Dr. Patricia McWhorter, Ph.D.

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Get to know Psychologist Dr. Patricia McWhorter, who serves patients in greater Tooele County, Utah.

Dr. McWhorter, Licensed Psychologist, has been in private practice serving greater Tooele County for 17 years and been in private practice since 1998.  Dr. McWhorter works with adults on issues ranging from post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), grief, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorders, victims of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, and more.  She also conducts psychological testing for intelligence (IQ), court-ordered psychological evaluations, as well as psychological evaluations required for certain surgical procedures.

Dr. McWhorter was honored by B.A.C.A. (Bikers Against Child Abuse) to be designated as their therapist-liaison for their Utah Western Region Chapter. Her role is to assess and to attend to an abused child’s immediate needs be they medical, neurological in the event of head trauma, or emotional.

Dr. McWhorter was appointed to the Investigative Committee of the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) in 2012. The DOPL is one of seven agencies within the Utah Department of Commerce. The agency is legislatively charged to administer and enforce specific laws related to the licensing and regulation of certain occupations and professions.

Dr. McWhorter received her Bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in Psychology from Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. She then went on to receive her Master’s and PhD  in Counseling Psychology from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City in 1994. While in her graduate studies, she was nominated to the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.   

Dr. McWhorter is a member of the Utah Psychological Association. The Utah Psychological Association assists its members of approximately 300 psychologists, psychology researchers, graduate students of psychology, and high school teachers of psychology in the mission to advance psychology as a science and as a profession.

Dr. McWhorter is the author of a Pulitzer-nominated book titled Cry of Our Native Soul which was published in 1998.  This was based on her dissertation research that explored Native American spirituality, and spoke with people of the Hopi, Navajo, Arapaho, Lakota, Apache tribes about their spiritual lives.

Psychology is the science of behavior and mind. It includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, as well as feeling and thought. As a psychologist, Dr. McWhorter studies normal and abnormal mental states, and endeavors to promote a sense of safety, self-understanding, and sound mental health.

Dr. McWhorter attributes her success to the education she received as an undergraduate from Westminster College, Salt Lake City, and as a graduate student from the University of  Utah. The excellent institutions of higher learning gave her a wealth of tools to draw from.

Dr. McWhorter saw a need for a psychologist in the rural community of Tooele and the surrounding area of greater Tooele County, and moved her life and work to provide her services.

In her spare time, Dr. McWhorter enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing, and being outdoors. She also enjoys music and plays several instruments. She has a special interest in learning classical eastern Indian music and plays the harmonium as a consequence.

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