Christine E. Dickson

Last updated
Christine E. Dickson
Christine E. Dickson, PhD.png
Born
Plainfield, New Jersey
Education Rutgers University (B.A.)

Kean College of New Jersey (M.A.)

California School of Professional Psychology (M.S. / Ph.D.)
Known for mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
Website https://christinedickson.com/

Christine E. Dickson is an American clinical psychologist. For over 20 years, she has specialized in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. She is best known for being a psychotherapist in California [1] [2] [3] [4] and appearing as a featured guest on Tri-Valley Community Television (TV30) where she provides self-help advice on topics such as mindfulness, work-family balance, marital happiness, compassion, trauma recovery, and more. [5] [6] [7] [8] Her psychotherapy practice is located in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Contents

Education

Dickson received her B.A. with honors in Psychology and English Literature from Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey in 1996, her M.A. with highest distinction in Human Behavior and Organizational Psychology from Kean College of New Jersey in 1998, and a Dual PhD in Clinical Psychology and Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in 2003. [9] Between 2003 - 2007, Dickson presented portions of her doctoral dissertation on employee perceptions of family responsibilities discrimination at 17 national [10] [11] [12] and international conferences including the II International Work and Family Conference at IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. [8]

Career

In 2004, after obtaining her California license to practice as a clinical psychologist, [13] Dickson worked for Wells Fargo Corporate Headquarters in San Francisco. At this job, she helped employees recover from trauma after bank robberies and coached managers to effectively respond to critical incidents in the workplace such as employee deaths, bomb threats, robberies, and employee violence. [14] After Wells Fargo, she went on to work at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation where she helped male and female clients recover from their childhood trauma, and the traumas they created for themselves and others as a result of their crimes. [15]

Dickson left the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in 2011 and went on to open her own private practice in Pleasanton where she helps pre-teens, teenagers, and adults. [15] She also provides critical incident stress debriefing and trauma recovery counseling to Alameda County Police, BART Police and AC Transit employees.[ citation needed ]

Currently, Dickson is a psychotherapist who works online and in person providing individual therapy, couples counseling, and executive coaching. Dickson also focuses on corporate work, more specifically the business and legal cases for workplace flexibility. [16]

Dickson also has a blog where she has posted over 100 self-help articles. [15] In 2015, Dickson trained executives on improving their Emotional Intelligence, by guest lecturing at the University of Southern California (USC), Price School of Public Policy, Masters of Executive Leadership Program. [15] One interest Dickson has is women's rights in the workplace. Dickson was an activist with 9to5, National Association of Working Women in 2007 and spoke with members of the California State Legislature in support of Senate Bill 836, which planned to amend the California Fair Employment and Housing Act to prohibit employment discrimination based on a worker's familial status. [17] At the California State Capitol she spoke to the legislature about her research on employment discrimination against working mothers and fathers. [15]

Published work

Dickson's doctoral dissertation entitled, "Antecedents and Consequences of Perceived Family Responsibilities Discrimination in the Workplace" completed in 2003 was published in a special work-life edition of the Psychologist Manager Journal in 2008. Her study was the first to measure family responsibilities discrimination (FRD) and to test a model of the antecedents and consequences of FRD. [18] [19] Dickson's research revealed how employee perceptions of discrimination based on their family responsibilities (childcare, eldercare, or the care of an ill spouse or relative) had negative outcomes for the companies bottom-line. She also showed how companies can prevent family responsibilities discrimination (FRD) by creating family supportive workplace cultures, training supervisors to be supportive of employees' personal and family responsibilities, and by providing flexible work schedules and childcare supports. [18] [20]

In 2007, Dickson published a paper, titled "Avoiding family responsibilities discrimination: EAPs can help employers understand and mitigate the risks of discrimination against workers with family responsibilities," in a special edition of the Journal of Employee Assistance. [21] Dickson wrote about how Employee Assistance Programs can help employers mitigate the risk of Family Responsibilities Discrimination (FRD) at work. [22] She stated that the increase in FRD poses a risk to employers because it can decrease employee productivity and increase litigation. Dickson stated that no federal law prohibits workplace discrimination against employees with family responsibilities. At the end of her article she provided practical strategies to decrease employee perceptions of FRD at work such as increasing the number of Employee Assistance Programs (EAP).

