Dr. Alexis Arczynski
Assistant Professor, Psychology
Dr. Alexis V. Arczynski (they/them/theirs) completed their Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Utah in 2014, a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Tennessee’s Student Counseling Center, and a psychology internship at the University of Oregon’s Counseling and Testing Center. They obtained an M.S. in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton, in 2007. As a marriage and family therapy intern, Dr. Arczynski provided psychological, consultation, and advocacy services to foster children and their foster families in Los Angeles County. Before that, they conducted school-based counseling services for adolescents in San Bernardino County. Professionally, they have worked as core faculty at Antioch University Los Angeles in the Master of Clinical Psychology Program, a staff psychologist at the University of Utah’s Counseling Center, and core faculty in the Counseling Psychology Doctoral Program at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Arczynski’s areas of specialization and interest include developing ways of being that enable survivance, resilience, and resistance within power-laden contexts. They are a licensed psychologist (UT) designated core faculty in the Clinical Psychology Psy.D. program.
Interests
Research
Broadly speaking, I seek to transform applied psychology to embody multicultural social justice. With this ambitious goal in mind, three themes underlie my research program: I examine how practitioners engage in multicultural and empowerment-based practices, explain how people navigate power-laden contexts, and explore how people promote social justice. Three streams emerge from my overarching agenda: explaining socially just supervision relationships and practice, infusing social justice into undergraduate and graduate training, and exploring the career adjustment experiences of queer early career psychologists with diverse identities. For example, I employed a grounded theory design and data analytic procedures to construct a substantive conceptual model that explained how self-identified feminist multicultural (FMC) psychotherapy supervisors conceptualized and practiced supervision. Therefore, my research interests include socially just supervision and training provision; contextual awareness, resilience, and resistance to systemic and interpersonal oppression; and managing complex power relations in personal, professional, and political relationships. I utilize qualitative research to approach my interests, particularly critical-ideological grounded theory and participatory action methods.
Teaching
The commitment to multicultural social justice that underlies my research is a springboard for my pedagogical approach. Thereby, I acknowledge that truth is subjective, emerges from social interaction, and is embedded in a socially and historically constructed reality rife with oppression and power imbalances. My teaching approach emerges from a feminist multicultural pedagogical foundation. I seek to anticipate and manage classroom power dynamics, be collaborative and transparent with students, encourage reflexivity of biases and assumptions, and attune to context implications. Regardless of the class, I promote the fulfillment of three goals to develop (a) active, empowered learners; (b) critical consciousness; and (c) skills to apply classroom-based knowledge for the benefit of our broader world. I leverage experiential, reflective, and dialogic methods to reach these goals. Students can anticipate that I will give them detailed constructive feedback to support them in expanding their awareness, knowledge, and skills and solicit their feedback to enable a collaborative and transformative learning community.
Clinical
I approach clinical practice through a critical multicultural feminist lens. I specialize in working with clients who have trauma histories (e.g., interpersonal trauma; insidious trauma; complex trauma); identify with marginalized and oppressed groups (e.g., gender and sexual minorities, women, persons of color, persons with disabilities, persons of poverty); and are in gender transition. As such, I seek to help clients contextualize their experiences, develop resilience and survivance in response to traumatizing contexts, and enable resistance towards power-laden experiences leveraging individual, relational, psychoeducational, and group modalities. To match the needs of diverse clients and their presenting concerns, I frequently provide interventions using pollical analysis, interpersonal-process, mindful self-compassion, cognitive-behavioral, dialectical-behavioral, and emotion-focused approaches.
Educational Background
- PhD in Counseling Psychology, University of Utah.
- MS in Counseling, California State University, Fullerton.
- BA in Psychology, Chapman University.
