Education

Christian Ortiz, MSW student

Christian Ortiz is a second-year Ramapo MSW student, currently completing an internship at the Ramapo Counseling Center. Christian (Pronouns: he/him/his) holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from William Paterson University. He graduated with a minor in Social Sciences from the William Paterson Honors College and an additional minor in Sociology. Christian is a member to Psi Chi Honor Society and Alpha Alpha Alpha Honor Society.

Professional Experience

Christian has worked for two years as a mental health associate for St. Claire’s Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit in Boonton, NJ. Christian has also worked on other St Claire’s units, including the psychiatric adolescent unit, the voluntary adult psychiatric unit, the medical psychiatric unit, the detox unit, and the emergency department. For his first-year MSW internship, Christian interned at Vantage Health System in Englewood, NJ, where he regularly visited group homes and client residences, managed casework, conducted weekly client appointments, and facilitated groups on psychoeducation, spirituality, coping mechanisms, and recreation.

Professional Interests

Christian completed an undergraduate honors thesis: The Proposal to Advance Religious Competencies Regarding Death in Healthcare and Hospice, which consists of a literature review and video documentary featuring six Professors of Psychology, two Professors of nursing, and two religious leaders. Christian presented at the Eastern Psychological Association’s 2024 Conference for Dr. Learmonth’s Cognition, Learning, and Development lab at WPU, presenting as second author on their study: Perceptions of Covid-19’s Effects on Motivation, Attention, and Determination in College Students. Christian also presented as first author on the lab’s presentation, Perceptions of Academic Recovery from the Covid-19 Pandemic at the Hudson Valley Undergraduate Psych Conference at Dominican University in 2024, for which his group received Honorable Mention among the presenters. He also participated in Dr. Obrecht’s Belief, Reasoning, and Inference lab during the 2023-2024 academic year, working as a coder in her study, which investigated qualitative research on the Catholic belief in the presence of the Holy Eucharist.

Personal Interests

Christian enjoys writing, recording, and performing music with his band. He also enjoys surfing and going to the movies in his spare time. He also enjoys surfing and going to the movies in his spare time.