Nick Placido
Assistant Professor
I am a
middle aged East Coaster, who has spent 20 years of his life in the South
before moving to the Midwest 12 years ago and to Wilmore one month ago. I was raised in upstate New York, the
grandson of Italian immigrants who came to this country at the turn of the last
century via Ellis Island. A week into my
freshman year at Houghton College, I was led to Christ by a fellow student who
lived in my dorm. Houghton became that
place where I learned to pray, read the Bible for the first time, and become involved
in service to others. Houghton was also
where I met Anita, my wife and we have been married for 30 years.
Upon graduation I obtained a job in Tallahassee, Florida, as an elementary school teacher in a local Christian school. The next eight and a half years were spent teaching a traditional third grade class, a class of learning disabled students, and an accelerated fifth and sixth grade class. My interest in the children and their families motivated me to continue my education in the Graduate School of Social Work at Florida State University. My practicum experiences included working with cancer patients on the oncology ward of a regional hospital, and crisis intervention in a local community mental health agency.
Upon graduation, I continued working for that agency in the same capacity until transferring to one of their rural clinics 30 miles away. For the next nine and a half years I worked as a caseworker, therapist, and supervisor of a partial hospital program in that community. Approximately 12 years ago, my family and I moved to the Chicago area to continue my graduate education as I pursued my master’s and doctorate in clinical psychology. While a student, I was employed in a local community hospital as a crisis and intake counselor. Upon graduation I worked the Chicago Christian Counseling Center for the last six year as a therapist and for the last year as their Director of Training. My wife and I lived in a small town just west of Wheaton College. Our children are grown. The oldest, Sarah, is married, and has a one and a half year old daughter. The youngest, Miriam, who is fairly fluent in Spanish, works for a Head Start program in Indianapolis as a teacher and parent educator. My wife was a legal secretary in a large law firm in downtown Chicago. As hobbies, I enjoy flying two-line stunt kites, and Civil War history.
EDUCATION
August 2002 - Doctor of Clinical Psychology, Wheaton College
August 1998 to May 2000 - 30 hours toward Master of Theology (Integrative courses for Psy.D.), Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois
August 1998 - Master of Psychology, Wheaton College
May 1987 - Master of Social Work (clinical track), Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
May 1976 - Bachelor of Arts, Houghton College, Houghton, New York. Majors: Psychology, Elementary Ed
Courses Taught This Fall :
SW211 – Social Services Systems
SW251 – Human Behavior and Social Environment I
SW 402 – Social Welfare Policy
SW410 – Social Work Practice II