Publications
Referred Publications
Christensen, M. C., Capous-Desyllas, M., Arczynski, A. V. (2020). Photovoice as a multilevel tool for gender and sexuality identity exploration. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 101(2). 219-231. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044389419889710
Arczynski, A.V., Christensen, M. C., & Hoover, S. (2018). Fostering critical feminist multicultural qualitative research mentoring. The Counseling Psychologist, 46(8), 954-978. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000018823782
Arczynski, A. V. (2017). Applying social justice and multicultural competencies to group therapy training: A conceptual model. Training and Education in Professional Psychology. 11(4), 227–234. https://doi.org/10.1037/tep0000161
Arczynski, A. V., & Morrow, S. L. (2017). The complexities of power in feminist multicultural psychotherapy supervision. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 64(2), 192-205. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000179
Arczynski, A. V., Morrow, S. L., & Englar-Carlson, M. (2016). Cultivating a spiritually integrative psychotherapy approach with youth: An exploratory qualitative study. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 3(3), 196-207. https://doi.org/10.1037/scp0000086
Cervantes, J. M., & Arczynski, A. V. (2015). Children’s spirituality: Conceptual understanding of developmental transformation. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 2(4), 245-255. https://doi.org/10.1037/scp0000037
Christensen, M.C. & Arczynski, A.V. (2014). Fostering feminist activism identity development: a qualitative study. World Journal of Social Science Research, 1(2), 151-165.
Hagen, W. B., Arczynski, A. V., Morrow, S. L., & Hawxhurst, D. M (2011). Lesbian, bisexual, and queer women’s spirituality in feminist multicultural counseling. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 5(3-4), 220-236. https://doi.org/10.1080/15538605.2011.633070
Book Reviews
Arczynski, A. V. (2023). Book review: Essential clinical care for sex workers: A sex-positive handbook for mental health practitioners. Psychology of Women Quarterly. Online First Publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/03616843231186317
Selected Presentations
Choruby-Whitely, A., & Arczynski, A. V. (2022, January). Patriarchy, masculinity, and sexual abuse: The inner conflict of male Latter-day Saint sexual abuse survivors. Poster presented at the biannual Multicultural Conference and Summit, Virtual.
Vei, T., Newbury, J., & Arczynski, A. V. (2019, January). Critical positionalities: counseling/training across differences. Roundtable presented at the biannual Multicultural Conference and Summit, Denver, Colorado.
Hoover, S. M., Arczynski, A. V., & Christensen, M. C. (2017, August). Critical multicultural feminist mentoring to manage power-laden dilemmas and inequities. Symposium presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, Washington, District of Columbia.
Arczynski, A. V., & Morrow, S. L. (2017, January). Feminist constructivist grounded theory for social justice research. Roundtable discussion to be presented at the biannual National Multicultural Conference and Summit, Portland, Oregon.
Arczynski, A. V., Hyung, S. S., Azarani, M., Warbinton, E., & Hoover, S. M. (2017, January). Trainees’ social justice development in a group therapy course: an exploratory qualitative study. Professional poster to be presented at the biannual Conference National Multicultural Conference and Summit, Portland, Oregon.
Arczynski, A. V. (2016, August). Applying social justice and multicultural competencies to group therapy training: A conceptual model. Professional poster presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, Denver, Colorado.
Arczynski, A. V., Morrow, S. L., & Englar-Carlson, M. (2016, August). Cultivating a spiritually integrative therapy approach with youth: An exploratory qualitative study. Professional poster presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, Denver, Colorado.
Arczynski, A. V., Hoover, S. M. & Christensen, M. C. (2016, May). Considering critical multicultural feminist research mentorship in neoliberal capitalist academia. Structured discussion presented at the annual convention of the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, Champaign-Urbana, Illinios.
Arczynski, A. V., & Morrow, S. L. (2015, January). The complexities of power in feminist multicultural psychotherapy supervision: A qualitative study. Professional poster presented at the biannual convention of the National Multicultural Conference and Summit, Atlanta, Georgia.
Christensen, M. C., Arczynski, A. V., & Milford, J. (2013, March). Fostering feminist leadership and activism with college students: Three studies. Symposium presented at the annual convention of the Association for Women in Psychology, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Awards / Honors
2019 Counseling/Counseling Psychology, Best Supervisor, University of Utah.
2017 Outstanding Publication of the Year, Supervision & Training Section, Division 17, American Psychological Association.
2014 Excellence in Teaching, University of Utah.
2007 Professional Promise Award, California State University, Fullerton.
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