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A mAgAzine for Alumni And friends of the Adler school summer 2011
Adler school of Professional Psychology
Weighing the Effects mental health and community voice in public policy
Teaming Up on Community Health Adler school students partner with neighborhood organizations
GEMEINSCHAFTSGEFÜHL (geh-MINE-shafts-geh-foohl)
1. (literally) “community engagement” or “social interest,”
this Adlerian term is used to describe one’s connectedness
and interest in the well-being of others that enhances or
pre-conditions psychological health.
2. the revolutionary notion that Alfred Adler proposed in
turn-of-the-century Vienna that drives the ground-breaking
and far-reaching curricula and commitment to community
engagement at the Adler school.
Board of Trustees
mary cahillane, m.B.A., Board Chair Vice President, finance and investment the spencer foundation
Victoria chou, Ph.d., Vice Chair dean, college of education, university of illinois at chicago
Audra Akins, m.A.t.d. doctoral student, instructional technology and design, northern illinois university.
Betsy Brill, m.B.A. President, strategic Philanthropy, ltd.
Janet campbell, m.s.W. coordinator of child and Youth mental health, ministry of children and family development
raymond e. crossman, Ph.d. President, Adler school of Professional Psychology
ralph deWitt, m.P.A. chief of the investigations Bureau, cook county (illinois) state's Attorney's office
William W. greaves, Ph.d. director, Advisory council on gay and lesbian issues, city of chicago commission on human relations
James m. houlihan former cook county (illinois) Assessor
david J. Kreischer, m.A. managing Partner, higgins Kreischer and Associates, llc
sid mohn, Ph.d. executive director, heartland Alliance for human rights and human needs
harold mosak, Ph.d. co-founder and distinguished Professor, Adler school of Professional Psychology
Juan salgado, m.u.P. President and chief executive officer, instituto del Progreso latino
lindsay setzer retired, former director, maples Adolescent treatment centre
Bernard shulman, m.d. director of Psychiatric services, diamond headache clinic co-founder, Adler school of Professional Psychology
david sinski, m.A. executive director, After school matters
Javier ubarri, m.B.A. chicago Bancorp
eric c. Warner, P.t., m.s. chief executive officer, Accelerated rehabilitation centers
Alumni Association Leadership Board
gary howell, President, m.A. 2004 counseling, Psy.d. 2008 clinical Psychology
christy schoenwald, Vice President, m.A. 2009 counseling Psychology– Art therapy
michael Banghart, Past President, m.A. 2002 counseling
mark Bilkey, Psy.d. 1997 clinical Psychology
tim devitt, Psy.d. clinical Psychology
leigh Johnson-migalski, m.A. 1999 counseling, Psy.d. 2006 clinical Psychology
nancy Johnston, m.A. 2006 counseling and organizational Psychology
ninfa A. martínez, m.A. 1994 marriage and family therapy
colleen mitchell, Psy.d. 2008 clinical Psychology
roger Peden, m.A. 2001 counseling and organizational Psychology
michael K. ryle, m.A. 2008 Police Psychology
megan scheible, Psy.d. candidate clinical Psychology, student representative
Adler School of Professional Psychology
The Adler School Leadership Team
raymond e. crossman, Ph.d. President
larry Axelrod, Ph.d. dean, Vancouver campus
martha casazza, ed.d. Vice President of Academic Affairs
Anthony chimera, m.B.A. Vice President of development
Jo Beth cup, m.s.m. Vice President of Administration
Jeffrey green, m.B.A. Vice President of finance and technology
Wendy Paszkiewicz, Psy.d. Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs
lynn todman, Ph.d. executive director, institute on social exclusion
Chicago Campus 17 north dearborn street chicago, illinois 60602
Vancouver Campus 1090 West georgia street, suite 1200 Vancouver, Bc V6e 3V7, canada
2
Gemeinschaftsgefühl summer 2011 © Adler school of Professional Psychology • All rights reserved • Produced by Adler school of Professional Psychology • department of marketing & communications • 17 north dearborn street, chicago, illinois 60602 • telephone: 312-662-4000 • e-mail: marketing@adler.edu • Associate Vice President of marketing & communications: mark Branson • director of communications: Kim mccullough • Adler school student contributors: rachel eddy, Korey Watkins • design: Kym Abrams design Photography: charlie simokaitis, corbis, getty images • Printing: unique Active • contributing Writer: maureen Kelleher
04 Leading Social Change At the forefront in military psychology, lgBtQ mental
health and online education practice
07 Teaming Up on Community Health Youth sports. community banking. minority hiring on public
works projects. What’s mental health got to do with it?
