Mary Lee Nelson Professor & Chairperson

Mary Lee (Lee) Nelson currently serves as chair of the Counseling Psychology department at the University of Wisconsin, Madison . She earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Oregon in 1989. Prior to pursuing the doctorate, she was a high school English teacher for 5 years and a community college counselor and psychology instructor for 9 years. Upon receiving her Ph.D., Lee worked for five years in university counseling centers at the University of Oregon and the University of Washington . In 1994 she assumed a full time academic position in the counseling program in Educational Psychology at the University of Washington . In that role, she trained school counselors, doctoral level counselor educators, and doctoral level psychologists for 8 years, serving as program director from 2001-2002. She joined the Counseling Psychology faculty at the University of Wisconsin , Madison in 2002.

In addition to her history of counseling center work, Lee maintained a private psychology practice in Seattle for 11 years, working with individuals, couples, and families. Though she would describe her general orientation as eclectic, she has had extensive training in psychodynamic psychotherapy, both at the pre-doctoral and post-doctoral levels. Thus, though she views clients from an object-relational lens, she works with them with whatever modality seems to be the best, given their particular set of difficulties and preferences.

Lee's primary research interests include supervision and psychotherapy process, gender issues, social class issues, and adolescent body image development. Over the past ten years, Lee has also developed expertise in the application of qualitative research methods. She has published in numerous journals, including the Journal of Counseling Psychology, Journal of Counseling and Development, Counselor Education and Supervision, Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, Journal of Clinical Psychology, and The Clinical Supervisor. She has also written numerous book chapters on supervision, gender, qualitative research methods, and social constructivist methods of instruction. In 2006 she and co-authors Nicholas Ladany and Myrna Friedlander published a book titled Critical Events in Psychotherapy Supervision: An Interpersonal Approach , published by APA Press. Lee has served as a reviewer for the Journal of Counseling Psychology, Sex Roles , and other publications. She has served on the editorial boards of Journal of Counseling and Development, Clinical Supervisor , The Counseling Psychologist, and Training and Education in Professional Psychology.

Lee has two investigations nearing completion: (a) a comprehensive study of factors related to adolescent experiences of appearance culture and body dissatisfaction in adolescence, and (b) a qualitative investigation of expert clinical supervisors' strategies for managing conflict in supervision. Lee is currently working on a theory of social class dissonance that addresses an individual's psychological ambivalence related to contemplating or experiencing class mobility. Her current project is the development of a scale to measure the experience of social class dissonance.

Lee is currently chair-elect of the Section on Supervision of Division 17 of the American Psychological Association. She has also been active and held numerous roles and offices in the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), the Washington Counseling Association (WCA), Western Association for Counseling and Supervision (WACES), and the Washington State Association or Counselor Education and Supervision (WSACES). She has served as president of both WSACES and WACES.

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