Psychological Humanities and Ethics Research Group

David Goodman is the Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and External Relations, Director of the Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics, and an Associate Professor of the Practice in Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. Dr. Goodman has written over a dozen articles on continental philosophy, Jewish thought, social justice, and psychotherapy. Dr. Goodman currently serves as the Series Editor for the Psychology and the Other Book Series with Routledge. He has authored and edited over a dozen books including The Demanded Self: Levinasian Ethics and Identity in Psychology (with Duquesne University Press, 2012) and Psychology and the Other (with Mark Freeman and Oxford University Press, 2015). Dr. Goodman is also a licensed clinical psychologist and has a private practice in Boston, MA.

M. Mookie C. Manalili is a psychotherapist, professor, and researcher with particular interest in suffering, embodiment, meaning-making, narratives, memory, and ethics. He is a psychotherapist in a private group practice, utilizing narrative therapy, psychoanalytic approaches, mindfulness traditions, and body-based techniques. He is also Part-Time Faculty at the School of Social Work and Research Consultant for the Morality Lab and the Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics.

Sofia is the Project Administrator at Boston College's Center for Psychological Humanities & Ethics, currently pursuing a Master's in Mental Health Counseling. Sofia made a significant shift from the corporate technology sector, embarking on a career change into the field of psychology. Her research interests lie in women's mental health and the intersection of mind-body practices. Looking ahead, she is considering a private counseling practice or further educational pursuits.

Ally Lynch is the Graduate Assistant and Lab Coordinator for the Center for Psychological Humanities at Boston College. She is a recent graduate from Providence College with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a first year student in the Master’s Program for Mental Health Counseling at Boston College. Ally is excited to be a part of the Research Group this year, as it emphasizes the significance of interdisciplinary engagement in understanding the human experience.

Matthew Clemente is a philosopher and author. His recent books include Technology and Its Discontents: The Perils of Ethical Distancing (forthcoming with David M. Goodman, Oxford University Press, 2025) and Kierkegaard: Psychological Insights and Practical Applications (forthcoming, Routledge, 2024). He is a Fellow in the Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics, Coeditor in Chief of the Journal for Continental Philosophy of Religion, and Codirector of the Guestbook Project, a 501c3 non-profit. He teaches philosophy, theology, and literature at Boston College and offers classes through the Boston College Prison Education Program at a local medium security prison.

Zenobia Morrill, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Clinical Psychology Department at William James College. She also serves as the Senior Research Associate of the Center for Psychological Humanities & Ethics at Boston College. She completed her clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University, School of Medicine, during which she was selected as a fellow of the American Psychoanalytic Association, and she received her doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Zenobia serves as a Science News Writer for Mad in America, Member-at-Large for the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, Secretary of the Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology, and is on the Editorial Board for the Psychology and the Other Book Series as well as for several humanistic, critical, and theoretical psychology journals through the APA.

Justin M. Karter, Ph.D., is an instructor and advisor for the Center for Psychological Humanities & Ethics, Boston College. Holding a doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Boston, Justin's multidisciplinary expertise bridges psychology, philosophy, and mad studies. Since 2015, he's served as the research news editor at Mad in America, offering critical insights into global mental health discourse. His research champions a rights-based perspective in mental health. Beyond academia, Justin is committed to the practice of depth psychotherapy, providing therapy in private practice as well as at Boston College University Counseling Services.

William J. Hendel, JD is a teaching fellow and PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy at Boston College, who specializes in ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics. He is the co-editor of misReading Plato (with Matthew Clemente and Bryan Cocchiara, Routledge, 2022).

A. Taiga Guterres, LCSW, currently serves as the managing editor for the Jesuit Educational Quarterly at the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, promoting educational research of the Jesuits and their educational and spiritual mission. He is a PhD student in Formative Education at Boston College and a research member of the Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics. Much of his research interest is in a Jesuit philosophy and psychology of education that might help us to better prepare students and professionals to engage with and serve the suffering other, the role of the humanities in psychology, and engaging the historical tradition and formative educational heritage of the Jesuits.

Coming soon!

Sophia holds an MSc in Educational and Developmental Psychology from the University of Oxford, where she was an undergraduate visiting student in Human Sciences and History (history of medicine and crime/punishment). She also earned a B.A. in Applied Psychology and Human Development from Boston College, with minors in Philosophy, Medical Humanities, and Leadership in Higher Education and Community Settings. Currently, Sophia is a research assistant at the Center for Child Trauma Assessment, Services, and System Integrations (CCTASSI), part of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She has experience as a research intern at the National Science Foundation and has also worked as both a mental health specialist within the Division of Psychotic Disorders inpatient unit and a research assistant for community peer services at McLean Hospital. These experiences inform her interests in trauma and resilience discourses, access to services, psychological humanities, and lived-experience research. Sophia is passionate about fostering interdisciplinary dialogues and utilizing diverse methodologies to address human suffering, which she finds at home at the Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics.

