I’m Misty. I was raised in the Midwest but have lived in several other states since, including Texas, Indiana, Florida and am newly settled in New Hampshire. I also lived in Norway for a semester while in college and highly recommend it!

I always wanted to be a psychologist. After a few false starts as to what kind, I found my home in Counseling Psychology. It's given me a foundation for my counseling (with a specialty in family systems) as well as an academic focus for my teaching. Psychology is an underutilized discipline, so one goal for my writing is showing how it can be used to better understand and improve the world. It's the fundamental theme in almost every one of my pieces, from pop culture analysis and “Dear Dr. Hook” Q&As to current events and political experiences.

In addition to being a doctor (and yes, I’m aware of the Dr. Hook band even though they were before my time), I’m also a wife, mother, political junkie, and author.

I have chapters in several books in the Smart Pop series from Benbella Books, including books on The Simpsons, Alias, Veronica Mars, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The most popular one is a chapter on the power of grief in The Psychology of Harry Potter. For the more academically inclined, I have a chapter about the role of families in addiction in the Foundations of Addictions Counseling. FYI: if you’re thinking I made a killing by writing a chapter in a textbook (for 3 editions), let me disabuse you of that notion. I wasn’t paid anything for the privilege. Yay academia!