Travis Pashak

@profpash.bsky.social

804 Followers 1270 Following

clinical psych phd, prof at svsu, therapist here to learn! clinical / counseling / community psych, existentialism, psychodynamics, ontology, undergrad mentorship, being ok at teaching, social justice, metalcore, pizza, millennial michigander dad stuff

Info flier about today’s event at the Sage Branch of the Bay County Library System (Bay City, Michigan, USA). Event title is “What Exactly *Is* A Mental Disorder?” Flier explains that I’ll discuss mental health, the definition of “disorder,” how society tends to interpret mental health issues, and how we can helpfully respond. Program series is called “Food For Thought” as the patrons get a light lunch.
sketch of a reptile, lookin’ hecka sus
sketch options for item #100 of the PPVT which are four different animals
Photo of my legs. In jeans. Because denim day.
Photo of a card in the design of a Pokemon card, featuring Sigmund Freud. Attacks are “Psychoanalyze” for 40 hit points and “Dream Interpretation” for 100 hit points. Weakness is “Resistance.” Character has 100HP and is a psychic Pokemon.
Shot of the screen during the MPA awards presentation, showing William Chopick from MSU being named recipient of the Mid-Career Excellence in Mentoring Award.
Back end of a hearse, licenses plate says “URNEXT6”
Program entry reads as follows: "Levels of Labels: Conceptual Clarity in Community, Counseling, & Clinical Psychology" by Travis Pashak, Saginaw Valley State University; Judith Zatkin, Bemidji State University Abstract: How can undergraduates deeply understand meanings of important and sensitive concepts like “mental disorder,” “sexual violence,” “substance abuse,” and more, especially when often personally relevant? Rather than adopt rigidly sterile definitional frameworks, we encourage an experiential, empathic, and empowering pedagogy. Join our roundtable to exchange teaching ideas and learn more!
Program entry reads as follows: "Are Dark Personality Traits Related to Belief in Astrology?" by Maia Clynick, Saginaw Valley State University; Chalea Herron, Saginaw 381 Valley State University; Keri Maricle, Oakland University This study explores the relationship between dark personality traits and belief in astrology. College students will complete a survey assessing their demographics, birthdate (for zodiac signs), dark personality traits, and belief in astrology. Results will help determine potential associations that may exist between dark personality traits and belief in astrology.
Program entry reads as follows: "Learning my disorder isn’t real: Critical pedagogy in abnormal psychology" by Isaac Zamora-Ayres, Saginaw Valley State University; Audrey Weiss, Saginaw Valley State University; Rachel Peterhans, Saginaw Valley State University; Isabelle Branch, Saginaw Valley State University; Paige Carstensen, Saginaw Valley State University (Dr. Travis Pashak, Faculty Sponsor)
Flier for the No Kings / Stand Up For Science event tomorrow (Saturday March 27th, 2026, starting at 1:30pm Eastern). Event is online over Zoom for accessibility for all.
Opening slide of a presentation titled "Assets & Angst: College Students' Campus Resources and Existential Concerns" by Paige Carstensen, Isabelle Branch, Isaac Zamora-Ayres, Audrey Weiss, Rachel Peterhans, and Travis Pashak. Presented 3/27/2026 at the Michigan Academy of Arts, Sciences, and Letters. Authors from Saginaw Valley State University.
Image of a poster titled "Learning my disorder isn’t real: Critical pedagogy and existential meaning in abnormal psychology" by Isaac Zamora-Ayres and Travis Pashak, presented at the 2026 virtual meeting of the International Society for the Study of Existential Psychology. Text displays details of a mixed-methods study on employing critical pedagogy in an undergraduate psychopathology course, featuring findings that students perspectives do appear to become less biogenetically-essentialist as a result of readings on the reification fallacy, nominal fallacy, and other materials which emphasize a psycho-social-cultural and existential/dynamic perspective on mental health.
Recruitment flier for Makiya Tunstull's study titled "Denied, Delayed, Dismissed: The Crisis of Black Mental Health Access." Notes that eligible participants must be 18 or older, identify as a Black American, and have experience with seeking or receiving mental health services. Study consists of a brief survey and possible invitation for a 60-minute interview session. All procedures confidential and voluntary. Makiya's email address is mtunstull@mail.roosevelt.edu.
Social psychologist and co-developer of Terror Management Theory, Jeff Greenberg, and I (Travis Pashak) chatting at the 2025 ISSEP poster session. I'm making a stupidly excited face.
Cover of an ebook reads "Teaching Tips: A Compendium on Conference Presentations on Teaching, 2024-2025" from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology.
Image shows the cover of the book “How Thin The Veil: A Memoir of 45 Days in the Traverse City State Hospital” by Jack Kerkhoff.