Noah McManus is a Researcher for Boston College's Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics. He is a graduate of the University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Biology. He also graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Master of Arts in Theology. Noah is interested in the intersection of Catholic theology and psychology. In particular, he is exploring a trauma-focused model of mental health recovery that relies on relational anthropology as well as spiritual meaning-making to recover from traumatic ruptures. Noah intends to pursue an additional Masters degree in Mental Health Counseling through Boston College's Lynch School of Human Development and Education. He then intends to pursue a Doctorate after that. In combining both interdisciplinary academic research and practical clinical treatment, Noah hopes to provide a deeply relational treatment model that attends to the whole of the person in trauma recovery.

A final-year student at Boston College's School of Social Work, and a graduate of Wesleyan University, Ross currently works on an inpatient unit at McLean Hospital, delivering group therapy, case management services, and psychotherapy. A former English teacher who holds an MFA in creative nonfiction writing from UNC Wilmington, he's interested in the intersections between psychotherapy and creative writing and how the two can inform and strengthen one another. He holds a particular interest in narrative therapy, illness narratives, and the practical applications of narrative theory for various psychotherapeutic modalities.

Lydia is a second-year master’s student in the Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine program at Boston University School of Medicine. She received her bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and History of Mathematics and Science from St. John’s College. She currently serves as an intern college counselor at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS). Her academic interests lie in psychoanalysis, psychodynamic theories, and family systems theory. 

Milcah is a second-year dual degree student, obtaining a Master's in Theology and Mental Health Counseling. She is also a Graduate Assistant with the Professional and Continuing Education at the Lynch School of Human Development and Education. Her research interests include spiritual practices in healing religious trauma, socio-spiritual care in immigrant and BIPOC contexts, the interpolation of the supernatural, diagnosable mental illness, and existential psychology.

While pursuing a Master of Arts in Theology and Ministry at Boston College, Johnny Koczela serves as the Graduate Assistant for the Christian Life Communities program in the Campus Ministry department of Boston College. His research interests are Pastoral Theology, Ignatian Spirituality, Christian Mysticism, Comparative Religion, Philosophical Anthropology, and a philosophy of skiing.

Ahmad Butt originally hails from Lahore, Pakistan. He is currently a first-year student in the Mental Health Counseling program at Boston College on the Fulbright Scholarship. Following his undergraduate degree completion in Pakistan, he worked as a high school teacher for a few years, during which he also completed the UK CPCAB certification in Humanistic Counseling and the UK CPCAB Diploma in Integrative Counseling. In his future work with adult clients, he intends to draw from humanistic, psychodynamic, and feminist theoretical orientations in a trauma-informed way.

Andrew Stojkovich, originally from the mountains of Colorado, is a senior pursuing a degree in Philosophy at Boston University. He is the Marketing Manager of Arche, BU's Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy, where he also serves as an editor. Andrew is also working as the editor for a forthcoming book on a seminar about Kierkegaard that was previously offered by Boston College through the Lynch School of Human Development & Education. Andrew is currently working on his own writing related to the meta-philosophy of the philosophical essay.

Ella Caruso is an undergraduate senior at Boston College working toward a Psychology B.S. major and African & African Diaspora Studies minor. She has served as the Program Coordinator for the Psychology & the Other Conference and as an Undergraduate Research Assistant with the Center for Psychological Humanities & Ethics. She has previous experience working as a researcher for the Infant and Child Cognition Lab at Boston College and the Mindbridge Center located in Portland, Maine. In collaboration with the Psychological Humanities & Ethic Research Group and the Mindbridge Center, Ella is currently researching a senior thesis intended to further the field's understanding of neurobiological implications of childhood trauma in addition to trauma-informed models of care designed to honor both individual and collective experiences of trauma within BIPOC communities. Additional research interests include developmental psychology, psychopathology, and interdisciplinary dialogue surrounding the concept of human identity.

Wenqing Xue is currently enrolled as an undergraduate student at Boston College, studying Applied Psychology & Human Development with a double major in Philosophy. Before coming to the U.S., she was born and raised in Qingdao, China. She worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the Affirm Lab and as a content creator in the Boston College Arts Council. With an interest in the intersection of humanities and science in the area of mental health, Wenqing joined the Center for Psychological Humanities & Ethics Research Group, and plans on pursuing a degree in Counseling Psychology after graduation to become a practicing therapist.