The Dude Therapist

Dr. Wasserman is a licensed clinical psychologist with areas of specialization in posttraumatic stress, intergenerational trauma, and military behavioral health. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology. She also co-directs the Jerry Butler Pepperdine Union Rescue Mission Counseling Center, a student training clinic that provides services for Los Angeles' homeless, where she also facilitates group supervision. Dr. Wasserman’s areas of scholarship include war-related trauma, cultural, historical, and intergenerational trauma, post-traumatic growth, and resilience.  She teaches courses on psychological assessment, interpersonal skills and group therapy, and the diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders in the MA programs. In addition, she teaches doctoral practicum, psychological assessment, and dissertation intensive within the PsyD program.

After graduating from University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.A. in Religious Studies, Dr. Wasserman earned her master’s degree in Psychology and Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. She completed her predoctoral internship at UCLA Semel Institute and a formal two-year postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA’s Nathanson Family Resilience Center, working primarily with military and veteran families and individuals who have experienced trauma. During fellowship, she created and authored a manualized training program for military and veteran families to help support reintegration following the transition from active duty to veteran status. Dr. Wasserman maintains a private practice in the Los Angeles area where she specializes in posttraumatic stress disorder, sexual trauma, intergenerational trauma, and military/veteran behavioral health. She is trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Families OverComing Under Stress, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and integrates these practices in her work with clients. 

In her free time, Dr. Wasserman can be found hiking with her partner and dog and frequenting a local farmers’ market.

• Contact info (Email, website, phone#, social media handles) for the notes of the show 
  • [email protected]
  • www.drmeli.com
  • (818) 705-6806
  • @DrMeliWasserman