13 Conversations on Social Change talking with Adlerian scholar, psychologist and
author Paul rasmussen, Ph.d.
15 Leading Thought in the Field forward thinking and news from the Adler school
faculty and institutes
17 Weighing the Effects Advancing practice and community voice on decisions
that affect community mental health
23 The Global View Partnering, presenting and advocating socially responsible
practice throughout the world
25 Our Alumni: Leading Change in the World cultivating hope and healing in the displaced persons
camps of haiti
In THIS ISSUE
summer 2011 gemeinschAftsgefÜhl3
nation and other countries. this work is advancing the practice
of health impact assessment to guide public policy makers in
decisions about infrastructure, transportation, employment,
housing, and a host of other seemingly unrelated areas that
ultimately affect our cities’ mental health.
the mhiA is an example of how the Adler school leads as an
innovator in social change through our mission of preparing
socially responsible practitioners, engaging communities, and
advancing social justice.
As a teaching institution committed to academic and practice
excellence, we recognize that preparing socially responsible
practitioners means preparing practitioners who appreciate the
needs of growing urban communities. this issue describes im-
portant work of our faculty, students, and alumni in those urban
communities—from the neighborhoods of chicago’s West side,
to the makeshift settlements in and around Port-au-Prince,
haiti, to the fragmented post-war communities of sri lanka.
our faculty has developed an approach for our community
psychology coursework that goes farther and deeper than
volunteerism or community service. on chicago’s West side,
our faculty and students have found that youth sports,
community banking, and public work projects are closely tied
to the determinants of one neighborhood’s mental health.
And, one of our Vancouver alumni, Jennifer Van Wyck, finds
ways to support community and health within the displaced
persons camps outside Port-au-Prince.
Jennifer’s report reminds me that change is not only pos-
sible, it’s our responsibility—to question, to think differently,
and to lead. When we engage cities in collaborative partnership
that strengthens communities, provides service, and prepares
students, we lead social change.
most of the world’s population growth in coming decades
will take place in urban centers. All projections point to this
significant worldwide change in how humans are living in the
21st century.
Policy makers and researchers across disciplines are explor-
ing the increasingly complex experience of hundreds of millions
of people in burgeoning urban population centers. last month,
united nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon stated, “We
know what policies would strengthen urban good governance
and improve the way cities handle such key issues as hous-
ing, land use, equitable access to land, inheritance and shelter
rights, sanitation, and energy efficiency.” All these issues of
urban life are social determinants of mental health.
i have lived in major cities my entire life, and the Adler
school is located in two of the world’s great cities—so i appreci-
ate the many positive and healthy aspects of urban living. At the
same time, there are specific risks to the collective well-being
and mental health of growing urban communities. What we call
in this issue of Gemeinschaftsgefühl “urban dis-ease.” At the
Adler school, we’ve been exploring the issue of urban dis-ease
for a while. And, we’ve pioneered ways to address it.
last summer, our institute on social exclusion (ise)
convened the united states’ first-ever conference on social
determinants of mental health—bringing together public health
officials and policy makers, health service providers, and
academics and practitioners from seven countries. our keynote
speaker david satcher, former u.s. surgeon general, called our
conference “cutting edge” in its focus. And in his remarks, he
called for the start of a global movement to change policies that
affect social determinants of mental health.
