Bedford E. F. Palmer II, Ph.D.

Professional Overview

Dr. Bedford Palmer II is a licensed psychologist and an associate professor and chair of the counseling department at Saint Mary's College of California. Prior to his time at SMC, he earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Dr. Palmer completed his pre-doctoral psychology internship at the University of California, Berkeley and was a staff psychologist, coordinating Services to Students of African Descent and the Multicultural Immersion Program at the University of California, Davis.  

Dr. Palmer teaches courses in professional ethics, intercultural communication, human sexuality, psychological perspectives of gender, and advanced clinical practice to master’s level clinicians in-training. His teaching and clinical interests are in professional ethics, supervision, conceptualization and treatment planning, community mental health, and multicultural competence development. Dr. Palmer founded the Akoben Research Lab, where he works with a team of graduate and undergraduate students to explore issues in social privilege attitudes, cultural factors, social and racial justice, ally identity development, multicultural competence education, clinical training, and psychology in social media. Dr. Palmer has served on the board of directors for the Association of Black Psychologists, and as the Stated Diversity Delegate for the California Psychological Association.  He is also a past President of the Alameda Psychological Association, was the producer/cohost of the Naming It podcast, and is the author of "Daddy Why Am I Brown?": A healthy conversation about skin color and family.