor of Philosophy and Psychoanalysis; Fellow, Parkmore Institute.
Dr Gargiulo is a practicing psychoanalyst and Faculty of the Psychoanalytic Training Institute of National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis (as well as the former President of this organization). He is internationally eminent for his contributions to the psychoanalytic literature and is currently serving or has served on editorial boards of journals such as Psychoanalytic Review and Psychoanalytic Psychology, as well as the book series Contemporary Psychoanalytic Studies. He has been a consultant for the International Journal of Psychoanalysis, International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, and the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association. Dr Gargiulo is well known for his books which include Psyche, Self and Soul (2004), Broken Fathers / Broken Sons (2008), and most recently a fascinating and very readable study of psychoanalysis in relation to quantum reality, Quantum Psychoanalysis: Essays on Physics, Mind, and Analysis Today (2016). Additionally, he is author of well over 100 articles and reviews in the professional literature. Much sought after as a speaker at professional conferences, Dr Gargiulo is a Fellow of the International Psychoanalytic Association and twice served as President of the International Federation for Psychoanalytic Education. He is excited to work with psychoanalysts who are interested in nurturing their clinical and theoretical ideas toward publication and the award of the DPsa degree.
Herbert K. Grassmann, PhD (University of Kassel)
Professor of Psychosocial Studies and Bodymind Healing; Fellow, Parkmore Institute.
With an eminent reputation internationally for his research and teaching in the area of trauma and memory, Dr Grassmann is a highly experienced clinician with a speciality in body psychotherapy. He is currently Chair of the European Association for Body Psychotherapy’s Committee for Science and Research, and was formerly on the EABP’s Board of Directors. His extensive record of research has emphasized both on developing and evaluating interpersonal neurobiological models, and on bridging the gap between attachment and dissociation theories with a somatically focused model of trauma therapy. He is founder of the SKT(R) Institute (for Structural Core Therapy and Somatic Memory) and Director of the European Institute for Somatic Trauma Therapy, as well as the International Association for Structural Integration. As a social anthropologist trained at the Universidad de Guadalajara and as a trauma specialist, he has presented trainings on the treatment of trauma in South America (Brazil, Colombia, Mexico), especially focusing on the phenomena of domestic violence and chronic pain. With his background in both psychotherapy and somatics (including Gestalt, Systemic approaches, Hakomi, Somatic Experiencing and Ida Rolf’s heritageof Structural Integration), Dr Grassmann currently leads training programs for corporations. He is author of numerous articles, as well as a popular book on relationship and psychotherapy, Zwei im Einklang (“Two in Harmony”). In conjunction with the EABP’s Science and Research Committee, he recently collaborated in published a book of case studies in body psychotherapy. Dr Grassmann is a practicing Buddhist and benefits greatly from meditation and the nonviolent methods of Ki-Aikido. He is very keen to work with Doctoral Candidates interested in research or practice in the field of clinical trauma therapy.
Beth L. Haessig, PsyD (Rutgers School of Professional Psychology)
Associate Professor of Bodymind Healing; Fellow, Parkmore Institute.
Dr Haessig is currently President of the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy and is an internationally recognized leader and trainer in this field, with experience in modalities such as Somatic Experiencing, Bioenergetics, Hakomi, Gendlin’s Focusing, Core Energetics and Rubenfeld Synergy. Trained as a psychologist, she is certified both as a Core Energetic Practitioner and as a Kripalu Yoga Teacher, with additional training in the Trauma Resiliency Model, LifeForce Yoga, the ‘Exceptional Marriage’ program, psychodrama and neurofeedback. Dr Haessig maintains a private practice of body psychotherapy in New Jersey and consults at the East Orange General Hospital, using body based mindfulness to address the challenges of eating disorders, PTSD, anxiety disorders and a range of medical conditions. Against the pathologizing tendencies that characterize much contemporary treatment, she is committed to what she calls ‘awakening the power of heart presence.’
Gregory J. Johanson, PhD (Drew University)
Professor of Bodymind Healing; Fellow, Parkmore Institute.
Dr. Johanson is one of the most distinguished somatic psychotherapists active in the USA today. With an extensive background in counseling and pastoral psychotherapy, he has been a senior Hakomi Therapy trainer since 1982, one of the founding trainers of the Hakomi Institute located in Boulder, Colorado, as well as President of its Board for many years. With a background in both psychotherapy and theology, he is a member of the American Psychological Association and the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. During his distinguished career, he has enjoyed many faculty appointments including at the George Fox University, University of Lethbridge, Chicago Graduate School of Professional Psychology, Central Connecticut’s State University, Santa Barbara Graduate Institute. He did a post-doctorate at Princeton University’s Center for the Study of Religion. With a scholarly background in theology, Dr. Johanson currently serves as Minister of Church and Community Counseling with the Stayton United Methodist Church while maintaining a private practice of somatic psychotherapy in Mill City, Oregon. In addition to his world-wide work training Hakomi practitioners, he is active lecturing on “The Art, Science and Grace of Human Transformation.” Dr. Johanson has been active in publishing over 150 items related to psychotherapy and pastoral theology. including (with Ron Kurtz) Grace Unfolding: Psychotherapy in the Spirit of the Tao-teching, and editing (with Weiss and Monda) the 2015 Norton textbook Hakomi Mindfulness-Centered Somatic Psychotherapy: A Comprehensive Guide to Theory and Practice. He is currently Editor of the Hakomi Forum and has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Self-Leadership, the Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, the Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling, the USA-European Association for Body Psychotherapy’s Journal, and the Annals of American Psychotherapy Association. He seeks to make the Parkmore Institute’s Doctor of Bodymind Healing the premier mark of professional distinction in the field of body psychotherapy.
