Claire Barbetti, M.A.

University of Dallas, BA, English Literature 

Duquesne University, MA; PhD, English Literature 

Chatham University, MA; Doctoral Candidate, Counseling Psychology

My orientation to psychological life integrates Interpersonal, Feminist/Multicultural, and Ecopsychological approaches, each looking at different aspects of the relationship of humans to the world around them. This focus on connectivity and context—the whole picture—forms the basis of my conceptualizations of people and their process of change. I also believe that each person is the author and expert of their lives, so I strive to meet people where they are and focus on their needs in that moment in time. Because our bodies (neurology, muscles, fascia, biorhythms, etc) are not separate from our psychology, I also utilize trauma-informed somatic and mindfulness-based interventions where appropriate.

Sexual and relationship health and wellbeing; LGBTQ+, Substance use disorders and recovery; Anxiety; Trauma, PTSD, and Complex PTSD, Art therapies, Mindfulness and Somatic therapies

As long as I can remember, way back to my childhood in Louisiana, stories were my lifeblood. My bedtime stories (my parents were great storytellers) ranged from Make Way for Ducklings to The Odyssey. My first professional work was in contemporary women’s poetry and high to late medieval English literature, and I taught college courses for over ten years in that field. And then I decided to become a psychologist. I came to psychology through literature and story, via Chaucer’s intricate psychological portraits in The Canterbury Tales, the Pearl Poet’s heartrending portrait of a father in grief at the loss of his five-year old daughter in Pearl, and Gawain grappling with illusion/reality, fear and shame in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I came to psychology through conversations with my students about their academic and personal struggles, which became conversations about how they experienced their growth and perceived the world around them. How humans experience growth and how they change are the themes that connect literature and psychology for me, and these themes have become my work, particularly with the college-age people who are experiencing so much growth and change in a very short amount of time. I’m so happy to continue this journey at West Virginia University's Carruth Center in this beautiful and adventure-filled state!

Hiking, Hiking, Hiking! Travel (especially to cold and lonely places), backpacking, yoga, climbing, reading, drawing, singing, making things beautiful

Books: Harry Potter is a great comfort to me (House: Gryffindor); Beloved, Toni Morrison; Pearl, The Gawain Poet 

Food: oatmeal raisin cookies, coffee :) 

TV: The Wire, Treme, The Americans, 30 Rock

she/her/hers