Within months, we took the next significant, cutting-edge
step. As you will read in this issue of Gemeinschaftsgefühl, our
ise convened a team of faculty, students, policy makers, public
health officials, and community members to develop a first-
of-its-kind mental health impact Assessment (mhiA) to take
systemic action.
only months into this pioneering project, we’re fielding in-
quiries about the mhiA and its potential application across the
raymond e. crossman, Ph.d.
President
FrOm THE prESIdEnT
4
“As a city, we’re truly proud of the Adler
school’s commitment not only to our
citizens but to the rest of the world.” so
said chicago mayor richard m. daley in
remarks to more than 500 alumni, faculty,
students, staff, community represen-
tatives, and leaders from throughout
chicago and the nation who gathered
January 11 for the grand opening of the
Adler school’s new chicago campus.
throughout the night, guests toured
the state-of-the-art campus designed
Chicago Celebrates Adler School Campus Opening
the united states’ first clinical
psychology doctoral program with a
military psychology track has been
established at the Adler school—amid
a growing shortage of behavioral health
professionals serving u.s. troops just
as suicide and post-traumatic stress
disorder is on the rise.
Joseph Troiani, ph.d., a retired u.s.
navy commander, clinical psychologist,
and coordinator of the Adler school’s
military Psychology track, points to the
need for the new track citing:
• the occurrence rate of post-traumat-
ic stress disorders (Ptsd), now double
the rates of prior conflicts such as the
Korean War, the Vietnam conflict and
the first gulf War. the Ptsd rate among
women was recently identified at close to
40 percent.
• the nature of modern conflict, such
as use of improvised explosive devices,
that has produced significant rates of
increase in traumatic brain injury (tBi).
• Advances in military medicine that
have produced falling death rates but
increased incidence of tBi, spinal
cord injuries, and other brain injuries
requiring long-term clinical psychological
services including medical and rehabili-
tative psychology.
the Veterans Administration also
continues to expand both hospital and
clinic-based behavioral health services
to meet the needs of increasing numbers
of veterans turning to the VA system
for services—providing significant
opportunity for military psychologists.
by chicago-based and internationally
renowned oWP/P cannon design;
met faculty, students and staff; and
learned more about the school’s current
and future initiatives including anti-vio-
lence programs in chicago’s englewood
and Back of the Yards communities.
learn more about the technologically,
environmentally, and architecturally
innovative new campus at
adler.edu/page/campuses/chicago.
nation’s First psy.d. program with military psychology Track Launched
LEAdInG SOCIAL CHAnGE
from left: chicago mayor richard m. daley, with Adler school President raymond e. crossman at the new campus opening
summer 2011 gemeinschAftsgefÜhl5
Adler online—which leads the
Adler school’s blended and online
learning programs and services—has
been recognized by a u.s. national
higher education consortium for best
practice in innovating faculty and
student support systems for blended
education.
the sloan consortium, a leader-
ship association in higher education
engaged in online learning, recog-
nized the Adler online initiative as one
of the nation’s top five practices for
innovation, replicability and success in
advancing access, learning effective-
ness, faculty and student satisfaction,
and scalability.
Zoaib mirza, m.A., director of Adler
online, and paul Collins, Associate
Vice President of technology, accept-
ed the 2010 effective Practice Award
at the eighth Annual sloan-c Blended
learning conference and Workshop,
march 29 in oak Brook, ill.
Adler Online recognized for national Best practice
zoaib mirza, m.A. director, Adler online
for the first time ever, candidates
running for chicago mayor came
together during the 2011 campaign to
specifically address issues of education,
housing, youth, civil rights, and public
safety facing the lgBtQ community. the
historic mayoral candidates’ forum took
place at the Adler school on february 9.
