Lecturer Patti Park is a licensed clinical social worker with a Master's in Social Welfare and a Doctorate in Psychology. She has extensive experience in executive and senior leadership positions in community mental health organizations throughout Los Angeles County, and has been providing direct clinical services since 2001.
Dr. Park's areas of interest include mental health, organizational leadership, trauma-informed and culturally responsive care. Her experience includes clinical practice, research, teaching, program evaluation and development, grant writing, and executive management. She was involved in the planning and implementation of the Mental Health Service Act (MHSA) funded transformation of LA County's child mental health system. She has served on county best practices committees to enhance assessment and treatment for children involved in the child welfare system. Her most recent agency-based leadership role was as Regional Director and Interim Vice President for Children's Institute, Inc. In this position, she provided strategic and organizational leadership to develop and sustain comprehensive evidence-based and trauma-focused mental health programs to children and families suffering from the intersecting effects of poverty, oppression and trauma. Due to her experience and expertise in child trauma, she is currently a National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) Individual Affiliate.
Dr. Park integrates her clinical and leadership experiences into her teaching role at UC Berkeley and has taught Child Development in the Social Context, Cognitive Behavioral Methods, Direct Practice in Child and Family Settings, Family Therapy, Foundations of Multi-level Practice, Motivational Interviewing, Psychosocial Problems and Psychopathology and Social Work Practice in School Settings. She has also taught theory and practice courses at UCLA, CSU Dominguez Hills, and San Jose State University.
In addition to her teaching roles, Dr. Park maintains a private practice where she provides psychotherapy and consultation services. Her clinical interests are primarily in the areas of mindfulness-based and somatic approaches in psychotherapy, third wave CBT, complex trauma and interpersonal neurobiology.