In 2014, Dickson published an article on workplace flexibility entitled "Negotiating a Flexible Work Schedule]." [23] [24] In her article, Dickson states, "People more than ever want flexibility. [25] It is my hope that employees will start demanding flexibility as a condition of employment. This article provides practical tips and suggestions for employees and job seekers on how to negotiate a flexible work schedule." Her article explains that if schedules are more flexible, employees will be more motivated to perform. [16] She then concludes her article by explaining how to negotiate a flexible work schedule. [16]

Early life

Dickson was raised in Middlesex, New Jersey, a small working class community 30 miles west of New York City. Her mother was a homemaker and her father was a chemist. She is the eldest of two children and is of English, Irish, German and Polish descent. Dickson attended the Middlesex Bible Chapel, a non-denominational Christian church from age 5 to 16. When she was 9 years old, her neighbors and close family friends who also attended the Middlesex Bible Chapel were murdered when an explosive gasoline fueled pipe bomb, disguised as a package was delivered to their home and detonated. No motive was found for the crime and the homicides are considered a cold case. [26] [27] [28] [29] For several months following the bombing, Dickson and her family were under FBI protection due to safety concerns and their home phone was wiretapped for 3 years. Dickson's father started and administered a fund to provide financial support to the victim's children. [30]

Personal life

Dickson is a lifelong vegetarian. [31] She resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Related Research Articles

Industrial and organizational psychology "focuses the lens of psychological science on a key aspect of human life, namely, their work lives. In general, the goals of I-O psychology are to better understand and optimize the effectiveness, health, and well-being of both individuals and organizations." It is an applied discipline within psychology and is an international profession. I-O psychology is also known as occupational psychology in the United Kingdom, organisational psychology in Australia and New Zealand, and work and organizational (WO) psychology throughout Europe and Brazil. Industrial, work, and organizational (IWO) psychology is the broader, more global term for the science and profession.

Flextime is a flexible hours schedule that allows workers to alter their workday and adjust their start and finish times. In contrast to traditional work arrangements that require employees to work a standard 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. day, Flextime typically involves a "core" period of the day during which employees are required to be at work, and a "bandwidth" period within which all required hours must be worked. The working day outside of the core period is "flexible time", in which employees can choose when they work, subject to achieving total daily, weekly or monthly hours within the bandwidth period set by employers, and subject to the necessary work being done. The total working time required of employees on an approved Flextime schedule is much the same as those who work under traditional work schedule regimes.

Pregnancy discrimination is a type of employment discrimination that occurs when expectant women are fired, not hired, or otherwise discriminated against due to their pregnancy or intention to become pregnant. Common forms of pregnancy discrimination include not being hired due to visible pregnancy or likelihood of becoming pregnant, being fired after informing an employer of one's pregnancy, being fired after maternity leave, and receiving a pay dock due to pregnancy. Pregnancy discrimination may also take the form of denying reasonable accommodations to workers based on pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions. Pregnancy discrimination has also been examined to have an indirect relationship with the decline of a mother's physical and mental health. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women prohibits dismissal on the grounds of maternity or pregnancy and ensures right to maternity leave or comparable social benefits. The Maternity Protection Convention C 183 proclaims adequate protection for pregnancy as well. Though women have some protection in the United States because of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, it has not completely curbed the incidence of pregnancy discrimination. The Equal Rights Amendment could ensure more robust sex equality ensuring that women and men could both work and have children at the same time.

An employee assistance program in the United States generally offers free and confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals, and follow-up services for employees. EAP counselors may also work in a consultative role with managers and supervisors to address employee and organizational challenges and needs. Many corporations, academic institution and/or government agencies are active in helping organizations prevent and cope with workplace violence, trauma, and other emergency response situations. There is a variety of support programs offered for employees. Even though EAPs are mainly aimed at work-related issues, there are a variety of programs that can assist with problems outside of the workplace. EAPs have grown in popularity over the years.

The gender pay gap in the United States is a measure comparing the earnings of men and women in the workforce. The average female annual earnings is around 80% of the average male's. When variables such as hours worked, occupations chosen, and education and job experience are controlled for, the gap diminishes with females earning 95% as much as males. The exact figure varies because different organizations use different methodologies to calculate the gap. The gap varies depending on industry and is influenced by factors such as race and age. The causes of the gender pay gap are debated, but popular explanations include the "motherhood penalty," hours worked, occupation chosen, willingness to negotiate salary, and gender bias.

Maria P. P. Root is a clinical psychologist, educator, and public speaker based in Seattle, Washington. Her areas of work include multiracial families, multiracial identity, cultural competence, trauma, workplace harassment, and disordered eating. She is an international authority on mixed heritage identity, credited with publishing the first contemporary work on mixed-race people. She has presented lectures and training in various countries, both in and outside of academia.

Work–family conflict occurs when an individual experiences incompatible demands between work and family roles, causing participation in both roles to become more difficult. This imbalance creates conflict at the work-life interface. It is important for organizations and individuals to understand the implications linked to work-family conflict. In certain cases, work–family conflict has been associated with increased occupational burnout, job stress, decreased health, and issues pertaining to organizational commitment and job performance.