“i want to thank you—for your dedi-
cation and your love for the city—and
most importantly Adler, for hosting this
event and for what you do to make this
a stronger and better city,” candidate
rahm Emanuel told forum attendees,
just weeks before his election as
Historic Forum Speaks to LGBTQ Issues
chicago’s new mayor.
the Adler school worked closely with
leadership from the Association for latin
men of Action (AlmA), the Aids founda-
tion of chicago, Affinity, Amigas latinas,
equality illinois, lgBt change, and
the civil rights Agenda representing
a coalition of 32 lgBtQ advocacy
organizations that organized the event.
media coverage of the forum included
chicago’s ABc, nBc and univision
affiliate stations; the Chicago Tribune;
the Huffington Post; and the Windy City
Times. for more information including
a link to video, visit adler.edu.
Center for LGBTQ mental Health Announced
this fall, the Adler school will establish
the center for lgBtQ mental health at
its chicago campus to provide new cur-
ricula, advocacy, thought leadership and
research on lgBtQ mental health for the
public as well as students of the school.
the center will lead to the development
of new coursework, certificate programs
and degree programs at the Adler school.
it is also expected to become a resource
to the Adler school and to the public
regarding lgBtQ health services and
mental health through an emerging
advocacy and research agenda.
the center’s founding director will
be hired this summer to begin working
closely with faculty to develop plans
and programs for students’ education
and training. Additional priorities will
be to build local and national partner-
ships for advocacy and research.
rahm emanuel speaks at the Adler school, shortly before his election as chicago’s new mayor.
6
Transformative Change in
Mental Health
Pre-conference meeting of the society
for community research and Action
(scrA) Biennial conference
June 15, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
Adler school of Professional Psychology
17 north dearborn street, chicago
for more information: www.scra27.org
the Adler school will host this interna-
tional mental health pre-conference
focused on contributions that community
psychology perspectives and practices
can make in restoring “community” in
mental health systems and services.
FOr ALUmnI
Networking: The Way of Connection
Today and for a Lifetime
July 21, 4-5:30 p.m.
Adler school of Professional Psychology
17 north dearborn street, chicago
for more information: adler.edu/events
gain new tools to clearly, succinctly,
and compellingly convey during the job
search how you impact an organization
or group of people through what you
offer. reserve your place for this free
workshop at alumni@adler.edu.
Homecoming 2011: Chicago Campus
october 22, 7-9 p.m.
Adler school of Professional Psychology
Watch for the announcement: adler.edu
Conferences + Events
the proceedings from this pioneering
conference of the Adler school’s institute
on social exclusion—featuring keynote
speaker and former u.s. surgeon
general david Satcher, m.d., ph.d.—
Faculty Bookshelf
was the nation’s first to convene think-
ers and practitioners from diverse
backgrounds to effectively address
social determinants of mental health.
Verjee, Program director for the Adler
school’s m.A. in community Psychol-
ogy Program in Vancouver, explores
the development of service learning
from a critical race feminist perspec-
tive within context of the university of
British columbia’s work. how could
the university develop service partner-
ships with individuals and communities
Begum Verjee, ed.d.Program director of m.A. community Psychology, Vancouver campus
of color when the institution remains
a site of white, male, and class-based
structures, discourses and practices?
through counter-storytelling, women of
color as students, staff, faculty, and non-
university community members relayed
their experiences—forming the basis for
a service learning model founded on a
transformative view of education.
The Social Determinants of Mental Health: From Awareness to Action
isBn # 978-1456324162
Women of Colour Talk Back: Towards a Critical Race Feminist
Practice of Service-Learning isBn #978-3838329581
Begum Verjee, ed.d.
8
Teaming Up on Community Health Quite a lot, as students are learning in community Psychology
classes taught by nataka moore, psy.d., and Josefina
Alvarez, ph.d. at the Adler school. their pedagogy takes the
Adler school’s recognized focus on community engagement to a
new level, immersing beginning master’s and doctoral students
in local issues that strongly impact community mental health.
in community Psychology, students get a wide-angle lens on
community mental health that is very different from the field’s
traditional focus on the therapeutic counselor/client relationship.
