Halfway through her one-year postdoctoral fellowship in Disability Services and Programs (DSP) and Student Counseling, Rachel Sing-Kat Ting says she enjoys working with USC’s diverse population of students.
As a fellow, Ting splits her time between counseling students and doing psychoeducational assessment for students with disabilities, as part of a special program for fellows with a subspecialty in disabilities. The assessments are offered for a limited number of students, on a first-come, first-served basis.
“I run between two offices,” Ting says. “I do intake and individual counseling, and I provide group counseling as well. I also run Living Zen and Wellness, a support group for students who want to learn meditation, relaxation and stress management.”
Last semester, Ting helped form a support group for students with Asperger’s syndrome and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to teach social interaction skills. Ting believes the group has been quite successful. “The students felt left out and alone on campus, but this gives them a chance to see other people like them and help each other grow.”
Ting particularly enjoys the psychoeducational assessment she does through DSP and Student Counseling. The testing determines if students have learning disabilities but Ting says the challenge is finding tests that aren’t culturally biased.
“We try to come up with cultural-free testing tools,” Ting explains. In order to open assessment up to students who are not native English speakers, Ting ensures that “students don’t have to respond in English because we use non-verbal methods. I try to compile acceptable tests and find unbiased tests.”
When her fellowship ends, Ting plans to train the new generation of psychologists in Asia. “Psychology is a young profession in Asia. There’s a huge need. I supervise counseling centers in Malaysia and China and participate in conference calls with them every night to help train psychologists.”
“Ting is part of a new wave of psychologists who think globally—she was the first postdoctoral fellow at USC who has researched psychoeducational assessment for students who speak English as a second language,” says Patricia Tobey, associate dean of students for Academic Support. “The work she does internationally and the research she’s developed here can be used in a multitude of settings.”
Ting received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Taiwan University, a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Wheaton College in Illinois and a doctorate in clinical psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena.
When she isn’t testing or counseling students, Ting enjoys playing the piano, traveling, hiking and watching movies.
Originally posted at http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/whats_happening/spotlight/rachel_ting.html