Student Handbook - Argosy University

Pat Shelton, MFT, PhD
American School of Professional Psychology
Adjunct Faculty, Counseling Psychology
Dr. Shelton was an associate editor of the journal, Family Therapy for 11 years. She uses an
integrative relational psychodynamic approach with individuals and couples in private practice
in Marin County; an area of specialization is treating infidelity. Dr. Shelton is the psychodynamic
consultant for the Substance Abuse Recovery program at the Family Service Agency of Marin,
and is a frequent presenter on diverse clinical issues for agencies and professional groups.
She is a past-president of Marin-California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
(CAMFT) and was its “Leader of the Year” in 2000. As a program administrator and recreation
therapist, Dr. Shelton worked in both in-patient and out-patient settings with mentally ill,
aged, and physically disabled people. Committed to increasing access to quality healthcare for
uninsured children and families, she served as Chair of the Board of the Marin Community
Clinic (a primary care facility) for two terms. and Consultation, as well as Professionalization
Groups and Practicum Seminars.
Arinn Testa, PsyD
The Wright Institute
Adjunct Faculty, Counseling Psychology and Forensic Psychology
For several years, Dr. Testa worked as a Forensic Psychologist for the Marin County Sheriff ’s
Department fulfilling a research grant awarded by the California Board of Corrections. Her
extensive work with forensic populations with its emphasis on rapid treatment results, such as
the excessive use of pharmaceuticals, inspired her exploration into the use of holistic alternatives
in therapy. Consequently, Dr. Testa is a certified Doula and Holistic Health Practitioner
and recently returned from volunteering with midwives in Central America. She assisted in
the creation of a foundation that supports the Children’s Crisis Center in Modesto, California,
where she provides pro-bono consultation with families and staff on Clinical and Assessment
dimensions. Other areas of specialty that Dr. Testa enjoys are Neuropsychology, Spirituality
and Human Sexuality. She is currently developing a private practice in San Francisco and is
particularly influenced by Jungian, Gestalt and Existential Psychotherapies.
Ron Valle, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
Faculty, Clinical Psychology
Dr. Valle has served as a psychologist for over 25 years, specializing in clients with chronic
pain and stress-related disorders, and with those facing a life-threatening diagnosis and their
families. A long-time practitioner and teacher of meditation, Ron developed the Integrated
Therapy Program for Transforming Stress and Pain while director of an outpatient university
hospital pain clinic. Professor, supervisor, counselor, minister, and author of a wide variety
of professional publications, he currently serves as a core faculty at Argosy University, San
Francisco Bay Area’s Graduate Clinical Psychology Program, and as director of the Awakening
Retreat Center in Brentwood, California. Ron is co-author of Opening to Dying and Grieving: A
Sacred Journey, editor of Phenomenological Inquiry: Existential and Transpersonal Dimensions,
and senior editor of Metaphors of Consciousness.
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