psychologist • musician • writer
Curriculum Vitae Excerpts
Formal Education
Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA
B.A., Music, 5/2017
Ball State University, Muncie, IN
Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, 12/1999
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
M.S.Ed., Psychological Services in Education, 8/1991
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
B.S., Communication Arts, 5/1987
Life Defining Career Experiences
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I believe all our career experiences impact who we are becoming. We gravitate toward things we enjoy, things we’re good at, things we feel called to do. Here are some of my life-defining-career-highlights:
Licensed Psychologist, Torrance State Hospital, Torrance, PA, 2012-2014
I never thought I would work in a psychiatric hospital. And then I did. And it turned out be the most life-altering experience of my career-to-date.
At Torrance, I worked individually and in groups with people who were acutely suicidal and self-destructive. It was a privilege to meet people on their journeys through the dark night of the soul and help them heal from trauma and regain hope for life. I also worked with patients on a “dementia” ward who had lived long portions of their lives in the hospital, having “lost their minds.” Through profound spiritual experiences with patients and fellow staff members, I learned that there is much more than meets the eye when it comes to “dementia.” Conversations with unseen others have meaning and purpose.
Torrance was a turning point for me on the road to my psychologist-musician integration. I started a group called “Learning Community” with patients on the dementia ward to help stimulate memory and cognitive abilities. As I was learning Music Theory myself, I, with the help of a psychology intern who was also a musician, taught Music Theory concepts to patients. We smiled as we saw minds re-awaken as patients became students. I also discovered that starting a patient choir, “The Torrance Tones” could be a fun way to help seemingly hopeless, wanting-to-die-and-withdraw-from-the-world-patients experience a sense of purpose and joy.
Associate Professor, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL 2002-2009
As a professor in the School, Community, and Clinical Counseling Programs, I was able to take things I had learned from my experience as a School Counselor, and as a Psychologist, and share them with others. I taught Foundations of School Counseling, Management of School Counseling Programs, Group Counseling, Cross Cultural Counseling, Counseling Practicum, School Counseling Internship.
In Cross Cultural Counseling, we became aware of and challenged our assumptions and biases regarding those who were “different” from us in any way -- race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic status, age, able-ness. (I experienced my own cross-cultural growth as a New Yorker-in-the-rural-Midwest.) I was also afforded the opportunity to design a new class: Creative Approaches to Counseling. Here we learned about and experienced the power of writing-as-therapy, art therapy, psychodrama, music and dance. Yes, we danced in class!
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When not teaching, I could be found engaging in my own self-therapy—playing guitar and singing out my joy and pain at Open Mic Nite at Jackson Avenue Coffee Shop, or at The Station where my id-self/alter ego “Luna” helped me work through life changes via karaoke therapy. Charleston, Illinois holds a special place in my heart-I faced my demons there…I fell apart and
experienced the dark night of the soul…I learned about love, friendship, family, and faith.
School Counselor, Stranahan Middle School,
Brooklyn, NY 1991-1994
My first job in the “psychology” field. Here I enjoyed traveling around to classrooms, teaching students about career development and helping them figure out their passions and skills. I also got my start in doing group and family counseling.
City kids are streetwise and I learned so much from them. Because the school had limited funding and did not have a chorus director, I volunteered to start an acappella group with the students, calling them the “Stranahan Soul Singers” and having them perform in the annual concert. We sang the version of “Lean on Me” (Bill Withers) that I had learned with my own college acappella group, The Touchtones. I still have a rehearsal recording of the Stranahan Soul Singers on a cassette tape. 😊
Whether working in a hospital, a university, a public school, a counseling center or a community mental health center, the greatest lesson for me has been this: When we treat others with respect, kindness, compassion, and understanding, we help them to unleash their human potential. Love is the most powerful force.
Selected Publications & Presentations
Farber, N. (2020, August). Cognitive stimulation, music theory, and dementia treatment: A pilot study. Virtual poster and video presentation at the 128th annual
meeting of the American Psychological Association.
Farber, N. K. (2020, April 16). The one without the keys: A humanistic psychologist’s
evidence based reflections of being “on the other side”. The Humanistic Psychologist. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/hum0000179
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Farber, N. (2019, September). Suicidology and the human condition: Let’s talk about it. Keynotes speaker presentation at the Youth Suicide Awareness Conference sponsored by the Lebanon County Suicide Prevention Task Force, Lebanon, PA.
