About

Dr. Beth Pinals

Dr. Beth Pinals has been a clinical psychologist for 25 years and is currently in private practice in Brookline and Needham, MA. She received an undergraduate degree from Duke University, an MA in psychology from Columbia University and a doctorate in psychology from Boston University. She has held an adjunct teaching position at BU, educating graduate students in psychology and education. As well, she has been an instructor in family therapy.

Dr. Pinals’ clinical work spans outpatient, school, residential and inpatient settings. The practice extends to consultation with schools, small family businesses and medical practitioners.

Dr. Pinals’ commitment to transforming systems and promoting wellness reaches beyond clinical practice to community activities. As chair of the Youth – Education Subcommittee of Needham’s Coalition for Suicide Prevention, she set in motion the creation of Needham High School’s student Own Your Peace group and spearheaded the Own Your Peace Sculpture Project – a fusion of wellness and public art – promoting a culture of health and sensitivity in Needham and beyond. Her Emotional Wellness work extends to other high schools and youth organizations.

A core premise of this work is that the students can be the inspiration, the driving force, the “voice” and the ambassadors in building a culture of wellness, with the support, guidance and safety net of the adult community.

Emotional Wellness Consultation

This work is an initiative to create and sustain emotional wellness, improving and enhancing school climate and fostering a community in which people can be comfortable talking about who they are and how they feel. It’s based upon the premise that good emotional health can positively impact academic performance, relationships, work-life balance, and happiness. It becomes an umbrella for school activity and leadership endeavors, and can interface with regular curriculum and already existing student groups and faculty initiatives.

Emotional Wellness Consultation:

• Creates partnerships between students, faculty and administration for publicizing and promoting emotional health (strengthen collaboration)
• Guides administrators and directors in constructing a wellness vision, setting goals, developing strategy and implementing an action plan
• Increases students’ help-seeking behaviors for themselves and others
• Increases knowledge and destigmatization of mental health issues
• Promotes awareness and use of mental health resources
• Provides training programs for adults and students in the school so that they may all serve as gatekeepers of emotional health
• Builds cultural competency, including awareness of personal/cultural identity, mutual respect, and celebration of diversity
• Increases pro-sociality, problem-solving and good decision-making abilities
• Trains students in leadership skills and engages them in community-building, citizenship and social justice pursuits

Training the Trainers

This work occurs in phases through careful planning and goal-setting with administration and guidance directors.