Myrtle C. Means, PhD (University of Detroit)
Professor of Human Sexuality; Fellow, Parkmore Institute.
Dr Means is much sought after as a lecturer on women’s issues and sexual communication, with special reference to the African American experience. She is frequently interviewed on radio and makes television appearances addressing topics such as sexual compatibility and partnering, intimacy and orgasmicity, as well as what she calls the ‘recipe for ecstasy.’ Dr Means maintains highly successful private practices in Michigan and in Georgia, where she specializes in providing psychological services to a diverse clinical population, including adolescents and adults suffering from a range of social and personality challenges. Extensively trained in clinical and educational sexology, she has particular expertise in working with individuals and couples who have difficulties achieving sexual satisfaction or who are suffering from sexual difficulties or disorders. Previously Dr Means was a distinguished Board Member and Faculty of the Midwest Institute of Sexology, and she is certified by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists. Her research interests include investigations of sexual and relational satisfaction, the effects of death and dying on family life, and the challenges of single parenthood.
Darlene Miller, MA, PhD (Johns Hopkins University)
Professor of Psychosocial Studies; Fellow, Parkmore Institute.
Dr Miller is a sociologist, eminent internationally for her research on development and especially in relation to the history of indigenous peoples. She received her bachelor’s training at the University of Witwatersrand and has held research appointments at Rhodes University, Human Rights Watch in New York, the Africa Institute of Southern Africa, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in Zambia, and the University de Eduardo Mondlane in Mozambique. Dr Miller taught for many years at the University of Witwatersrand’s School of Governance, and currently serves on the faculty of the University of South Africa. She has published extensively on issues ranging from food gardens, women’s leadership, philanthropy and the effects of industrial investment on development in southern Africa. Her research embraces both quantitative and qualitative methodologies and currently she is deeply invested in studying vernacular histories of Khoi women in the Cape. Dr Miller has held many editorial positions and is well known for her supportive role in helping graduate students achieve their highest potential.
Ahmad-Reza Mohammadpour-Yazdi, MA, PhD (Sigmund Freud University, Austria)
Professor of Psychoanalytic Studies; Fellow, Parkmore Institute.
Dr Yazdi received his bachelors and master’s degree training in clinical psychology at the Iran University of Medical Sciences. He earned a second BA in psychoanalytic psychotherapy from the Sigmund Freud University, where he later completed his PhD. Subsequently he was appointed a Fellow in the prestigious doctoral program in Social and Cultural Analysis at Concordia University in Montreal. Dr Yazdi’s research interests are at the intersection of psychoanalysis and social anthropology, on issues such as ideology, superego formation, and trauma resulting from immigration and asylum. He also has explored Persian mythology and clinical phenomena within the context of the “Skin Model of Ego Development,” which he himself innovated. His many published papers address issues of trauma, the body in Kleinian psychology, the skin ego, and the psychoanalytic analysis of conspiracy theories in the era of COVID. Dr Yazdi has twenty years clinical experience focused on trauma phenomena. He is interested in working with doctoral candidates for the DPsa degree and supporting clinically relevant projects across a wide range of phenomena approached psychoanalytically.
Jerry Piven, PhD (Syracuse University)
Professor of Psychosocial Studies; Fellow, Parkmore Institute.
To anyone who is familiar with Dr Piven’s prodigious scholarship, he is known as one of the most brilliant commentators and penetrating critical thinkers on philosophical and political issues. He has used his considerable sophistication with psychodynamic theories to address some of the most pressing issues of our age. Three of his most notable books are the highly acclaimed Psychology of Death in Fantasy and History, as well as Death and Delusion: A Freudian Analysis of Mortal Terror, and Terrorism, Jihad, and Sacred Vengeance. Additionally, Psychoanalytically trained and fluent in Japanese, Dr Piven has published on the novels of Yukio Mishima, as well as a coauthored work, Nihon no Kyoki (an analysis of the Japanese concept of madness). He has published over fifty papers in the past decade. These essays exhibit the originality of his insights on impressively diverse topics. These include: existential death anxiety; narcissism and sexuality in the perpetrators of violence; cults and normative cultural trauma; the psychology of terror and torture; the “weirdness” of history; religion as an insanity defense; parental destructiveness; ontological dread and the envy of life; the ubiquity of psychopathology; and the “sinister and sublime aspects of ‘spirituality’ in relation to epistemic issues and mind‑body dualisms.” He is currently working on a book to be titled, Slaughtering Death: On the Psychoanalysis of Terror, Religion, and Violence. Dr Piven is passionate about advancing critical scholarship that promotes personal and social change.
Travis K. Svensson, MPH, MD (George Washington University), MLA (Harvard University), PhD (University Of Wales)
Professor of Human Sexuality and Psychosocial Studies; Fellow, Parkmore Institute.
Dr Svensson is a practicing psychiatrist, with strong interests in human sexuality, distance education, psychoanalytic ideas, and social justice issues in relation to mental health. He received his medical education from George Washington University, where he later earned a Masters in Public Health. He also holds master’s degrees in nursing education and digital media design. He has been involved in education for over 25 years, specializing in primary care, psychiatry, and addiction medicine. He has taught at community colleges, in undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as at the professional level. Dr Svensson’s recent research interests are in the cine‑media representation of bisexuality, utilizing methods of experimental criticism, and he has published in the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health.
In Memory Of
Dr. Tod S. Sloan
1952‑2018
Co-Founder and Professor of Psychosocial Studies, Parkmore Institute.
A brilliant colleague, devoted to the goals of social and personal change, and a warm friend to us all.
The Parkmore Institute has virtual offices in Wilmington Delaware, USA. However, it is currently expanding and welcomes applications from prospective Doctoral Candidates, as well as potential Faculty and Fellows, from all parts of the world.