Our Team
Dr. Heidi Zetzer
Clinic Director
Dr. Heidi A. Zetzer (she/her/hers) is the Director of the Carol Ackerman Positive Psychology Clinic and a Teaching Professor in the Department of Counseling, Clinical, & School Psychology at UCSB. Dr. Zetzer teaches Positive Psychology Across the Lifespan, The Psychology of Flourishing, Helping Relationships, Basic Practicum, and Theories of Supervision & Consultation. She also coordinates doctoral clinical and counseling psychology externships. Dr. Zetzer is a former president of the Association of Psychology Training Clinics and former chair of the Section for Supervision and Training in the Society of Counseling Psychology (Div. 17) of the American Psychological Association, for which she is currently Division Secretary. Dr. Zetzer is also a former president of the Santa Barbara County Psychological Association. Dr. Zetzer's areas of scholarship include multicultural clinical supervision, parallel process in supervision, white privilege, and positive psychology including agency, hope, forgiveness, gratitude, and meaning in life. Dr. Zetzer likes to spend time rock climbing, hiking, running, and riding motorcycles with her family.
Elana Hubert, M.A.
Project Coordinator
Elana Hubert (she/her/hers) is a 3rd year doctoral student in Counseling Psychology at UCSB, working with Dr. Melissa Morgan and Dr. Heidi Zetzer. Prior to starting graduate school, she used community-based participatory research to address mental health stigma using community mural-making (check out the community murals here)! She is interested in the evaluation of community-based mental health programming, and employing social justice and participatory research practices to address inequities in access and care.
Anabel Salimian
Post-baccalaureate Research Assistant
Anabel Salimian (she/her/hers) is a recent graduate from UCSB with a Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology and a minor in Applied Psychology. Her research interests involve the implications of mindfulness based cognitive therapy and how to increase youth awareness regarding mindfulness practices. She is currently affiliated with UCLA and is working toward a graduate degree.
Cassidy Miller
Research Team Assistant
Cassidy Miller (she/her/hers) is an undergraduate student at UCSB majoring in Biopsychology with a minor in Applied Psychology. She has experience providing peer counseling through various mental health related organizations on campus, and can’t wait to continue broadening her knowledge of positive psychology approaches as a CAPPC Research Assistant.
Ash Phommasa
Research Team Assistant
Ash Phommasa (she/they) is an undergraduate student at UCSB majoring in Psychological & Brain Sciences with a minor in Applied Psychology. Her interests lie within the phenomenon of posttraumatic growth as it overlaps between positive psychology and disaster mental health. She currently investigates how people heal and flourish in the face of disaster with her own personal experience of physical trauma/injury. As a CAPPC RA, Ash looks forward to spreading positive psychology knowledge and interventions to promote hope and perseverance.
Cydney Williams
Research Team Assistant
Cydney Williams (she/her/hers) is a research team member who is completing her degree at UCSB in Psychological & Brain Sciences with a minor in applied psychology. Her research interests involve the ways that positive psychology interventions can be applied in school-based settings to benefit mental health, and student outcomes. She ultimately hopes to pursue a doctoral degree in school psychology with the hopes of continuing looking into this line of research. She is excited for the opportunity to be working on the CAPPC team as a research assistant!
Priya Bhatia
Research Team Assistant
Priya Bhatia (she/her/hers) is an undergraduate student at UCSB majoring in Psychological and Brain Sciences with a minor in Applied Psychology. Her research interests involve the effects of mindfulness and positive psychology on psychopathology treatments, especially in adolescents or young adults. She is looking forward to learning more about these implications through a RA position with the CAPPC.
Himadhari Sharma, M.A., B.S.B.
Himadhari Sharma (she/her/hers) is a Counseling, Clinical, and School psychology doctoral candidate, with an emphasis in Counseling Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, working with Dr. Andrés Consoli. Her research and clinical interests center around decolonizing psychology and include access and utilization for mental health support and services among minoritized communities (especially South Asian communities), culturally salient and indigenous healing practices, bilingual mental health services (Hindi/Urdu-English), and cross-cultural/international psychology. She has clinical experience in university and community counseling centers.
Yvette Ramirez
Yvette is a doctoral student in Counseling Psychology at UCSB. Her current research interests explore the influences of witnessing domestic violence on intimate relationships among Latinx females. She has experience providing peer counseling at the university level and is looking forward to expanding her professional experiences.
Our Alumnae
Collie Wyatt Conoley, Ph.D.
Former Director
Dr. Conoley (he/him/his) is professor of psychology at California State University Long Beach. Previously he was professor and Director of the Carol Ackerman Positive Psychology Center at UCSB and faculty at Texas A&M University, University of Nebraska, and University of North Texas. He has worked in community mental health, university counseling center and independent practice. He has over 250 written and presented works. His latest co-authored book was the first book using positive psychology in a comprehensive theory of psychotherapy and his previous book was the first to apply positive psychology in family therapy. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and received the Distinguished Psychologist Award for Contributions to Positive Psychology. Dr. Conoley has received a Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association, a Presidential Citation from the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association and a College Mentor Award. He served as Chair of the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs, on the Board of the Family Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association, on the Councils of Directors of Training Councils, chair of Section for the Promotion of Psychotherapy Science, and on the Board of the Section on Positive Psychology.
Beatriz Bello, PhD
Dr. Bello is currently affiliated with Kaiser Permanente, Vallejo Psychiatry Clinic as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist on the adult team. Her work primarily focuses on trauma focused treatment with English and Spanish speaking clients. She has also recently joined the Vallejo Postdoctoral and Practicum Training program as a supervisor.
Meg Boyer, M.A.
Meg (she/her/hers) is a doctoral candidate in Counseling Psychology at UCSB. Her current research interests explore the integration of positive psychology in psychotherapy and interpersonal processes in emotion regulation. She has experience providing psychological assessment and individual and group therapy in local university and college counseling settings.
Danielle Heiser
Danielle (she/her/hers) is a medical student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix pursuing a Certificate of Distinction in Service and Community Health alongside her MD. Her current research is analyzing social determinants of health affecting young adult patients experiencing homelessness. She is continuing to explore the link between mental and physical health while learning how to provide trauma-informed care.
Not pictured:
Clinic Alumnae, Dr. Kate Hawley, Dr. Evelyn Plumb, Dr. Taylor Damiani, Dr. Elisa Vasquez, Dr. Anna Lee