Staff 
Joy Roddy Downs , Ph.D.
Staff Psychologist
Post-doctoral Added Specialty in Counseling Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Ph.D., Dept. of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison
M.A., Special Education, Northwestern Illinois University, Chicago
B.S., Psychology, Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois
Originally from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Joy came to UNH as a Staff Psychologist at the Counseling Center in 1988. After a previous career in Special Education (as a teacher, parent-trainer, and professor), Joy returned to school for an Added Specialty in Counseling Psychology. She completed her Added Specialty at the University of Tennessee, and interned at the UT Counseling Center. That was followed by an interim Staff Psychologist position at the University of Florida Counseling Center, in Gainesville. Her primary role at UNH is Staff Psychologist, though she has also served as Acting Training Director for extended periods of time. She is on the Training Committee, provides supervision and offers a series of seminars in Planned Short-Term Therapy.
Dr. Downs has focused on a variety of issues related to growing up in less-than-optimal family environments. She has facilitated groups for Adult Children of Alcoholics, Dysfunctional Family Issues, and Eating Disorders. She has also facilitated a Depression Support Group, Life Enhancement Skills, and Women's Self-Care.
Her individual work spans a wide range of concerns, with a particular focus on women and issues related to self-esteem. Joy finds couples therapy to be one of the most challenging and potentially rewarding areas of clinical work. Her theoretical orientation is best described as integrative, with a strong appreciation of psychodynamic and family systems approaches. Current areas of interest include Positive Psychology, and the role of spirituality in growth and healing. Recently her appreciation for the demands on students lives was deepened by the opportunity to teach a course in the Psychology Department. She found this experience both energizing and inspiring.
On the personal side, Joy enjoys time with her husband and daughter walking, biking, canoeing,and cross-country skiing, as well as reading fiction and writing.
