Areas of Instruction:
- Human Development and Consciousness
- Society, Culture and Systems
- Social Psychology
- Research Methods
- Phenomenology
- Hermeneutics
- Somatics
- Social Theory and Practice
- Vedantic-Yogic Thought
Scholarly & Professional Interests:
- Somatics
- Phenomenology
- Critical Theory
- Environmental Studies
- Music and Consciousness
- Praxis, Vedantic Thought
- Creative Longevity and Wisdom
- Childhood Experience and Adult Life for Women and Men
- Spiritual Development
- Creative Writing.
Professional Memberships:
- Society for Phenomenology and the Human Sciences
- Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy
- American Sociological Association.
Certifications and Credentials:
- Licensed Professional Counselor, Texas, 1980-1996
- Certified Social Worker—Advance Clinical Practitioner, Texas, 1980-1996.
- Certified Advanced Massage Therapist, Body Therapy Institute, Santa Barbara,California.
- Certified Yoga Teacher, Integrative Yoga Therapy Institute, Initiate, Vedanta Society of Southern California.
Honors and Awards:
- Lillian Dean Award—First Place for Novel, 2010 Central Coast Writer’s Conference
- Fellow, American Council of Learned Societies, Contemplative Practice—2005
- Social Justice Award, Fielding Graduate University, 2002
- Honored Scholar, Society for Phenomenology and the Human Sciences, 1999
- Faculty Publication Awards, Fielding Graduate University, 1996, 1998
- Faculty Research Awards, Fielding Graduate University, and Texas Woman’s University, 1982-1984
Publications:
- Rehorick, David, and Valerie Malhotra Bentz, editors, Transformative Phenomenology: Changing Ourselves, Lifeworlds and Professional Practice (2008) Latham, Maryland, Lexington Books, a division of Rowan and Littlefield.)
- Bentz, Valerie, Dudley Tower, and Katrina Rogers, editors, 2007, Creative Longevity and Wisdom, Collected Papers. www. fielding.edu
- Bentz, Valerie Malhotra and Jeremy J. Shapiro.(1998) Mindful Inquiry in Social Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
- Bentz, Valerie Malhotra., & Mayes, P. (Eds.). (1993). Visual images of women in the arts and mass media. Mellon Press.
- Bentz, Valerie Malhotra. (1989). Becoming mature: Childhood ghosts and spirits in adult life. New York: Transaction.
Presentations:
- Society for Phenomenology and the Human Sciences, Rochester, New York, November 2012, with David Rehorick on transformative phenomenology
- Swami Vivekanada's Message for World Peace: Talk at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Cambria, CA., February, 2012
Funded Grants/Contracts:
- Becoming Mature: Childhood Ghosts and Spirits in Adult Life, Follow-up and Replicative Study, 2010, Fielding Research Grant
Professional Experience:
- Research Faculty, Saybrook University, 2011-2012
- Research Professor, Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, 2005-2008
- Chair of Doctoral Faculty, School of Human and Organization Development, 2004-2008
- Professor, School of Human and Organization Development, The Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara, CA, 1999-present
- Mind Body Medicine Program
Other Professional Activities:
- Yoga Teacher
- Body Therapist
- Lecturer
- President of Democratic Club and Program Chair
- Board Member, Greenspace, the Cambria Land Trust
- Speaker at Organizations on Environmental Issues and Issues of Creative Aging
- Musician (bassoonist and pianist).