Leia Charnin, Ph.D.

Hi, I’m Leia (yes, as in Princess Leia!).

I nurtured my inner nerd (lovingly called the “nerd sister” by her big brother) by developing ChangeWell Psych and accumulating a number of roles along the way, such as licensed psychologist, speaker, trainer, researcher, and podcast host.

I have a deep fascination with human behavior and development, which I fostered through research on some of the following topics: stereotype and prejudice formation; ways that bias affects career choices; and trauma-informed care models. This foundation resulted in my core value of being a social justice advocate. I prioritize equity and observe human experiences through a multicultural lens.

Other topics that delight me include every single dog that I see, the outdoors (I’m an avid hiker), and live music (that band nerd from high school will always be a part of my identity).

• Licensed Psychologist, North Carolina
• Licensed Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) Telepsychology Provider
• Intensive trauma training implementation at VA Boston, including gold standard trauma-therapies of Prolonged Exposure and Cognitive Processing Therapy
• Intensive training and implementation of full-model Dialectic Behavior Therapy
• Somatic Attachment Therapy Certification
• PEERS Social Skills Certified through Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior
• Intensive Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Training
• Post-doctoral Fellowship specializing in PTSD and BPD at VA Boston Healthcare System
• Pre-doctoral Internship at University of Delaware Counseling Center
• Safe Zone Trainer for LGBTQ+ awareness and ally education
• Certified Question, Persuade, Refer suicide prevention presenter
• Member of Charlotte Transgender Healthcare Group

• Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri at Kansas City, dissertation on implicit race bias and ethnocultural empathy
• Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Publications and Presentations:

• Charnin, L. (2018). Developing group counseling in university counseling centers: The role of group therapy assessment. Open session presentation at American Group Psychotherapy Association, Houston, TX.
• Charnin, L. & Iverson, M. (2016). Trauma-informed care in college counseling centers: Lessons from the literature and implications for students. Poster presented at Annual National Department of Veterans Affairs Research Week, Boston, MA.
• Charnin, L. (2015). Implications for multicultural counseling training: Motivation, implicit race bias, empathy, and attribution bias. Doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri at Kansas City. Counseling and Educational These and Dissertations (UMKC).
• Bertram, R. M., Schaffer, P., Charnin, L. (2014). Changing organization culture: Data-driven participatory evaluation and revision of wraparound implementation. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work.
• Marszalek, J. M., Santee, J., Charnin, L., Zhang, T., & Youan, B. C. (2011). Assessment of students’ learning and perceptions of task value of a physical pharmacy laboratory course. International Journal of Pharmacy Education and Practice, 7(2), 1-15.