“in order to make the individual well, we have to support the
community as a healthy one,” says martha Casazza, Ed.d., Vice
President of Academic Affairs at the Adler school. “that all
comes from Alfred Adler—it’s a basic tenet we’re following.”
to orient their students immediately to the mindset, moore and
Alvarez led them into field work in two challenged chicago neigh-
borhoods to partner with community organizations working
for change. the students dug deep into concrete issues that
affect the neighborhoods—and saw firsthand social deter-
minants of community mental health and how to transform
them positively.
the approach is designed to benefit both community resi-
dents and Adler school students. “We asked [the community]
‘What can we do? how can our students develop projects that
advance your work?’” moore says.
it’s very different from the traditional university research
model, which views neighborhoods as subjects of research.
casazza says, “other programs may sit in a classroom and
develop a project based on what they read in a textbook or
hear in a lecture, and then go out to the community and ask if
they can conduct research. You’re looking for subjects to
Youth sports. Community banking. minority hiring on public work projects.
What’s mental health got to do with it?
(continued on next page)
summer 2011 gemeinschAftsgefÜhl9
study your project through. the way we do it shows respect. it’s
showing the community we recognize them as the experts in
the community, and they’re going to guide us.”
last fall, moore’s 32 students worked with Westside health
Authority (WhA) in chicago’s Austin neighborhood to research
key issues like community banking and minority hiring. WhA
is a community-based nonprofit organization, founded in 1988
with the mission to use the capacity of local people to improve
the health and well-being of West side residents.
it works with a broad base of hospitals, clinics, social service
organizations, churches, and community residents in the areas
of youth development, violence prevention, technology, employ-
ment, economic development, and health promotions. through
WhA’s asset-based community organizing project “every Block
a Village,” community residents connect with each other for
mutual support and community-building within a 68-block area.
Already, WhA is examining a module that the Adler school
students developed for youth mental health prevention and
intervention. the authority is preparing to apply the module in
its after-school programs. the students also created a mas-
ter proposal for WhA’s Youth sports—critical to helping WhA
sustain its new little league that kicked off in march with a
baseball clinic for 300 youths.
“What the group did well was listen to some of the staff here
and put their words into a document that will one day help us
get funding,” says Jonathan Currie, a community organizer for
WhA. “their research has been put to work in WhA’s after-school
department in our efforts to implement mental health program-
ming. our growing recreation and sports programming can also
use the master grant proposal for any related funding opportuni-
ties that arise.”
moore says, “[students] really had to make the connection
about how youth programming and exercise impact the mental
health of children. they learned if you’re concerned about the
mental health of youth in a community, it often comes down to
developing programs—and that requires funding.”
for the Adler school students, the process began with in-class
presentations from WhA leaders and neighborhood residents.
the class then took a resident-led tour of Austin, a low-income,
predominantly African-American community that is chicago’s
largest neighborhood both geographically and in population.
students saw first-hand that even a challenged neighbor-
hood has significant assets of which mental health practitioners
should be aware. “All the houses had lawns; people were so
friendly. they had a beautiful park. that wasn’t what i was
expecting,” first-year master’s student rachel Eddy says.
other assets were harder to see—which underscored the
importance of resident guides to point them out. eddy says a resi-
dent who visited her class spoke on the tour about the respect
that young people, even drug dealers, have for community elders.
“[The Adler School students’] research has been put to work in WHA’s after-school department in our efforts to implement mental health programming.” Jonathan currie, community organizer, Westside health Authority
Austin little leaguers and their coach confer at a recent practice.
