Alumni Spotlight: Yesenia Flores-Pinos

Dr. Yesenia Flores-Pinos, PsyD founded Bergen Psychological Services, LLC, which provides family and child counseling, group therapy, and psycho-educational evaluation and assessment. Dr. Flores-Pinos is a licensed psychologist, and also works for the Hoboken Board of Education as a Certified School Psychologist. Dr. Flores-Pinos is a member of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), American Psychological Association (APA), and the National Latino/a Psychological Association (NLPA). She is currently enrolled in the Forensic Psychology certificate program at Montclair State University.

What’s your academic background, and what drew you to the field of forensic psychology?
I received my bachelor’s degree from Montclair State in Psychology. After my bachelor’s program, I went to Villanova University and received a master’s degree in Counseling. I then received my PsyD in School and Community Psychology from Hofstra University in 2007. Montclair State holds a very special place in my heart since it provided the starting point for my academic learning and career direction.

Child abuse is primarily what drew me to the forensic psychology field. It’s an area that I’ve always been passionate about. My goal is to work within the court system, providing expert testimony on the impact of child abuse as well as conducting child abuse evaluations.

You are currently in the Forensic Psychology certificate program at Montclair State University. Can you describe that program and the areas of study it focuses on?
With a forensic psychology certificate, there are two different avenues to possibly pursue. You can choose the criminal or the family/civil track. The family track focuses more on working with children and their families. Based on my background and experience, it’s the path I feel more passionate about.

How has this program helped prepare you for your current career, and how do you think it will help you in your future career goals?
It’s certainly going to propel me forward in my career. The Forensic Psychology certificate program will enable me to help more at the beginning of the process, more in terms of what’s going on in a particular situation, what exactly happened, and what can we do to prevent any further incidents from occurring.

What are some career paths individuals can pursue from their training in the Forensic Psychology programs at Montclair State University?
Students will definitely be well trained and prepared to work within the legal system as experts in their field. Many career paths including working in family civil proceedings like divorce mediation and adoption screening and even criminal investigations into abuse and neglect cases are possible.

You are so busy with your private practice, working at the Hoboken Board of Education, and studying in the Forensic Psychology certificate program – among other professional tasks – do you actually have any free time? If so, how do you spend it?
I’m a total soccer mom! I have soccer four days a week with my boys. Plus, I’ve been training for my first half marathon, which will be in a couple of days.

Montclair State University offers a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology with a Forensic Psychology concentration.

– Interview from September 2015