Maureen Lafferty, Ed.D, HSPP

Indiana license#: 20040757

I come to northern Indiana from another industrial area in the Midwest, a small steel town near Pittsburgh that has seen its share of economic and social struggles. As a first-generation college student, I was fortunate to complete my BA in Psychology and my MS in Counseling and Student Development, partly funded by positions as an RA and Hall Director, before completing my doctorate in Counseling Psychology at West Virginia University and my doctoral internship at the State University of New York at Buffalo. I discovered my love for working with students early in my career and have been working in university counseling for over thirty years - at Indiana State University, Butler University in Indianapolis and, for the last 20+years, at the University of Notre Dame where I have grown to understand the many challenges as well as the rich resources in this unique environment.

I work to meet students ""where they are"" by communicating transparency, respect, and acceptance as we address your goals and needs. I strive to provide a safe space where you can explore and process your concerns as well as develop skills to cope with your distress and grow in confidence and self-awareness. I value helping you identify and affirm your intersecting identities as well as the impact of social and cultural context on your well-being.

I work from an integrative perspective, drawing from relational, cognitive, acceptance-based, and psychodynamic approaches while utilizing a feminist, multicultural lens that values social justice. I believe we grow by walking toward rather than away from difficulties, but by doing so together. "

I have experience working with a broad range of concerns common to college students, but I have special interest in working with graduate students, women, LGBTQIA+ students and international students on issues related to identity development, grief and loss, trauma recovery, and increasing a sense of connection and belonging. In addition to my clinical role at the UCC, I coordinate doctoral and master's level internship training programs that bring professional students from all over the country and the world to receive training from UCC staff and provide service to ND students.

South Bend has become my adopted home and I am known to be a strong promoter of the growing food culture, arts venues, and parks in the area as well as the proximity to Lake Michigan, which is my true happy place. I also enjoy music, theatre, and a good farmers market. My partner and I can be found most days walking our dog, wandering a bookstore or coffee shop or - let's face it - at Target.