Maria Turkson, Ph.D.

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Associate Teaching Professor of Psychology, School of Behavioral Sciences and Education
Olmsted Building, W311
W311 OLMSTED BLDG
PENN STATE HBG
MIDDLETOWN, PA 17057

Dr. Maria A. Turkson is a member of the Graduate Faculty and has a wealth of experience teaching across a variety of levels from introductory to advanced levels for undergraduates as well as graduate students. Dr. Turkson teaches many courses in online and hybrid formats, and developed the college's first psychology course in these formats for PSYCH 100: Introduction to Psychology.

Dr. Turkson is a licensed psychologist and Board Certified by the National Register of Health Care Providers for Psychologists. She has won numerous awards for service (the Penn State Harrisburg Kathryn Towns Award for women's issues), professional practice (the Early Career Credentialing Award from the National Register of Psychologists), and research (the National Career Development Award for Outstanding Research).

Dr. Turkson is also the co-advisor to the International Honor Society in Psychology, Psi Chi (Chapter 800) at Penn State Harrisburg and has worked with Psi Chi on organizing various events on campus, such as her regular Domestic Violence Awareness Month talks and Applying to Graduate School in Psychology talks. In addition, she is responsible for producing the Dr. Phil Zimbardo talk on campus in 2019.

  • Therapist self-care
  • The therapy relationship between client and therapist (in particular the working alliance)
  • Career development using personality variables as predictors
  • Gender and Race
  • Cancer Prevention

Seitz, C. A., Poyrazli, S., Harrisson, M.A., Flickinger, T, Turkson, M. A. (2014). Virtual reality exposure therapy for military veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review. The New School Psychology Bulletin, 11(1), 14-29.

Schneck, M. M., Bowers, T. G., & Turkson, M. A. (2012). Sex-role orientation and attachment styles of sex offenders. Psychological Reports, 110(2), 624-638.

Turkson, M. A., Norcross, J. C., & Guy, J. D. (2007). Restructuring cognitions. In J. C. Norcross & J. D. Guy (Eds.), Leaving it at the office: A guide to psychotherapist self-care. New York: Guilford.

Hill, C. E., Kelly, F. A., Davis, T. L., Crook, R. E., Maldonado, L. E., Turkson, M.A., Wonnell,T. L., Suthakaran, V., Zack, J. S., Rochlen, A. B., Kolchakian, M. R., Codrington, J. N. (2001). Predictors of outcome of dream interpretation sessions: Volunteer client characteristics, dream characteristics, and type of interpretation. Dreaming: Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams, 11(2), 53-72.

Norcross, J. C., Sayette, M. A., Mayne, T. J., Karg, R. S., & Turkson, M. A. (1998). Selecting a doctoral program in professional psychology: Some comparisons among Ph.D. counseling, Ph.D. clinical, and PsyD clinical psychology programs. Professional Psychology Research and Practice, 29(6), 609-614.

B.S.; M.A.; Ph.D. (Maryland)

Introduction to Psychology (PSYCH 100)
Career Development (PSYCH 101)
Introduction to Counseling Psychology (PSYCH 480)
Psychology of Women (PSYCH 222)
Lifespan Development (PSYCH 212)
Introduction to Personality Theory (PSYCH 238)
Personality Psychology (PSYCH 438)
Introduction to Social Psychology (PSYCH 221)
Advanced Social Psychology (PSYC 420)
Abnormal Psychology (PSYCH 470)
Psychology of Gender (PSYCH 479)
Introduction to Clinical Psychology (PSYCH 481)
Special Topics (PSYCH 492) - Domestic Violence
Special Topics (PSYCH 492) - Interpersonal Violence
Psychology Honor Thesis (PSYCH 490H)
Multicultural Counseling (PSYC 501)
Human Growth and Development (PSYC 510)
Clinical Interviewing (PSYC 518)
Research Paper (PSYC 530)
Research Topics (PSYC 594)
Clinical Practicum (PSYC 595A)
Clinical Internship (PSYC 595B)
Career Counseling (PSYC 573)