Katie O’Dowd, PhD

Dr. O’Dowd has spent more than 25 years in psychology and education, in roles that combined research, teaching, and leadership. Her career began in community mental health and adult education. She earned her PhD in Educational Psychology at USC, where she went on to serve as PhD Program Director and then Director of Research at the Rossier School of Education.

As R&D Project Director at WPS, a national publisher of psychological assessments, she led the development of the Developmental Profile 4 (DP-4) from concept through launch. She later applied psychology to customer and user research for tech companies and startups, which gave her firsthand insight into the pressures of corporate and startup life.

She has taught university courses since 2009, first at Mount Saint Mary’s University and, since 2015, at California State University, Long Beach, where she teaches human development, research methods, and statistics and mentors graduate and undergraduate students.

Before founding TrueLife, she completed her clinical training and began licensed practice at Crossroads Institute, working with adults facing women’s health concerns, OCD, health anxiety, relationship challenges, and academic and workplace pressure.

Dr. O’Dowd has also navigated her own turning points in health, relationships, and work. Her style is direct, warm, and down to earth, and it tends to work well for people who have been skeptical of therapy or haven’t yet found the right fit.