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Farber, N. (2019, June). Suicide prevention: Creative skills and tools to move clients toward hope, purpose and connection. Continuing education workshops presented for residential staff at The Bridge, New York, New York.
Farber, N., Tropiano, H., and Wahlund, T. (2013, July). Learning community: Exploring human potential in a state psychiatric hospital. Poster session accepted for presentation at the 21st annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Honolulu, HI.
Farber, N. (2009). Learning from each other: A cross-cultural dialogue between two counselor educators. ASCA School Counselor, 46(6) 56-61.
Farber, N.K. (2006). Conducting qualitative research: A practical guide for school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 9(5), 367-375.
Farber, N.K. (2004, June). Developing and conducting a needs assessment for your school. Breakout session presented at annual conference of the American School Counselor Association, Reno, Nevada.
Farber, N. K. (2000). “Trainees' attitudes toward seeking psychotherapy: Development and validation of a research instrument.” Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 37 (4), 341 –353.
Farber, N. K., Berg, L.A., Grove, M., Torruella, R. P., Wilkeson, D. (1999, August). Professional help seeking concerns among counseling psychologists-in-training. Paper presented at the 107th annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Continuing Education Workshops
Suicidal thoughts are normal. Most people experience suicidal ideation at some point in their lives. The primary reason that people contemplate suicide is because they don’t feel “a sense of belonging.”
Isolation
Meaninglessness
These are the primary themes of suicidal narratives…
Having worked professionally with many suicidal individuals, and through my own personal experience of being-on-the-other-side, I have learned how to help people through "the dark night of the soul." I currently have a continuing education workshop DVD available (recording of a live seminar) through the Professional Education Systems Institute (PESI). For more information on how to obtain this DVD for your own individual professional development, please visit the link at the PESI website.
https://healthcare.pesi.com/speaker/details/01623484/nancy-farber
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I continue to offer workshops on Spirituality and Suicide for mental health professionals. If you would like more information about these experiential workshops and would like to consider hosting one for your organization, please email me at dr.nancyfarber@gmail.com .
Cognitive Stimulation,
Music & Dementia
Learning to read, write, and play music requires use of ALL parts of the brain. Training in music has a positive impact on cognitive functioning and can prevent age-related decline.
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Research in Neuropsychology has shown the benefits of cognitive stimulation groups to improve memory, executive functioning and attention (Herholz et. al, 2013, Spector et. al, 2003, Streater et.al, 2016). Research has also found that musical training improves memory, language processing, and executive functioning (Clayton et. al, 2016; Curtis and Fallin, 2014; Holochwost et. al., 2017, Pearce and Christiansen, 2012) and that music, especially its active use, can help with memory in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer’s type (Palisson et. al., 2015; Samson et. al 2009; Sarkamo et. al., 2014).
I work with individuals with memory impairment due to a variety of causes, including traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular accident (stroke), dementia of the Alzheimer’s type, and dementia brought on by stress or depression. In my approach, I combine cognitive stimulation with music by teaching individuals or groups music theory concepts. In my applied research so far, I have found that learning music theory is not only fun and stimulating, but can potentially improve working memory. I strive to make learning fun and inspire people to see as one patient with dementia noted -- “It’s never too late to learn something new!”
If you would like to learn more about this, please contact me or stay tuned for more information about the Centre for Music and Mental Health.
Private Practice
I work as a psychotherapist with individuals, couples, and families. I see clients in Hershey and Palmyra, PA. I work mostly with people who are experiencing meaning of life and isolation challenges, issues of sexual identity development, grief and loss, spiritual concerns, feelings of marginalization, relationship issues, and dementia.
I specialize in using creative approaches--writing, music, art, psychodrama--to help individuals address inner conflicts and overcome fears.
VESSEL:
Book & Song
I have written a book about overcoming the fears we all face as human beings: death, responsibility, meaninglessness, and isolation. (Yalom, 1980). It is a story-in-real-time in which I invite you to travel with me through a year in my life as I use myself as a model through psychotherapy "sessions" with my therapist self.
VESSEL is now available for purchase on Amazon! A link to a recording of an original song is included with the book.
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Click here to hear a short sample of the original song, "Vessel."