Online Degrees

Thomas J. Tiefenwerth, Ph.D.
Associate Faculty

Contact info:

Office: 254.598.2923
Email: tjtiefenwerth@aol.com

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Biography

Academic Background:

• Ph.D. in Administration of Justice, The University of Southern Mississippi. Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
  Dissertation Title: Criminal Sexuality and Psychopathology: Pornography as a Contributory Risk Factor in the Psycho-Social Development of Violent Sex Offenders
• M.P.S. in Public Administration, Concentration in Criminal Justice Policy, The University of Texas at Tyler. Tyler, Texas.
• M.A. in Forensic Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice-City University of New York
  New York, New York.
• M.P.S. in Criminal Justice, C.W. Post Center-Long Island University. Brookville, New York.
• Thesis Title: Child Molestation.
• B.S. in Criminal Justice-Police Science, New York Institute of Technology. Old Westbury, New York.
• A.A. in Administration of Justice, Los Angeles City College. Los Angeles, California.

Professional Licenses and Certifications:

• Licensed Professional Counselor-Certified Clinical Supervisor  (L.P.C.)
• Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors
• Licensed Addiction Counselor-Expired (L.A.C.)
• Addictive Disorders Regulatory Authority
• Licensed Sex Offender Treatment Provider (L.S.O.T.P)
• Texas Council on Sex Offender Treatment
• Licensed Psychological Associate (L.P.A.) Retired on 05/31/2005
• Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists
• National Certified Psychologist (N.C.P.)
• Professional Psychology Certification Board
• Certified Criminal Justice Addictions Professional (C.C.J.A.P.)
• Texas Certification Board of Addiction Professionals
• Certified Criminal Justice Professional (C.C.J.P.)
• Louisiana Association of Substance Abuse Counselors & Trainers, Inc.
• Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor (A.A.D.C.)
• Louisiana Association of Substance Abuse Counselors & Trainers, Inc.
• Certified Advanced Addiction Counselor (A.A.C.)  
• Texas Certification Board of Addiction Professionals
• Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor-III Diplomate (A.D.C.-III)
• Texas Certification Board of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors
• Int’l Certified Criminal Justice Addictions Professional (I.C.C.J.A.P.)
• Int’l Certification & Reciprocity Consortium
• Int’l Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor (I.C.A.A.D.C.)
• Int’l Certification & Reciprocity Consortium
• Certified Correctional Health Professional (C.C.H.P.)
• National Commission on Correctional Health Care
• Certified C.J.A.D. Instructor (Instructor)
• Community Justice Assistance Division of T.D.C.J.
• Licensed T.C.L.E.O.S.E. Instructor (Instructor)
  • Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education

Teaching Background:

Dr. Tiefenwerth is a retired professor of psychology, sociology, and criminal justice from the Teachers Retirement System of Texas with approximately 25 years of teaching experience at the college/university level. In addition, Dr. Tiefenwerth is a Texas-state licensed and certified instructor at the police, corrections, and probation & parole academies, regularly providing professional pre-service and post-service training presentations in specialty areas that overlap psychology and criminal justice.

Some of his professional training presentations include: Psychology of the Criminal Mind, Criminal Personality: Understanding the Dynamics of Antisocial Behavior, Forensic Victimology, Psychology of Criminal Sexuality: Fetishes and Paraphilias, Domestic/Intimate Violence: The Substance Abusing Batterer.

Professional Background:

Dr. Tiefenwerth brings with him more than 35 years of criminal justice and corrections experience, both in the military, as well as a civilian. He is originally from Long Island, New York, and began his professional career in criminal justice in the U.S. Marine Corps, after having attended Military Police and Corrections School at Ft Gordon in Georgia.

He is also retired psychologist and psychotherapist from the Texas Prison System with more than 25 years of clinical-forensic mental health experience, treating a wide variety of convicted felons institutionalized with mental health and mental retardation issues, along with concurrent sex offender and addiction/substance abuse problems.

In addition, Dr. Tiefenwerth holds a number of professional state and national licenses and certifications, including: as a Texas State Licensed Professional Counselor, a Texas State Licensed Sex Offender Treatment Provider, a Nationally Certified Psychologist, a Nationally Certified Criminal Justice Addiction Specialist, a Nationally Certified Correctional Health Professional, and several other certifications in the forensic mental health and substance abuse counseling fields.

Teaching Philosophy:

Dr. Tiefenwerth believes that the learning process is most effective when it is a collaborative effort between students and the professor. It is his expectation that students not only learn from him and from each other, but that he learn from them as well.

The connection and didactic-energy established between the students and him are a powerful teaching technique that he utilizes in creating an optimal online learning experience. Dr. Tiefenwerth's role as the online professor is not only a source of knowledge, but also a source of support and a connection for other resources.

He strives to be student-focused, competent, flexible, and aware of the uniqueness amongst his students. Dr. Tiefenwerth is typically available to chat with his students via telephone or e-mail. He tries to get to know his students as people, though it is more of a challenge in an online course. Dr. Tiefenwerth brings criminal justice issues to life by providing real-life examples that students can grasp, based on what they know of the world by making the connection between the textbook and real world issues.

Professional and Community Activities:

Dr. Tiefenwerth serves as a clinical, research, and training consultant in a variety of therapeutic, educational, and forensic settings-including the U.S. military, as well as a clinical member of a variety of professional organizations within the criminal justice, forensic mental health and addiction/substance abuse counseling fields. He is currently participating in several joint research efforts with academic scholars from other institutions, pursuing opportunities within his fields of interest.

Dr. Tiefenwerth maintains a forensic mental health private practice, conducting psychological evaluations and risk assessments on a variety of criminal offenders (sex offenders, mentally ill/retarded offenders, substance abusers, and domestic violence abusers), as well as child custody evaluations for the courts and criminal justice system in Temple, Texas.

He was also elected to the State Board of the Louisiana Substance Abuse Counselors and Trainers (LASACT) and served for two years as Vice Chairman of their Credentialing Committee. He also has the honor of being named the first Certified Criminal Justice Professional in the State of Louisiana.

Awards:

Dr. Tiefenwerth is a former “Counselor of the Year” and has received numerous teaching and training awards within his respective fields of expertise. He also received an award from the Louisiana Association of Substance Abuse Counselors and Trainers, which is located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for adding more than 100 members to the organization.

Personal Background:

Hobbies: Foreign language study

Research/Academic Interests:

Correctional Psychology, Prevarication and Detection of Deception, Interview and Interrogation, Forensic Populations (Mentally Ill/Retarded Offenders, Sex Offenders, Substance Abusers, and domestic violence abusers), and Clinical-Forensic Mental Health Evaluations and Risk Assessments for dangerousness and recidivism of forensic clients.