Instructor: Nicholas A. Pierorazio, MA
Nicholas A. Pierorazio, MA, is a PhD candidate in clinical psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He graduated with his MA in clinical psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2025. His research and clinical interests focus on psychological trauma, oppression-based stress, dissociation, and their treatment. He emphasizes qualitative and mixed-methods approaches to research these areas. He has co-authored 16 peer-reviewed articles and 6 book chapters on trauma, dissociation, psychotherapy, and qualitative research methods. He has also provided multiple presentations on these topics internationally. To highlight, his work has introduced the dissociation-responsive therapy model and they have contributed to research on the Finding Solid Ground program. Nicholas previously worked as a mental health worker at Sheppard Pratt Health System’s Trauma Disorders Program, where he served on an interdisciplinary team in a specialized inpatient unit for individuals with severe trauma-related and dissociative disorders. He has also provided psychotherapy in university counseling center, private practice, and community mental health settings, and has taught and lectured in undergraduate and graduate courses. His clinical and scholarly work is grounded in a scientist-practitioner-activist framework. He is an active member of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) as well as other professional organizations, like the American Psychological Association (APA). They currently serve on ISSTD’s scientific committee. His honors include the ISSTD Outstanding Student Award, the ISSTD Pierre Janet Writing Award, and the University of Massachusetts Boston Clinical Psychology Master’s Thesis Book Award.

Instructor: Heidi M. Levitt, PhD
Heidi M. Levitt, PhD (she/her) is a Professor in the Clinical Psychology program within the Department of Psychology at The University of Massachusetts Boston.  She graduated from the clinical psychology program at York University in 1998.  She is Editor-in-Chief of Qualitative Psychology and has been an Associate Editor for Psychotherapy Research. She is a past-president of the Society of Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology (SQIP), section of Division 5 of the American Psychological Association (APA; Quantitative and Qualitative Methods). She has contributed 202 publications to the field, including 3 books, 136 articles, 56 chapters, & 7 editorials.  She has written books on qualitative reporting standards and on critical-constructivist grounded theory methods and has a forthcoming book that presents an LGBTQ+ inclusive empirically-based model of gender.   She has conducted trainings and workshops in North American, Europe, South America and Asia.  Her research has focused on LGBTQ+ gender, interventions for sexual and gender-related stigma experiences, and psychotherapy research on the experience of clients and on the intentionality and decision-making of therapists.  Within the American Psychological Association (APA), she has been awarded Fellow status in four Divisions: Division 5 [Quantitative and Qualitative Methods], Division 29 [Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy], Division 32 [Society of Humanistic Psychology], and Division 44 [Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity] in recognition of "outstanding contributions" in these areas.  She received the Carl Rogers Heritage Award, given to an individual for an outstanding contribution to the theory and practice of humanistic psychology, from the APA’s Division 32. In 2020, she received the University of Massachusetts Boston Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Scholarship as well as the Distinguished Contributions in Qualitative Inquiry Award from APA Division 5, which honors an individual with a "distinguished history of scientific contributions within the field of qualitative research methods."