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William J. Hanna, Psy.D., BCRPS
Dr. Hanna is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist , a Certified Relapse Prevention Specialist, and a Registered Art Therapist. He received his master's and his doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from Argosy University in northern California; and his master's degree in Art Therapy from Pratt Institute in New York City. Dr. Hanna has been working in the field of Addiction for over 18 years; and began working with women in the Detox-Unit of Kings County Hospital in New York City. He has also treated Substance Dependence issues and Dual Diagnoses with Gay Men living with HIV and/or AIDS at UCSF AIDS Health Project in San Francisco for two years.
Dr. Hanna has been working for Bayside Marin since 2007, as a primary Therapist. Here, he has been providing individual and process-group therapy, as well as conducting lectures on the following topics: Dual Diagnoses, Cross Addiction, Relationships In Recovery, and DBT Skills- including Distress Tolerance Techniques. Dr. Hanna presents an hour-and-a-half lecture on Relapse Prevention, twice-a-month for the Family Program weekend at Bayside Marin. He intervenes from Humanistic Treatments, including Client-Centered Therapy, Existential Psychotherapy, and Solution-Focused Therapy; as well as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Dr. Hanna also performs Psychological Testing and subsequent Report-Writing at Bayside Marin, using both the MMPI-2 and the MCMI-III for diagnostic purposes. Bayside Marin named and awarded Dr. William J. Hanna "Employee of the Year" for 2009.
What do I love about my job?
"I love to witness when a resident has a change in his or her perception regarding total-absinence and moving out of a state of denial and rationalizations; to begin to see the similarities with others in process group; and to own after having a shift-in-thinking, that he or she has a serious and life-threatening problem with alcoholism and/or addiction".
Why have I devoted my life's work to helping others?
"I have devoted my life's work to helping others' find 'their voice', since I lost my own voice while growing up as an Adult Child of an Alcoholic...I have enormous compassion for people suffering from addiction, and I plan to become a leader in the crusade to end discrimination against those with an addiction".
What do I find rewarding about my job?
"Because today's epidemic of addiction to drugs or alcohol is a subject that is still rarely spoken-about with an ease-of-openness and in a public manner...I find my work as a clinician, therapist, and lecturer rewarding, since I regularly engage in exposing and healing the stigma and shame associated with drug and alcohol dependence".
