I taught my first psychology class in 2010, but I started teaching much earlier. Prior to my mental health career, I was a personal trainer and taught my individual and group clients, I trained new trainers, I gave presentations to the public, and wrote articles (both as a freelance journalist and I had my own column in a local DC newspaper).
Over the years, I have been a full-time and adjunct professor, but now, my teaching bug is expressed through presentations to the public and to other healthcare professionals, articles, and videos.
In addition to teaching, my other form of connecting with the community is through weddings. I am a certified officiant and love to provide this service!
Presentations
I am available for in-person and virtual presentations and workshops. Potential topics include
- Assessment of autistic adults
- Cross-neurotype relationships
- Relationships (romantic/family/organizational)
- Gastrointestinal issues and quality of life
- Military/Veterans
- Creativity/Art/Aesthetics and psychology
- Strategic/effective use of storytelling
- Psychological competencies needed for certain workplaces (such as, juggling self-care at the same time as building rapport with clients when working as a hair stylist)
- Translating psychological concepts in fun ways (such as, pre-talks or talk-backs for plays/musicals)
- Presentations about presenting
- Keynotes
Lastly, I have a lifelong dream of being invited to psychology conferences to provide comic relief — I envision it being either a 1pm or 5pm slot, when people are wiped out either because of lunch or because of a long day of workshops. I do a 30 minute skit that shows the funny side of the work that we do. I’ve never seen a conference offer this, but if you are a conference organizer and this sounds intriguing to you, drop me a note!
Articles
Little Things from Dr. Dug include articles on a variety of topics, including General Wellness, GI Health Psychology, Hypnotherapy, and Assessments.
Videos
Creative Psychology with Dr. Dug is a YouTube channel that provides content about psychological topics. You can also watch a selection of videos on the Videos page.
Weddings
I am certified* to officiate weddings and have to say that this is amongst my most favorite type of work to do!
There is something about not only love, but also about the potential for the future of this relationship. I am so honored to be able to play a part in this new beginning and help build a strong foundation for the couple to build upon.
As a board-certified Couple and Family Psychologist, I bring a unique strength to officiating. When I interview the partners, not only is it easy for me to build rapport and comfort with them, but I also am skilled at knowing the best types of questions to ask in order to help make sure that the desired story is shared with the couple’s loved ones.
Read more
The wedding planning process can be overwhelming. Vendor after vendor is asking what you want and how you want it. When you ask them for their suggestions, they will either push that back onto you — “It’s your special day, so you should do what you want” — or they may suggest the most expensive options. All of that decision-making can put anyone into overload!
Working with your officiant should not contribute to the stress. Clients have told me that the interview helps them to re-focus on what is really important, they feel validated about the choices that they have made, and they are confident that the ceremony itself will go just how they envisioned.
As the officiant, I act as the MC of the ceremony itself — setting the emotional/energy tone, herding the cats, relaying expectations to the attendees (e.g., no pictures during the ceremony), and instructing them what to do after the ceremony. I pride myself on making sure that the “feel” of the ceremony is just right — whether you want dreamily romantic, tearfully sappy, comedic, celebration, or serious.
I am also available to provide Pre-Marital Aligning. I don’t like to call this counseling because instead of working on problems, we start the process of creating accurate and shared expectations for the future, you learn how to negotiate/navigate how the “we” life will proceed, and we open up a line of communication about the big picture that the partners are building toward. Rather than thinking of this as a way to shore up problems, I think of this as an intentional aligning of hopes, perceptions, and hearts to help strengthen the foundation upon which to build your future together.
The cost of officiating depends on distance, number of services, and complexity. In order to give you a ballpark idea, though, when I officiate a local wedding (within the Charlotte metro area) and the ceremony lasts 30 minutes, the fee is $300. The fee for Pre-Marital Aligning is $100/hour.
I can’t wait to celebrate the start of your new life together!
*The Provenance Center for Ordination.
Test and Earn Money!
I have an ongoing and eternal need for folks who are interested in psychology (like you!) and would also like to make some money while helping to advance psychological assessment tools. Read more about Research.
Can I see you in your state?
Dr. Dug holds PSYPACT authority, so she can work virtually with clients in 45+ participating states plus Hawaii.
Check whether your state participates
In-person appointments are available at the Mooresville, NC office.
