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Name: Dr. Cameron Searle
Profession: Clinical Psychologist
License Number: New York State License # 014172
Location: Staten Island, New York
Education
1998 Psy.D. Clinical Psychology, Baylor University
1997 M.S. Clinical Psychology, Baylor University
1993 M.A. Counseling Psychology, Ball State University
1990 B.A. Psychology, Binghamton University
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Professional experience
1998-on Licensed Psychologist, South Beach Psychiatric Center
1998 Psychologist I, Long Island Developmental Disabilities Service Office
1993 Chemical Dependency Counselor, Beacon Center
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Clinical interests
My clinical interests reflect a broad array of topics based on my clinical training and work activities. I value the concept of experience, and have sought exposure to diverse areas such as work with preschoolers, university students, chemically dependent adults, veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, multicultural populations, as well as seriously and persistently mentally ill adults. I am interested in exploring the different roles of a psychologist, so in addition to providing direct treatment I provide supervision to unlicensed doctors of psychology and graduate externs as well as participate on administrative committees at the psychiatric center where I work. I also enjoy teaching- from such broad topics as parenting classes and assertiveness training to serving as a guest lecturer at Fordham University where I taught one class in existential psychology. I am excited about the workshop format where I can apply my training and experience to the provision of services to often underserved populations.
I strongly believe that an overarching philosophy is essential to connect all the diverse aspects of my interests together. One unifying factor is that we, as people, find meaning to our experiences. At times when people suffer or go through major life changing events, people struggle to find meaning in what they are going through. I believe a supportive relationship is the context where such work can take place. A supportive relationship fosters trust and honesty, resulting in more genuine communication. In providing tools and skills for working through issues in a supportive environment, psychologists can help people cope with, adjust to, and grow from major life events and situations.
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Love-Life interests and expertise
I believe one’s love-life is like other uniquely human experiences in which people devise meanings for themselves. I am particularly interested in the meanings people attribute to their love-life situations and rules people make up as they encounter different love-life events. I especially like to focus on how these rules turn out to be adaptive or maladaptive and how to help people explore their rules, recognize their roles in making them, and helping them find ways to come up with more adaptive rules that help in their growth. I am interested in the diversity of love-life stages from dating and marriage as well as separation and divorce. I am interested in marital, relational, and parenting issues and how they affect love-life relationships. I have particular interests in multicultural populations as well as chemical dependency and the family.
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Practice information
I am currently serving as a licensed psychologist for the New York State Office of Mental Health at South Beach Psychiatric Center. I work with severely and persistently mentally ill adults.
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Personal relationship status
I am married seven years with a three year old son.
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Love-Life biography
My own love-life story is unusual and has contributed to my own meaning-system for relationships. Through my own love-life I have learned that romantic relationships can take diverse twists and turns but can survive and thrive across the myriad of events that take place across the lifespan.
I met my wife Shannon at my undergraduate university when she was a sophomore and I was a senior. While that may not sound that unusual, the twist is that I was graduating in two weeks and I was from Buffalo, New York and Shannon was from Brooklyn, New York, about 400 miles away. From such a brief beginning developed an enduring experience. As the first years passed, our scholastic lives kept us geographically apart. After graduation, I lived in Buffalo, and Shannon remained in Binghamton. I then went to Indiana to get my master’s degree in counseling psychology. The next year Shannon went to Long Island to get her master’s degree in social work. One year later I was back in Buffalo and Shannon was still on Long Island. Finally, when I was accepted into doctoral school in Texas, she decided, now that she had finished school, her love-life should now determine her residence, and she moved to Texas so we could be together. After the challenge of the long distance relationship began a period of learning about each other in a new way. It also began a period of “doctoral widowhood” where I was frequently occupied with doctoral school requirements. When I was finished with school, after nine years of dating, we were married in 1999. In 2002 Shannon gave birth to our son Daniel. So throughout this journey, issues of long distance relationships, work and family balance, differing childhood backgrounds, maintaining long distance friendships, and most recently parenting issues have been at the forefront of our lives. I enjoy looking at my own meaning-systems and rules with which I have developed based on my experiences so that I can foster my own growth as I enter new phases of life.
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