Biography

Dr. Tonya Dowding is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice and an adjunct professor at the MCP Program at CIIS. She received her doctoral degree from California Institute of Integral Studies in Clinical Psychology and a bachelor’s degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her educational background is interdisciplinary, spanning the fields of clinical psychology, long-term meditation, philosophy, and social anthropology. Dr. Dowding completed her pre-doctoral clinical training at the Carl Jung Institute of San Francisco where she continues to specialize in psychoanalytic psychotherapy.

Dr. Dowding joined the CIIS adjunct faculty in 2020, teaching in the Master’s in Counseling Psychology and Clinical Psychology departments. She also teaches psychodynamic seminars at CIIS’ Psychological Services Center to clinician’s in training. She is a committee member of Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology and member of the American Psychological Association’s Division 39.

Dr. Dowding has run various behavioral groups in intensive outpatient settings with a focus on mindful process. She works with individuals, couples and families in private practice in San Francisco. Her clinical specialties include intimacy and relationships, culture and community, addiction and codependence, gender and sexuality, trauma and recovery, work satisfaction and identity exploration.

Education

Psy.D., M.A., California Institute of Integral Studies

B.Sc., Memorial University of Newfoundland