Cartoon image of a pack of trading cards that says “Existentialist Trading Cards” and features faces of Sartre, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard.
Picture is the first page of a journal article. The article title is "A Case Study in the Development of Advising Resources for an Interdisciplinary Field: Introducing Michigan Mental Health Helping Professions." The article is in the journal Michigan Academician. The abstract text is as follows: "“How do I become a therapist?” This manuscript overviews a process of developing career guidance materials for aspiring mental health therapists, with the goal to serve as an illustrative case study in the curation of advising materials for other interdisciplinary fields. The newly built resource is called Michigan Mental Health Helping Professions (https://mimhhp.com/) and exists as a free and user-friendly reference website. The issue which led to the initiation of this project is that psychology students and other future Michigander helpers previously had no streamlined source of information to consult when wishing to learn about vocational pathways in the mental health realm. Advice is available for those who have already decided upon a specific route (e.g., clinical psychology), but this tool aims to fill a large advising gap by supporting those who have questions and uncertainties at earlier stages of career planning. The manuscript lays out the context of the project and the methodology through which qualitative interview information was collected, and presents a set of key themes garnered throughout—performance metrics of the website itself as well as observations and suggestions for other professionals embarking on such an advising journey." The author is Travis J. Pashak at Saginaw Valley State University. The key words are: career advising, vocational guidance, mental health, psychotherapy, counseling
My hand holding a copy of Glynn’s book, which features Sendak’s portrait of him on the cover. The title is “Desperate Necessity: Writings on Art and Psychoanalysis.”
Painting of Eugene Glynn. Middle aged man in a black suit with a white dress shirt and striped grey/black tie. Hands overlayed in his lap.
Framed drawing from “Where The Wild Things Are.”
Sketch series by Maurice Sendak called “Death and Transfiguration.” The pictures playfully depict a bird and a child moving through the cycle of life and death.
Large wall print of one of the monsters from “Where the Wild Things Are.”
A box of pączki (frosted with raspberry filling).
Text reads "All Illusions Must Be Broken" and is the opening screen of the documentary film by that name.
A clock with a Rorschach inkblot test image printed on it.
Image is of an ‘achievement’ notification from ResearchGate which says “Well done, Travis! With 151 new reads, your research items were the most read research items from your institution last week. Achieved on December 8, 2024.”
Picture is a shot from my Spotify “Wrapped” results showing I Built The Sky.
dude holding an old fashioned in an argyle brown and beige sweater
First page of a journal article titled "Confident Foxhole Atheism, Doubtful Religious Dread, and Other Death Anxiety Analyses: A Mixed Methods Exploration of Existential Concerns, Worldview Beliefs, and Mental Health" published in The Humanistic Psychologist. The authors are Travis J. Pashak, Travis J. Faustin, Kaitrin J. Kraly, and Stephanie N. Wisniewski, each at Saginaw Valley State University. The paper's abstract begins as follows: "What are the interrelationships between existential concerns, worldview beliefs, and mental health? Much research has explored these connections, but often with flawed assessment measures, truncated samples, and lacking qualitative data. This study sought to further clarify this topic by using a mixed methods design and improved instruments. A sample of n = 450 United States adults was collected from various social media sites, including several forums/communities dedicated to dialogue about religions/beliefs. The sample was diverse in age (ranging 18–89), belief status (one-third nonreligious), socioeconomic status, and mental health. This mixed methods exploratory study employed an online survey battery including the Death Anxiety Beliefs and Behaviors Scale, the Existential Concerns Questionnaire, the Monotheist and Atheist Beliefs Scale, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, as well as five qualitative essay prompts. Intercorrelations between indices of angst/dread, monotheism/atheism, and anxiety/depression are presented for both the whole sample and religious versus secular subsamples. Quantitative findings included religiosity positively associated with death anxiety, belief confidence negatively associated with distress, and existential distress positively associated with psychopathology. Qualitative themes included denial of relevance and connection between these variables, endorsement of the belief confidence/doubt effect, crucial impact of boundary situations, and metamorphoses of evolving beliefs. ..."