Psychology Psychology Adjunct Faculty

Polly Matsuoka

Adjunct Professor of Psychology | Office Location: WH 217 | Email: pmatsuoka@westmont.edu

Office Hours | Spring 2022 | Tuesday 10:00 -  11:00 a.m., Wednesday 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.

Polly earned her BS in Human Development from UC Davis and her MA in Counseling Psychology from Santa Clara University.  She became licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in California in 1996 and maintained a private practice from 1996 through 2010 in San Jose, California.  Her primary areas of specialization as a clinician included Child Therapy, Multicultural Couple and Family Relationships, and Attachment-focused Family Therapy with Adoptive and Foster Families.  Concurrently, she provided therapeutic services, supervision of trainees and consultation by working with schools, churches, and community counseling agencies in the Bay Area.  Polly began teaching in graduate counseling psychology programs in 2007, and since then has taught courses in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, Individual and Family Life Cycle Development, Multicultural Counseling, and Marriage Counseling.  Polly is happy to return to teaching after a break since 2016 when she relocated to the Santa Barbara area.  Continuing interests for Polly include attachment relationships for both couples and families, and integrating spiritual formation principles with developmental psychology.  Polly is married, has 3 grown sons, and loves paddle boarding in the waters of Santa Barbara and walking locally in Spain and Portugal on the Camino de Santiago.