Dr. McConnell is an experienced psychologist in Alaska whom residents rely on to help achieve their goals. He is board certified in clinical psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology and holds a postdoctoral degree in clinical psychopharmacology where he can integrate this knowledge into the development of a treatment plan.
Education
Dr. McConnell earned his doctorate and Master’s degree in clinical psychology at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon. He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology with honors from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California. His undergraduate thesis focused on reading for pleasure as a stress reduction technique for college students. His doctoral dissertation focused on training outcomes and psychology doctoral students’ acquisition of clinical skills in graduate psychology programs. His project demonstrated that counselors in training make significant gains in their skills and knowledge level over time. He has presented psychological research at both regional and national conferences. He completed an APA-accredited clinical internship at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. During his internship, Dr. McConnell provided counseling to a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students, ranging from student athletes to international students. He also holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychopharmacology from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Counseling Experience
Dr. McConnell brings a variety of experiences that enable him to address a wide variety of concerns that people may have when coming for counseling. He has worked in both rural and urban settings providing services in community mental health, correctional settings, state-hospitals, university counseling centers and the Veterans Health Administration. In these settings, Dr. McConnell helped clients dealing with depression, stress, relational problems, post-traumatic stress disorder, and chronic pain. He gained post-doctoral experience working as a counselor in a geriatric medical practice, which focused on assessment and treatment dementia and also worked in an inpatient state hospital setting in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Dr. McConnell is excited to be running his own practice, Finding Your Way Psychological Services., Inc., which provides counseling and testing to Alaskans from all walks of life.
Areas Of Specialty
Dr. McConnell also performs extensive psychological testing including personality assessment and IQ testing, memory impairments, fitness-for-duty evaluations, learning disability evaluations with ADA recommendations, ADHD evaluations, pre-surgical bariatric evaluations, immigration evaluations (including hardship/cancellation, political asylum, and N-648 evaluations).
