Introduction
Dr. Gehlert received his Ph.D. in Educational and Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri, Columbia. He has been on the faculty of GSPP for over 10 years. Prior to joining the faculty, he was a staff psychologist at Penn State University’s counseling center, and a Penn State adjunct faculty member teaching in the Counseling Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Family Studies, Social Work, and MBA programs.
Kurt teaches a doctoral level practicum course as well as courses in the marriage and family concentration. As a teacher, he strives to create a safe and accepting classroom where all views are valued, and students feel safe, accepted, and intellectually challenged. Like his teaching values, when providing clinical supervision, he seeks to help supervisees find their authentic therapy “voice” as well as increase the trainee’s confidence and sense of agency. His scholarly interests include: couples counseling, counseling process, postmodern approaches to psychotherapy, and clinical supervision and training.
Dr. Gehlert is a licensed psychologist and a Clinical Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family therapy. He has a private practice of psychology in the community with a specialization in couple therapy, couples with trauma histories, and work with adult families. In his clinical work with couples, he seeks transformational change through strengthening the attachment bond and creating an unshakable sense of security in the relationship for both partners. He also views all counseling encounters as cross-cultural and conceptualizes effective therapy as an essential component of promoting social justice.