Dr. Nicholas Lee is now an Associate Clinical Professor

Where is your hometown?

I grew up on the east side of Indianapolis. I lived in the same home until I left for college. I attended Warren Central High School for those of you who know the Indy area high schools.

Tell us about your educational background.

I am a twice-over Cardinal. I obtained my bachelor’s degree from Ball State in 2003.  I then completed a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from Indiana Wesleyan University.  After practicing as a licensed marriage and family therapist for almost six years in the Muncie community, I returned to BSU for my doctoral studies in 2011. I graduated from the PhD program in Counseling Psychology in the summer of 2015.

What first interested you in counseling psychology and clinical training?

To be honest, I didn’t even know there was a distinction between counseling and clinical psychology until I arrived on campus.  What primarily drew me to my doctoral studies was the opportunity to work with a particular faculty member with shared interests. During my time at Ball State, I was introduced to the field of counseling psychology and was immediately drawn to its emphasis on a strengths-based and systems view of individuals, couples, and families.  This fit nicely with my prior training in family systems at the master’s level.  In terms of clinical training, I have always been driven by the idea of seeking to provide high caliber services to folks. There are evidence-based ways we can train ourselves to get incrementally better and better at what we do.  In my new role in the CPC I have the opportunity to do this work on a daily basis with our graduate students.

What brought you to Ball State?

This question is better answered by first saying what drew us back to Muncie.  Prior to moving back to Muncie in 2021, I was working as a faculty member at Radford University in Virginia. Unfortunately, there were health-related issues in my extended family that necessitated our move back to the area.  From 2021-2023 I worked as a full-time staff psychologist with Open Door Health Services.  Then in 2023 I joined the faculty at Ball State full-time.

Please describe your role within the department and the training clinic.

My role has shifted recently.  Approximately 50% of time is now dedicated to serving as the CPC’s Associate Director. In this role I help oversee the CPSY 606, 644, and 646 training sequence for the master’s program, I provided supervision to our CPC intern, and carry an increased clinical supervision workload. Additional projects I hope to work on in the future include pursuing external training grants, as well as seeing research conducted in the CPC.  The remaining 50% of time is spent teaching courses, serving on thesis and dissertation committees, and university/professional service activities.

What motivated you to transition from being a faculty to becoming the Associate Director of the training clinic?

Well, I am still considering core faculty within the department.  So, in some ways I have the best of both worlds.  On the hand, I get to remain active in the classroom and working alongside students with their research projects; and, on the other hand I get to leverage my strengths in terms of clinical training to support the work happening in the CPC.

What do you enjoy most about working with students in the clinic setting? I enjoy seeing students’ confidence and self-efficacy grow as they begin working with their own clients.

What have been some of the biggest challenges or lessons learned in this new role? I have learned so many lessons in my short time in this role! In many ways I feel like I am starting a new job all over again where I learning new procedures, systems, and how to best support the work of the clinic.

Outside of academia, what are your favorite hobbies?

I enjoy working on projects around the house – big to small.  I also enjoy reading, going to the movies, and visiting breweries with my friends and family.  In this season of life we are traveling often to watch our niece and nephew compete in cross country meets.

What food could you not live without?*

Bread.  Definitely bread.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?*

This changes for me depending on what is happening in my life.  Right now, my daughter is reading through the Lord of the Rings (big parenting win for me).  We have been the watching films as she completes a book.  So I think I’d like to go with her to New Zealand where they filmed the movies and see the landscapes that make some of our favorite scenes.

How do you practice self-care?

For me, I rejuvenate with my family.  I really cherish my evenings after work with them.  Related to this, another way I practice self-care is clear boundaries around my evenings and family time. There will always be work to do the next day, but my family won’t always be under the same roof together.