Category: Department of Counseling Psychology

Leaving a lasting mark: Morgridge Center bids farewell to faculty director Travis Wright

By Xai Xiong, Morgridge Center After nearly five years of visionary leadership, Travis Wright is stepping down from his role as faculty director of the Morgridge Center for Public Service. Wright’s commitment to community-engaged scholarship is well known across campus. A professor in the counseling psychology department, Wright is the founder/director of the BASES (Building …

Latest CHM study aims to end the trial and error of mental health care

By Victoria Vlisides, Center for Healthy Minds Over 1 billion people worldwide live with a mental health condition, but only seven out of 100 people actually get treatment — typically medication and/or therapy or counseling. From the start of treatment, much of the process is trial and error, leaving people caught in the current system …

Study by UW–Madison’s Thompson finds paid internships deliver strong payoff early in careers

By Karen Rivedal, Office of Research & Scholarship A new national study coauthored by UW–Madison School of Education Professor Mindi Thompson, who directs the university’s Center for Research on College‑Workforce Transitions (CCWT), offers compelling evidence that paid internships give college graduates a lasting advantage in earnings, job quality, and early career progression. Published in the …

School of Education awards 18 projects through One School Innovation Fund

By Katie Grant, Office of Research & Scholarship The UW–Madison School of Education is proud to announce the selection of 18 projects for funding through the One School Innovation Fund, a competitive internal program designed to catalyze bold, collaborative research and scholarship across the arts, education, and health. Launched earlier this year by the Office …

UW–Madison’s Thompson discusses workforce skills on Wisconsin Public Radio

UW–Madison’s Mindi Thompson, the Charles and Carol Pulvino Chair in the School of Education’s Department of Counseling Psychology, was recently featured on Wisconsin Public Radio. The “Wisconsin Today” episode, headlined “College, career transition experts say some skills for success are timeless,” explores Wisconsin’s new “Portrait of a Graduate” initiative. Led by the Department of Public …

Three School of Education students recognized as spring 2026 ‘notable grads’

Three School of Education students — Anna Bitonti, Molly Gerrish, and Heaven Williams — were recently recognized as spring 2026 “notable grads” by UW–Madison’s Office of Strategic Communication. Following are their profiles, written by Gayle Worland: An animated film on top of two majors “My time at UW–Madison was defined by expanding my relationship to …

Parents’ excessive internet use may be lnked to depression in their teenagers

By Victoria Vlisides, Center for Healthy Minds A 2022 New York Times Opinion piece asks, “Should More Teenagers Ditch Their Smartphones?” Smartphones are where we spend most of our time on the internet and plenty of studies have shown negative effects of screen time on kids. But what about how a teen’s well-being is affected by …

Researchers at UW–Madison receive major grant to study the link between mental health and the microbiome

By Laura Red Eagle, Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery Long before science caught up, Vincent Van Gogh sensed a connection between melancholy and microbes. In a letter dated April 30, 1889, he described his mysterious bouts of anxiety and exhaustion: “At times I have fits of anxiety without cause, or a feeling of emptiness and fatigue …

School of Education graduate students recognized with 2025–26 Teaching Assistant Awards

Thirty-two graduate students across the UW–Madison campus have been selected as recipients of the 2025–26 Campus-Wide Teaching Assistant Awards, recognizing their excellence in teaching. Among this year’s honorees are four graduate students from the School of Education. Advanced Achievement in Teaching Award The Advanced Achievement in Teaching Award recognizes teaching assistants with significant instructional experience who …

UW–Madison School of Education ranked No. 1 by U.S. News for third straight year

For the third consecutive year, UW–Madison is home to the top-ranked school of education in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report’s Best Education Graduate Schools rankings published on Tuesday. In addition to the overall ranking, 12 graduate programs housed within the UW–Madison School of Education were also highly rated by U.S. News in its …