Workplace deviance, in group psychology, may be described as the deliberate desire to cause harm to an organization – more specifically, a workplace. The concept has become an instrumental component in the field of organizational communication. More accurately, it can be seen as "voluntary behavior that violates institutionalized norms and in doing so threatens the well-being of the organization".

Despite a large body of positive psychological research into the relationship between happiness and productivity, happiness at work has traditionally been seen as a potential by-product of positive outcomes at work, rather than a pathway to business success. Happiness in the workplace is usually dependent on the work environment. During the past two decades, maintaining a level of happiness at work has become more significant and relevant due to the intensification of work caused by economic uncertainty and increase in competition. Nowadays, happiness is viewed by a growing number of scholars and senior executives as one of the major sources of positive outcomes in the workplace. In fact, companies with higher than average employee happiness exhibit better financial performance and customer satisfaction. It is thus beneficial for companies to create and maintain positive work environments and leadership that will contribute to the happiness of their employees.

Workplace incivility has been defined as low-intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm the target. Uncivil behaviors are characteristically rude and discourteous, displaying a lack of regard for others. The authors hypothesize there is an "incivility spiral" in the workplace made worse by "asymmetric global interaction". Incivility is distinct from aggression. The reduction of workplace incivility is an area for industrial and organizational psychology research.

Workplace harassment is the belittling or threatening behavior directed at an individual worker or a group of workers.

<i>Blakey v. Continental Airlines, Inc.</i>

Blakey v. Continental Airlines, 992 F.Supp. 731 and 164 N.J. 38 (2000), is a case concerning whether an employer must be held liable for harassment that can potentially occur on an internal internet bulletin board. The plaintiff brought action under the federal district court for claiming a hostile work environment sexual harassment under Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964 and New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD). Concurrently, the plaintiff brought action under the New Jersey state court alleging that employer was liable for hostile work environment arising from allegedly defamatory statements. While the case began as a sexual harassment lawsuit, the unusual circumstances involving the piloting forum where much of the harassment took place forced the courts to explore important questions concerning liabilities for content posted in a decentralized, electronic manner as is frequently the case on the internet.

Employee motivation is an intrinsic and internal drive to put forth the necessary effort and action towards work-related activities. It has been broadly defined as the "psychological forces that determine the direction of a person's behavior in an organisation, a person's level of effort and a person's level of persistence". Also, "Motivation can be thought of as the willingness to expend energy to achieve a goal or a reward. Motivation at work has been defined as 'the sum of the processes that influence the arousal, direction, and maintenance of behaviors relevant to work settings'." Motivated employees are essential to the success of an organization as motivated employees are generally more productive at the work place.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) is an Australian Government statutory agency responsible for promoting and improving gender equality in Australian workplaces. The agency was created by the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 and provides employers with advice, practical tools, and education to help them improve gender equality. The Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 was enacted by an amendment to the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999, that changed its name to the Workplace Gender Equality Act and correspondingly changed the name of the Equality Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency is part of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

The maternal wall is a term referring to stereotypes and various forms of discrimination encountered by working mothers and mothers seeking employment. Women hit the maternal wall when they encounter workplace discrimination because of past, present, or future pregnancies or because they have taken one or more maternity leaves. Women may also be discriminated against when they opt for part-time or flexible work schedules. Maternal wall discrimination is not limited to childcare responsibilities. Both men and women with caregiving responsibilities, such as taking care of a sick parents or spouse, may also result in maternal wall discrimination. As such, maternal wall discrimination is also described as family responsibilities discrimination. Research suggests that the maternal wall is cemented by employer stereotypes and gender expectations.

Abusive supervision is most commonly studied in the context of the workplace, although it can arise in other areas such as in the household and at school. Abusive supervision has been investigated as major cause of negative outcomes in managing employees. Studies have been conducted to investigate the link between abusive supervision and different workplace events.

Warren Shepell is a Canadian psychologist and human resources consultant who advocated for and founded companies which provided employee assistance programs (EAPs) in Canadian workplaces.

A flexible work arrangement (FWA) empowers an employee to choose what time they begin to work, where to work, and when they will stop work. The idea is to help manage work-life balance and benefits of FWA can include reduced employee stress and increased overall job satisfaction. On the contrary, some refrain from using their FWA as they fear the lack of visibility can negatively affect their career. Overall, this type of arrangement has a positive effect on incompatible work/family responsibilities, which can be seen as work affecting family responsibilities or family affecting work responsibilities. FWA is also helpful to those who have a medical condition or an intensive care-giving responsibility, where without FWA, part-time work would be the only option.