(continued on page 12)
“Students really had to make the connection about how youth programming and exercise impact the mental health of children.” nataka moore, Psy.d., the Adler school
10
summer 2011 gemeinschAftsgefÜhl11
190hours
360,000+people
the length of a community service
Practicum during a student’s first
year at the Adler school
the minimum hours that
students devote to on-site
work in the community during
the practicum
lives affected through these
efforts and more through the
Adler school and its students
each year
BY THE nUmBErS
The Adler School Community Service practicum
recognized as an “innovative Practice in graduate
education” by the American Psychology Association Board of
educational Affairs, the community service Practicum (csP)
is another curricular hallmark at the Adler school in prepar-
ing future practitioners to address systemic improvements to
community mental health.
every student engages in a csP—a non-clinical and
community-based practicum—during his or her first year
of study. for more about csP or becoming a community-
based practicum site, visit adler.edu.
hours of direct community
service students provide
annually through csP
alone: writing grants,
creating curricula, providing
research, conducting client
focus groups, supporting
legal advocacy campaigns,
and much more—that helps
communities advance
systemic change for improved
community mental health
6months
70,000+hours
12
christie ledbetter, clinical Psychology doctoral student, part of this year’s community Psychology course experience working with community partners in chicago’s Austin neighborhood
“if there’s an elder on the street who says ‘You need to get
out of this area,’ that young person will respect them,” eddy
says. “how there are still these strong traditions was a com-
pletely new idea for me. i probably wouldn’t have caught that
[without a resident guide].”
After observing the neighborhood and getting a base of fa-
miliarity, the class developed an assessment of Austin’s needs
and assets. groups began tackling the research projects.
christie ledbetter, a first-year clinical Psychology doctoral
student, was on the team addressing community youth sports.
“We wrote a grant document on the importance of a youth
sports league within the community and the importance of
youth sport participation for healthy development, and to help
fortify and expand the youth baseball and basketball leagues,”
she says. “since i am not a chicago native, this project opened
my eyes to surrounding areas of the city and afforded me the
chance to connect.”
eddy’s group researched traditional, charter, and vocational
high schools to inform Austin residents as they organize to win
a new high school for the community. Austin’s only neighbor-
hood high school closed in 2007—and winning a new high
school capable of serving the entire area is a high priority
among residents.
“We tried not to draw conclusions,” eddy says. “We tried to
give them all the information, so they could decide what to do
with it.” doing the research also taught her the importance of
perspective as a clinician.
“to do a project with a community like that was really eye-
opening. You have to look at it from every angle. You can’t form
opinions without exploring the situation. not every patient is
going to be similar to you.”
in Vancouver, students in the first cohort of the campus’
new master’s program in community psychology will
see the local face of issues like access to programs that
advance opportunities for children and youth, through site
visits to community agencies, says Begum Verjee, Ed.d.,
who directs the program.
for now, students are getting exposure through guest
speakers. Verjee says, “People are coming in from the
community and from government to talk about the work
they are doing. it offers the students a sense of the work
possibilities open to them.”
those possibilities include meaningful work as urban
social and health planners, coordinators for crime
prevention and restorative justice, community organizers,
and consultants on community-based research, impact,
and investment.
on both Adler school campuses, in Vancouver and
chicago, the enhanced hands-on emphasis provides
solid preparation for the community service Practicum
(csP), one of the Adler school’s trademark educational
experiences. (See sidebar)
the csP experience offers students frontline exposure
to social issues by placing them with agencies to become
involved with community organizing, grant writing, needs
assessment, program design, evaluation, and more. the
Amercian Psychological Association has recognized the
Adler school’s csP as a best practice in graduate education.
now, students are entering csP with a stronger
sense of how to tackle community change.“they have a
greater appreciation of why they’re doing their community
service Practicum. they are coming prepared to meet
with supervisors and say,’i understand this problem and
here are some tools i have to address it,” moore says.
summer 2011 gemeinschAftsgefÜhl13
Paul RasmussenA Conversation With
As we examine social determinants
of mental health today, how do
Alfred Adler’s concepts hold up?
in my opinion, very well. But this
needs to be qualified. in many ways,
psychology has moved on to other ways
of thinking about the human condition.
the language that Adler and [rudolf)
dreikurs used has not been part of the
contemporary dialogue.
But Adler and dreikurs were way
ahead of their time. i would argue it’s
probably going to be a few more genera-
tions of psychologists before the broader
discipline catches up. however, given the
language differences, when that catching
up does occur, one may not recognize the
Adlerian ideas unless they look because it
probably won’t be Adlerian terminology.
