Melissa Rotkiewicz, Psy.D.

Clinical Interests: As the director of CCPH, my main focus is on the leadership and management of our fast-paced and robust mental health care clinic. Along with the other members of the CCPH Leadership Team (Jessi Bond, Jen Lefort, Jen Cannella, Jacob Oyer, and Sofia Archuleta), I work to ensure that CCPH is meeting the mental health needs of UMass students and the campus as a whole. I work at both the micro (inside CCPH) and macro (outside CCPH) level, collaborating with our staff, campus partners, and students to contribute to student success and wellbeing and to make CCPH a welcoming and safe place for all. In addition to my leadership responsibilities, I am also a clinician at heart. I provide crisis services as well as brief psychotherapy. I am particularly interested in first generation college students, relationships and intimacy concerns, the interplay between health and mental health, and student athletes. I am a member of the Behavioral Intervention Team, the Care Team (for students of concern), and the Campus Life and Wellbeing Directors’ Team. I have presented at the national level on leadership, social justice in mental health, police psychology, and an integrated care model for college mental health and law enforcement.

Education: 2004 PsyD (Doctorate in Psychology) in Clinical Psychology, Antioch University, Keene, NH; 2002 MS in Clinical Psychology, Antioch University, Keene, NH; 1999 BS in Psychology (minor in Economics), St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY

Professional Experience: While the majority of my career has been spent in the college counseling setting, I have also worked at a community mental health clinic and a public middle school, providing individual, couples, and family psychotherapy and psychological assessment to children, adolescents, and adults. Prior to being appointed as the Director of CCPH in 2020, I served in a variety of leadership roles, including Interim Director, Interim Co-Director, Interim Associate Director for Clinical Services, and Assistant Director for Psychological Assessment. I served as the Director of Psychological Assessments at UMass Amherst Counseling and Assessment Services (which has since merged with CCPH).

Certifications/Licenses: 2005-Present Psychologist and Health Service Provider, State of Massachusetts (#8530); Municipal Police Training Committee Suicide Prevention Instructor

Memberships: Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD), Association for the Coordination of Counseling Center Clinical Services (ACCCCS), Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP), Society for Police and Criminal Psychology (SPCP), Society for Personality Assessment (SPA), International Society of the Rorschach and Projective Methods, International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF)

More about me: As a first-generation college student and a student athlete myself, I know firsthand the importance of finding support, connection, and balance during this time. I am committed to helping students of all backgrounds and identities find their voice, their courage, and their drive to be their best selves. I am also a parent, an athlete, a coach, a lifelong learner, and an avid book reader and podcast listener who keeps a fully stocked stash of snacks in my desk drawer.

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”  James Baldwin