Professional Background.
Psychology | Design | Creativity | Human Behavior 

Dr. Gregory Lyons, PsyD.

My professional life has taken a somewhat unusual path, but one consistent thread runs through it: an interest in how people think, communicate, create, work together, and respond to the environments around them.

Long before I became a therapist or earned my doctorate in psychology, I worked professionally as a graphic designer specializing in visual communication, marketing, and digital media. My work included projects for organizations such as United Airlines, Caesars Entertainment, Motorola, the American Gem Society, and many other businesses and organizations.

I have always approached design from a psychological perspective. Color, shape, placement, visual hierarchy, language, and composition do more than make something attractive. I have always understood how these elements influence how individuals interpret things, how information is cognitively stored, and, because they are impacted psychologically, how the experience may shape their perception of the subject.

From Design to Psychology.

My early professional experience also introduced me to organizational psychology in an unexpected way. As a young graphic designer, I worked with University Associates in San Diego, an organization known for its work in human resource development, organizational development, experiential learning, leadership, and professional training. I worked extensively with course materials, training publications, business materials, and conference content. This experience gave me early exposure to ideas involving organizations, leadership, group dynamics, learning, communication, and change.

Through the rest of my design career, I continued working with organizations and businesses on communication and design challenges. My work included corporate and employee materials, websites, marketing, UI/UX, social media, business identity, promotional materials, and helping people determine how best to communicate an idea to a particular audience. This sharpened my skills in creating campaigns that used psychological principles to present images and designs that people would eventually see, read, use, or interact with.

This longstanding interest in psychology eventually led me to pursue my master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and become a practicing therapist. I later earned my Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Individual and Organizational Psychology.

Today, my experience includes both sides of that journey: years spent designing how information and experiences are presented to people, and years as a practicing therapist working directly with people to better understand behavior, communication, relationships, motivation, creativity, and change.

Where Those Worlds Meet.

My professional interests extend beyond traditional clinical practice and include organizational psychology, human-centered and experience design, employee experience (including learning and development), visual communication, creative strategy, and planning and facilitation of organizational development.

I am particularly interested in the places where disciplines that are often treated separately begin to inform one another: psychology, design, communication, creativity, and the human experience within organizations.

After a career that has moved through design, technology, business communication, clinical practice, and psychology, I remain most interested in examining where psychology, organizations, creativity, communication, and design overlap.

Some of the questions that are involved in this pursuit include:

I see a common denominator in these questions being how visual communication can make complicated ideas easier through creativity, and how psychological insight can contribute to healthier individuals, groups, workplaces, and organizations.

These interests continue to influence my clinical work, writing, and professional development. They also inform my development of Creative Activation Therapy (CreATe™), an emerging framework that explores creativity as a structured means of reflection, psychological processing, engagement, and intentional action.

Education.

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), Individual and Organizational Psychology
 Touro University Worldwide
 Summa Cum Laude

Master of Arts, Marriage and Family Therapy
 Emphasis in Licensed Professional Clinical Counseling
 Touro University Worldwide
 Summa Cum Laude

Bachelor of Science, Information Technology
 Multimedia and Visual Communications
 University of Phoenix

Associate of Science, Multimedia and Graphic Design
 Platt College