Lisa Corbin, PhD, LPC, NCC, has worked on college campuses for more than 25 years. She has held positions in both student life and academic affairs. Dr. Corbin currently serves as the Chair and Director of the Mental Health Counseling program and as an assistant professor in the School of Professional and Applied Psychology where she teaches, advises, and mentors mental health counseling students.
In addition to her work at PCOM, Dr. Corbin serves as a counselor in her private practice. Her areas of specialty are sexual abuse and domestic violence, mindful meditations, as well as a grief and loss support.
Dr. Corbin completed her PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision at Walden University. She also completed her doctoral internship at a local rape crisis center where she provided trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy to individuals and families. She completed her graduate level internship and worked as the trauma counselor at a Philadelphia inpatient recovery facility for males.
Dr. Corbin is active in the Pennsylvania Counseling Association (PCA) where she served as awards chair and is also active with the Greater Philadelphia Area Counseling Association (GPACA) where she is currently serving as past president and secretary. She wrote her dissertation on variables that predict career choice within the field of counseling. Her hope is to use this data to increase diversity among the counseling profession.
As someone who is the first person in their family (family as defined by the person) to attend an institution of higher education.
Lonely at times; I had to navigate a lot by myself. I also had to deal with people thinking I was better than them just because I went to college. I vividly remember my older brother accusing me of thinking I was better than him because (as he said) I "made more money than him". The funny thing was that he made $73,000 more than I did at that point! We were able to have a decent conversation once I showed him my paycheck. I currently deal with people focusing on my educational degrees and career success a bit too much—so, I share this cautiously so as to not have people hyperfocus on my successes.
I worked full-time as I obtained all of my degrees. Therefore, my graduate school experience was limited to driving to campus (75 minutes one way), attending class, and driving back home. However, I was able to apply much of what I was learning in the classroom because I was working. The school in which I obtained my masters degree and PhD in counseling are extremely diverse and had me take a trip to Costa Rica. This was the first time I felt as if I was bonding with my graduate school peers. I went to grad school with people who are my age ("non-traditional/older") and who worked. I quickly built my support system with my peers because graduate school was foreign to my familial support system.
I wanted to quit during my PhD program, but knew I had to keep going because I didn’t want to feel like a "quitter". I held a full-time faculty position which meant I had to continue to go on for the PhD or I would lose my job. I was also a single mom so, I needed the money to support my family. I also started my doctorate journey with my best friend. Unfortunately, she unexpectedly died as I (we) was working toward my degree. I then felt the pressure (and spiritual support from her) to obtain the dream we set forth to accomplish together.
Stay humble. Remember who brought you to where you are today. You got this!
Being able to share stories about my kids' personality in class. While I have been really successful in education, I realize that education isn't everyone's journey and that teens often need time to come into their educational journey BUT that raising good humans is more important than raising a student who has a 4.0 GPA. My son has stood up for friends in the LGBTQ+ community, me as a single mom, and his friend who has cancer. My daughter presented with me at a state-wide conference and then with another Adlerian at an international conference.
The Office of Diversity and Community Relations celebrates the unique accomplishments of first generation students. This series features PCOM faculty, staff and students who were the first to attend college, graduate school or medical school within their families. We believe spotlighting our first generation community members will encourage our students to use their talents to shine during professional school and as future healthcare providers.
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