UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Theresa L. Welles has been appointed the new director of the Penn State Psychological Clinic, bringing with her many years of clinical experience in various school and health care settings.

Welles started in the position March 8 and comes to Penn State from Georgia, where she served as the clinical director at Anxiety Specialists of Atlanta, a private practice of cognitive behavioral therapy specialists offering evidence-based, comprehensive psychological services. In addition to her duties at the clinic, she will serve as an associate clinical professor in the Department of Psychology.

One of the oldest university-based clinics in the United States, the Psychological Clinic provides high-quality outpatient psychotherapy, group therapy, and neuropsychological assessment to the residents of Centre County and surrounding areas. It also serves as a training ground for students in the clinical psychology doctoral program, and as a research facility for faculty.

“We have absolutely found the right person in Dr. Welles as the next director of the Psychological Clinic,” said Kristin A. Buss, Psychology Department head, Tracy Winfree and Ted H. McCourtney Professor in Children, Work, and Families, and professor of psychology and human development and family studies. “Not only does Dr. Welles have the experience and expertise for both the administrative and academic work, but she also has the vision to lead the clinic through the transitions in mental and behavioral health care that are happening in the field.”

Welles plans to hit the ground running, with early goals that include learning more about the day-to-day operations of the clinic; meeting with the department’s various stakeholders to determine areas for improvement; providing opportunities for reconnecting and re-energizing clinic staff, faculty and students; and identifying other ways “to support the continued excellence of the program on a national and international scale,” she said.

“The opportunity to run the Penn State Psychological Clinic and be part of the clinical psychology program was simply an offer I could not refuse,” Welles said. “Penn State is a great university, and the clinical psychology faculty here are nationally and internationally renowned, and the unique service delivery model of the Psychological Clinic, combining science and clinical practice to serve the University’s local community, is special. Obviously, the research is essential to what we do as psychologists, but it’s rare that you have a clinic that also serves the whole community and provides assessment and intervention to families, adults, and children alike.”  

“My goal right off the bat is to collaborate with the brilliant faculty, staff and students for creative problem-solving,” she continued. “The Psychological Clinic offers unique opportunities for training and research, as well as challenges regarding the management of resources efficiently while adhering to the regulations of multiple entities and balancing the needs of the patients, clinical staff, faculty, and students.”

Meanwhile, Welles is also looking forward to being part of a college community again. “I love the energy of a college campus and the constant intellectual stimulation, not to mention my passion for college football,” she said.

Welles spent five years at Anxiety Specialists of Atlanta, where she started as a staff psychologist before being promoted to clinical director. During her tenure as director, the practice, which specializes in anxiety spectrum disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), doubled in size.

She’s proud of her time there and grateful to have worked with such a talented group of clinicians, and for all that she learned while navigating the unique challenges created as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“While the pandemic was challenging, some of the innovations that came out of it, like telemedicine, have been amazing, and were not only great for some patients, but to some extent better from a business perspective as well,” Welles said. “And I think it’s important to identify and get stakeholders behind some of the incredible technology out there that streamlines important documentation such as billing, clinical notes, and scheduling, and allows more efficient use of staff, faculty, and student time -- which ultimately benefits the patients.”  

“We are truly at a crossroads when it comes to mental health,” she added. “The stigma in many ways has been lifted, and the need for mental health services has been highlighted everywhere, from professional sports to the entertainment industry, and younger generations are much more accepting of psychological therapy than ever before. People appreciate us, but we’re still under-resourced. So, being a part of a program that is contributing so much in terms of research and training is incredibly exciting, and aligns with my lifelong commitment to advocate for mental health parity in the medical industry.”

Welles has been fascinated by human behavior for as long as she can remember. While an undergraduate, she took a psychology course that inspired her to pursue it as a career. Among other things, she loved that the field was a combination of science, medicine, and philosophy, as one of her professors described it while she was pursuing her doctorate in counseling psychology and school psychology at Florida State University.

Earlier in her career, Welles served as module lead of behavioral health at Kaiser Permanente Gwinnett Comprehensive Medical Center, an experience that led her to highly value the importance of collaborative care, which she believes is the future of behavioral health medicine.  And her experiences in higher education, including serving as the assistant director of counseling and psychological services at 40,000-student Kennesaw State University in the Atlanta metro area, have prepared her well for the challenges of her new position.

“I’m a very analytical person, and can be introverted at times, but I really value connecting with other people and find helping people, in any way, incredibly rewarding,” Welles said. “And I’m a huge believer in the importance of a liberal arts education and am excited our program is housed in that college at Penn State. Psychology is the science of human behavior – its entire focus is on the human experience, making it generalizable to just about any chosen career, whether you’re a teacher, an anthropologist, a lawyer, an artist, or a stockbroker.”

Welles and her husband have four children, including one who will begin attending Penn State later this year. Though it was difficult leaving her patients and colleagues in Atlanta, she’s incredibly excited about this new professional and personal chapter in her life.

“I’m really grateful to be working with such an incredible group of people,” she said. “Being able to be part of the clinical psychology program’s future, and continuing to support a psychological clinic of excellence, where science and practice come together – that’s very exciting to me. I can’t wait to get started.”