Dr. Schmidt is the Program Director of the Reiss-Davis PsyD program in Psychodynamic Child Psychology and Psychotherapy at the College of Medical Sciences at SCU.

Prior to joining SCU, Dr. Schmidt served as the Academic Dean of the Reiss Davis Graduate School in Los Angeles and earlier as the Director of TCS Counseling Center at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Westwood, Los Angeles. He has also held roles as a clinical training director and clinical supervisor. Over the past 25 years, alongside his administrative positions, Dr. Schmidt continued teaching graduate courses at the California Graduate Institute, the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, The Chicago School, and the Reiss-Davis Graduate School.

Dr. Schmidt graduated from the University of Cologne in Germany with a diploma in Psychology. He received his Doctorate in Psychology and a certificate in Psychoanalysis from the California Graduate Institute, Los Angeles. Additionally, Dr. Schmidt holds a degree in geriatric nursing in Germany where he also cofounded two non-profit organizations.

Dr. Schmidt is licensed as a Clinical Psychologist by the State of California. He has maintained a part-time practice as a clinical psychologist in Los Angeles, where he works with a broad spectrum of mood, anxiety, and personality disorders, trauma, and relational conflicts serving a diverse client population. Dr. Schmidt’s clinical focus is psychodynamic and inspired by contemporary psychoanalytic theories.

Dr Schmidt’s passion for education lies at the intersection of scholarly theory and tailored clinical application, embracing a psychology that recognizes the fundamental importance of human diversity, human relationships, communication, and collaboration in the service of growth, transformation, and innovation.

· Dr. Schmidt’s theoretical research interests include contemporary psychoanalysis, relational psychology, self-psychology, intersubjectivity, attachment theory, and somatic psychology.

· Clinical research interests: Psychological trauma, identity development, gender and sexual orientation, personality disorders, and relational conflicts.

· Topics of academic research interests: Ethics and laws in psychotherapy, human diversity, child abuse and intimate partner abuse; assessment, prevention and intervention of suicidality, psychotherapy of trauma, and clinical supervision and training.