Home PageAbout Jim CarpenterMy PracticeClinical PsychologyPsychotherapyFrequently Asked Questions

Professional Activities

Psychology has been very generous to me, and I have tried to repay that at least in a small measure.  Besides an affiliation for many years with the American Psychological Association and the North Carolina Psychological Association, it has also been important to me to maintain affiliation with the American Board of Professional Psychology, the American Academy of Clinical Psychology, the Division of Humanistic Psychology of APA, The Association of Existential Psychology and Psychiatry, The Society for Psychical Research, and the Parapsychological Association. 

Leadership Roles:

  • Two terms on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology
  • Secretary of the AACP
  • Editor of the Bulletin of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology
  • Manager of the AACP website
  • Two terms on the Board of Directors of the Rhine Research Center
  • President of the Board of the Rhine Research Center
  • Board of Directors and President of the Parapsychological Association

Service Activities

  • Series of public-interest columns on psychological matters for the Durham Morning Herald and the Chapel Hill Herald
  • Series of radio commentaries on psychological issues for the major National Public Radio station in North Carolina, WUNC
  • Pro bono supervision and training in psychotherapy for psychiatric residents in the Department of Psychiatry of the University of North Carolina
  • Pro bono clinical consultation for persons approaching the Rhine Research Center with personal crises involving self-described psychic experiences
  • Pro bono teaching in the Summer Study Program at the Rhine Research Center (over 20 consecutive years)
  • Many public presentations in various settings on psychotherapy, mental health, consciousness research, and parapsychology.
  • Referee for submissions to various professional journals
  • Research Council for the Bial Foundation.

Research

Although I have been employed exclusively in private practice for over 25 years, I have also maintained ongoing research activities as time has permitted.  The areas I have focused on (including during my time in academia) have been:

  • Studies on psychotherapy process
  • Research on self-disclosure and authenticity in communication in families and groups
  • Various aspects of problems involving the outer boundaries of human experience, also known as Parapsychology. While this is a controversial area of study, I have found it fascinating since I first studied at the Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke when I was an undergraduate, and I have come to feel sure that there is a great deal of substance beneath the controversy. My own approach to this area has been that of a research scientist using standard laboratory methods.
  • Theory-building on the nature of consciousness