Chelsey Glasson is an American user researcher, author, and workers' rights advocate. She sued Google, her former employer, for pregnancy discrimination, which ended in an undisclosed settlement after two years of litigation. She has successfully lobbied for pregnancy anti-discrimination and labor rights laws in Washington State. Her memoir, Black Box: A Pregnancy Discrimination Memoir, was published in 2023. She enrolled in law school in 2024.

Family Responsibilities Discrimination (FRD), also known as caregiver discrimination, is a form of employment discrimination toward workers who have caregiving responsibilities. Some examples of caregiver discrimination include changing an employee's schedule to conflict with their caregiving responsibilities, refusing to promote an employee, or refusing to hire an applicant.

References

  1. ↑ "Health and Wellness Seminars". 2012-01-12.
  2. ↑ "Creating a happier, healthier you".
  3. ↑ "Local Wellness Experts You Should Know (pt. 3)". 2012-12-31.
  4. ↑ "The Independent" (PDF). independentnews.com. April 19, 2012. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  5. ↑ "Champions for Wellness". 2012-05-28.
  6. ↑ "Video". vimeo.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  7. ↑ "Video". vimeo.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  8. 1 2 "Christine Dickson, PhD: Conference Presentations".
  9. ↑ "Christine Dickson, PhD: Professional Background".
  10. ↑ "Division 14 (SIOP) Program for the 2007 APA Convention in San Francisco, CA - PDF".
  11. ↑ "Work Life Conference brochure" (PDF). www.conference-board.org. 2008. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  12. ↑ Dickson, Christine. "Individual-Organizational Health: Integrating Health Into Work-Nonwork Research and Practice". Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology. Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Inc. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  13. ↑ "Dr. Christine Dickson: Pleasanton Clinical Psychologist, Psychologist, Pleasanton, CA, 94566".
  14. ↑ "Christine Dickson, PhD: Professional Background".
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 The Blog of Psychologist, Dr. Christine E. Dickson. (2023). Christine Dickson, Ph.D. Retrieved from
  16. 1 2 3 Dickson, C. E. (2014). Negotiating a Flexible Working Schedule. Retrieved from
  17. ↑ "Info". leginfo.ca.gov. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  18. 1 2 Dickson, Christine E. (2008). "Antecedents and consequences of perceived family responsibilities discrimination in the workplace". The Psychologist-Manager Journal. 11: 113–140. doi:10.1080/10887150801967399.
  19. ↑ Dickson, Christine E. (2008). "Antecedents and Consequences of Perceived Family Responsibilities Discrimination in the Workplace". Psychologist-Manager Journal. 11: 113–140. doi:10.1080/10887150801967399.
  20. ↑ "Christine Dickson, PhD: Publications & Research".
  21. ↑ "Avoiding Family Responsibilities Discrimination: EAPs Can Help Employers Understand and Mitigate the Risks of Discrimination against Workers with Family Responsibilities - the Journal of Employee Assistance | HighBeam Research". Archived from the original on 2016-09-10.
  22. ↑ Dickson, C. E. (2007). Avoiding family responsibilities discrimination: EAPs can help employers understand and mitigate the risks of discrimination against workers with family responsibilities. The Journal of Employee Assistance, 37(2), 16+. Retrieved from
  23. ↑ "Negotiating a Flexible Work Schedule".
  24. ↑ Dickson, Christine. "Negotiating a Flexible Work Schedule". Local Job Network Radio. Infosoft Group, Inc. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  25. ↑ "Employment Notebook - Negotiating a Flexible Work Schedule".
  26. ↑ Russell, Suzanne. "Middlesex Cold Case: Who sent the explosive device that killed Andrew and Patricia Puskas in 1982?". My Central New Jersey. Bridgewater Courier News. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  27. ↑ Hanley, Robert (27 February 1982). "BOMB THAT KILLED COUPLE IN JERSEY WAS ADDRESSED TO VICTIM (27 Feb 1982)". New York Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  28. ↑ Tomlinson, Gerald (May 1, 1994). Murdered in New Jersey: "51 Bomb Blast in Middlesex" (Expanded ed.). New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. p. 256. ISBN   0813520789.
  29. ↑ Martinelli, Patricia A. (August 7, 2007). True Crime: New Jersey: The State's Most Notorious Criminal Cases. New Jersey: Stackpole Books. p. 128. ISBN   978-0811734288.
  30. ↑ Perone, Joseph. "Explosion leaves empty place...overflowing with love, memories (25 Feb 1983)". newspaper.com. The Courier News. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  31. ↑ Dickson, Christine (10 February 2017). "Reflections of a Lifelong Vegetarian". LinkedIn Pulse. Retrieved 10 February 2017.

Bibliography

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