A Legacy Built on Learning: The Educational Philosophy of Dr. Michael Civin
Ask those who know him well, and they will tell you that Dr. Michael A. Civin has always understood something that not everyone in his profession fully grasps: you cannot give what you do not have. That conviction has driven him to pursue one of the most extensive educational backgrounds in his field, equipping himself with knowledge drawn from multiple disciplines so that he could offer his patients the richest, most informed care possible.
His academic record reads like a roadmap of intellectual ambition. After earning a cum laude A.B. from Harvard in 1968, Dr. Civin spent time at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine before completing his first Master of Arts at the University of Oregon in 1970. He then pursued and completed a second M.A. in Clinical Psychology at Adelphi University’s Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies in 1986, alongside his doctoral degree from the same institution. In 1988, he added a medical degree from the Pennsylvania Institute of Straight Chiropractic, and in 1993, a Postdoctoral Certificate in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy — again from Adelphi.
This layered academic preparation has paid dividends throughout his career. It has made him not only a more skilled clinician but also a more credible contributor to the field’s academic discourse. Dr. Civin has served as a professor and faculty member at several universities and institutions of higher learning, and his research has been published in major psychology journals and prominent books on the subject.
In his clinical work, this educational depth is palpable. His patients in the Bronx, Manhattan, Astoria, and Bayville benefit from a practitioner who brings multi-disciplinary insight to every session. At Rose Hill Psychological Services — the community clinic he co-founded in 2007 — that same breadth of knowledge is deployed in service of a mission: affordable, effective mental health care for those who need it most. The clinic has grown significantly since its founding, now operating additional offices on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and in Mohegan Lake, New York. For Michael A. Civin Ph.D., education was never the end goal — it was always the means to a greater one.