Draft:Katherine Marshall Woods

Katherine Marshall Woods (born in 1976) known professionally as Dr. Marshall Woods is an American media psychologist, television host, producer and author, best known for hosting the 2024 award winning television show Best Psychology in Film.  She holds a doctorate in professional psychology, continues to practice as a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice and is the Director of Graduate Studies in the Professional Psychology at The George Washington University.

Marshall Woods rose to public recognition with hosting UDCtv A Healthy Mind in 2019.  She quickly became a co-producer upon the television show bringing experts from a myriad of fields to educate the public regarding the impact their work has on healthy living.  Within the pandemic, Marshall Woods began to produce the show Best Psychology in Film, eponymous to her first publication, to highlight filmmakers and their work while sharing the psychological elements that make their art meaningful.

Early life and education

Marshall Woods engaged in numerous artistic endeavors in her childhood including theater, vocals and orchestra.   By high school, she settled into studying voice at The Greater Hartford Academy of the Performing Arts (Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts).  Concurrently, she held employment at Aetna Insurance Company within their visual communication department learning the technical aspects of media making laying the path of her media psychological career.

Marshall Woods pursued her undergraduate degree in the nation’s capital at The George Washington University earning her BA in psychology and continuing her education within The George Washington University obtaining her doctorate in psychology.

Early Career

Within the first decade of Dr. Marshall Woods career she dedicated her service to children, adolescents and families.  Her expertise was utilized on various media outlets such as WAMU, WHUR, Heart and Soul Magazine, Washington Post, Circa News, Condé Nast-SELF Magazine, Talk of the Nation (NPR) and HuffPost Live as an expert psychologist.

Television Career

Dr. Marshall Woods has lent her expertise to media outlets throughout her career.  She has been featured on News Channel 8’s Let’s Talk Live, In Transition with Libra Johnson, The Talk Lounge, Circa News and interviewed numerous times with Presstv speaking regarding mental health care and healthy living.  After interviewing on the UDCtv show, A Healthy Mind, she was invited to become the host and soon became a producer upon the show.  Dr. Marshall Woods hosted 37 episodes before shifting her creative focus in 2020 during the pandemic.

Within that time, Dr. Marshall Woods describes that she engaged in an experiment, interviewing filmmakers regarding their latest cinematic creations and holding conversation regarding the influence psychology had in their work.  Best Psychology in Film was born, eponymously from her first book in collaboration with UDCtv, where Dr. Marshall Woods serves as host and producer. Best Psychology in Film is beginning Season 5 after filming forty episodes.

Approach to Psychology

The practice of psychology is broad.  Dr. Marshall Woods primarily practices from a psychodynamic theoretical perspective integrating trauma theories into her delivered service. Marshall Woods’ approach to consultation with screenwriters and filmmakers at various stages of development invite conversations regarding considering the nuances of characters’ psychology to enrich the themes and set development of the production.  Marshall Woods has provided support upon sets for cast in crew to support mental health and morale during emotionally challenging scenes.  Her contributions on films have earned her production credit upon films such as Daddy’s Home (2020) and The Pushover (2024).

Writing Career

Ask Dr. Marshall Woods column began Marshall Woods’ writing career distributed with EmPower Magazine that answered questions posed by readers regarding relationships, coping strategies, grief etc.  Dr. Marshall Woods continued her writing marrying her passion of psychology and cinema with American Psychological Association’s former journal PsycCRITIQUES in 2016 highlighting psychological concepts and diagnoses found within cinematic works.  Thereafter, she began to contribute to Huffington Post creating blogs that explored the psychological dynamics located within specific films.  She continued her contributions with both Medium and Thrive Global and published her first book in 2018, Best Psychology in Film.  Dr. Marshall Woods published the article “What Is My Part” in Studies in Gender and Sexuality noting a commitment to practicing in media psychology as an area of specialty in her career while sharing what the path has been like for her as an African American woman in the field of psychology.  In 2024 Dr. Marshall Woods was invited to share her expertise in psychology and film with other media psychology experts in the Handbook of Media Psychology. Further, her 2024 publication, Black Film Through A Psychodynamic Lens explores the influence of Black film to American culture and beyond. Dr. Marshall Woods has co-authored numerous articles with colleagues on various aspects of psychology pertaining to her interests in psychological assessment, clinical supervision and students’ academic success and has been quoted in countless articles that share psychology with the public.

Filmography

Best Psychology in Film (2020-)

The Pushover (2024)

Daddy’s Home (2020)

A Healthy Mind (2019-)

References

Marshall Woods, K. What is my part? Studies in Gender and Sexuality, Vol 21, p.94-98. https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/89SSXCBF9RFWNTSRMRU7/full?target=10.1080/15240657.2020.1760023

Marshall Woods, K. (2018). Best Psychology in Film. Author. Upper Marlboro, MD.

A Healthy Mind https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_eAyEAtMtxhFZL14rCE3qf9W8TnxFeiG

Best Psychology in Film https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_eAyEAtMtxhlbXexOjBq0Ce9-1Tx4UhN

Ruth, R.; Marshall Woods, K.; & Fenton R. (in press). Test review of the California Verbal Learning Test--Third Edition]. In J. F. Carlson, K. F. Geisinger, & J. L. Jonson, (Eds.), The twenty-first mental measurements yearbook. Lincoln, NE: Buros Center for Testing.

Psychology in Feature Films, In Grant Rich (Eds). American Psychological Association

Division 46 Handbook, Media Psychology. Springer Publishing, Washington, DC

Xing, F., Malik, M., Dershewitz, S., Hedlund, S., Gedo, P., Marshall Woods, K. & Marmarosh, C. (2024). Online Supervision During COVID-19: Supervisor’s Perspective During a Time of Crisis. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.  1-10. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pro0000532 Category:Media Psychology Category:Clinical Psychology Category:Psychology Category:Media Expert Category:Author Category:Television Host Category:Born in 1976 Category:Living Person Category:George Washington University Category:African-American Psychologists Category:Polymath