When: Thursday, May 21, 2026 | 10:00-15:00

Where: Arts Center Auditorium, Aghia Paraskevi Campus, Deree – The American College of Greece

Organized by: The School of Science and Technology, Psychology Department – The American College of Greece

About the Event

This interactive workshop equips psychology students with practical strategies to sustain personal well-being while working with trauma-affected populations. The featured presenters are Dr. Lisa Compton, Dr. Tina Stathopoulou, and Dr. Taylor Patterson. Topics include secondary traumatic stress, absorption vulnerability, neuroscience, and perspectives on European mental health. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in small- group activities and receive mentorship with licensed American counselors.

Event Program

10:00 – 11:00: Drs. Lisa Compton and Taylor Patterson present on secondary trauma in the helping professions (starting with an introduction to trauma)
11:00- 12:30: PhD students facilitate small group discussions and an experiential learning activity with your students.
12:30-13:30: Lunch
13:30- 15:00: Dr. Tina Stathopoulou presents on mental health in Europe

About the Presenters

Dr. Alessandra Sax holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Child Development from Hampshire College (USA). She graduated from New York University (USA) with a Clinical Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work, Children, Adolescents and Adults and completed her doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology and Supervision in Counselor Education at Argosy University (USA). She has been an instructor in Instructional Consultation, Clinical Interviewing and Consultation, Child Psychopathology, Child-Centered Play Therapy, Life-Span Development, Multicultural Perspectives, Cultural Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Advanced Psychopathology, and Group & Music Therapy. She is also a licensed psychotherapist who has been in private practice for over thirty years, working with children, adolescents and adults.  Dr. Sax also acts as a consulting psychologist to various organizations. From 2006 until 2019, she worked at the American Community Schools of Athens (ACS) as the Elementary School Counselor and then School Psychologist, and additionally served as the coordinator of the Psychology Intern Program within the Department of Student Affairs. During 2017-2022, Dr. Sax was the Co-Founder and Director of Learning and Wellness Center, a holistic therapeutic center for children, adolescents, and adults.  From 2019-2023, she served as Director of the Psychology Department, including the University Counseling Center, at the Hellenic American University, and is an Associate Professor of Psychology. She has been an editorial board member and peer reviewer for the International Journal for Elementary Education for SciencePG, the American Journal of Applied Psychology and the International Journal of Progressive Education. She has published several book chapters and articles, and regularly presents her clinical work and research at international conferences both in Europe and the USA. She is a member of EB-ACA and ACA.  Currently, Dr. Sax is a part-time Associate Professor of Psychology at the American College of Greece, Department of Psychology, and continues with her private practice and consulting, as a specialist in her field.

Dr. Lisa Compton is an Associate Professor and Director of the Ph.D. in Counselor Education program at Regent University. With over 29 years of experience in the mental health field, she is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), certified trauma treatment specialist (CTTS), and compassion fatigue educator (CFE).

Dr. Compton has been a conference keynote speaker, presented internationally on trauma-related topics, and has been featured on CBN News discussing domestic violence and sexual trauma. She is the co-author of Preparing for Trauma Work in Clinical Mental Health and Safeguarding Skills: A Guide to Preventing Abuse and Fostering Healing in the Church. Her research focuses on secondary trauma and trauma pedagogy with numerous published articles, including “Absorption Vulnerability” in Traumatology (2024).

Dr. Taylor Patterson is a Licensed Professional Counselor and instructor in the counseling department at Regent University. She worked for several years as a mental health counselor at a nonprofit agency serving survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking and now sees clients in private practice, specializing in adults with a history of childhood trauma. She served as co-editor for “Skills for Safeguarding: A Guide to Preventing Abuse and Fostering Healing in the Church,” a textbook promoting trauma prevention in faith communities, and has published in peer-reviewed journals on risk factors for compassion fatigue. Taylor’s research interests include interpersonal violence, compassion fatigue prevention and treatment, and trauma-informed counselor education and supervision.

Dr. Tina Stathopoulou graduated from the American College of Greece with a B.A. in Psychology, from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA, with an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology, and from Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia, USA, with a M.Sc. in Counseling Psychology and a specialization in Couples and Family Therapy. She worked as a postdoc researcher at the Institute of Research in Cognitive Science at the University of Pennsylvania and at Drexel University, Philadelphia. She has received training in Systemic Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral and Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy. She has worked as an IB psychology teacher in IB schools for 6 years and has worked for over 25 years as a psychology professor at the undergraduate and graduate level at academic institutions both in Greece and the US. She has presented at conferences in USA, Greece and Italy and published in books and peer-reviewed journals. Her research interests lie in the areas of attentional deficits, parental abuse, substance abuse in families, volunteerism and politics and neuropsychology. She also holds advanced certificates in Piano studies and French Literature.

The event is free and open to the psychology students and faculty.

For further clarifications, please contact [email protected].