Adler and dreikurs were smart and
amazingly insightful. But they weren’t
prophets or gurus, and their insights and
descriptions were constrained by their
cultural realities. As a result, some of
the perspectives they took and the way
they described some things no longer
make sense.
however, the idea that each person is
striving to find a place of safety, comfort,
worth, and significance will never be
constrained by cultural changes. nor will
the need to look at the person holistically.
that we are talking more and more
about the bio-psychosocial model is
evidence that the discipline is moving that
direction. eventually, the idea of social
interest, probably in the form of social
cooperation, will become popular.
You’ve explained that social coop-
eration along with social interest—
gemeinschaftgefühl—requires increasing
the cooperative responsibilities of those
who control resources—so the psycholo-
gist’s role can’t be directed simply at
helping the disadvantaged take advan-
tage of resources. Can you elaborate?
it can’t just be helping the
disadvantaged take advantage of
whatever resources the advantaged
choose to make available. those advan-
taged folks need to reflect on what they
really need and control their greed, and
make sure the resources they control are
made available.
You can take pretty much any contem-
porary sociopolitical issue and see this
debate. the more the advantaged hog the
pie, the more likely the disadvantaged
to fight for more pie. the advantaged pie
Scholar, psychologist and author Paul rasmussen, Ph.d., recently
joined the core faculty at the Adler school teaching doctoral courses in Adlerian
techniques in case conceptualization and intervention. he also directs the Adlerian
certification program and coordinates the program in parent training.
COnVErSATIOnS On SOCIAL CHAnGE
holders need to be realistic with just
how much pie they need. this is part of
social interest.
the issue is very much part of the
protest and upheaval that we are
currently observing in northern Africa.
America and many religions were cer-
tainly founded on these principles. But
any time resources become limited and
valuable, greed will motivate people to
take more than their necessary share.
Turning now to your book: The
Quest to Feel Good (2010) examines
emotions—particularly negative emo-
tions—as critical adaptive mechanisms.
What was your goal in writing it?
there is a big schism between
the clinical literature on emotional
disorders and the non-clinical literature
on emotions. there are clearly excep-
tions, but counselors and clinicians don’t
often read the non-clinical literature on
emotion, and the emotions researchers
aren’t that interested in intervention. i
don’t think there is much qualitative
difference between an emotional disorder
and “just” an emotion, so there is value
in looking at the emotion literature to
understand emotional disorders.
this book is an attempt to bridge the
gap i’ve observed—to do so at a level that
is scholarly respectable, but at the same
time be accessible to others who aren’t
mental health professionals. i think we
ought to focus on what people are all
about. they want to try to feel as good in this
existence as they possibly can.
so we really define the quality of our lives,
not independently of thinking, but by how we
feel about our lives. rationalizations are just
verbal manipulations to justify what one’s
done to resolve a bad feeling or to create a
good feeling. logic is almost nonexistent.
so, to me, emotions are really primary to the
human experience. that’s what i’m trying to
argue with the book.
What do you find exciting about teach-
ing at the Adler School at this point in
your career?
What i find exciting about teaching at
the Adler school is the opportunity to
work with bright, motivated students who are
activity engaged in thinking about the human
experience, and to interact with highly com-
petent colleagues with a similar passion for
teaching and learning. Also, as one grounded
in Adlerian theory, i am particularly excited
to be at the premier center for advancing
Adlerian thought and practice.
14
Watch video of our faculty and leadership discussing social change. Visit adler.edu and click on “conversations on social change.”
Adler school student Korey Watkins contributed to this article.
summer 2011 gemeinschAftsgefÜhl15
Wendy paszkiewicz, psy.d., Associ-
ate Vice President of Academic Affairs,
and nancy Bothne, m.S., director of
community engagement, with student
leader melissa dreffin, recently secured
a mccormick foundation grant through
the illinois campus compact, supporting
the Adler school’s socially responsible
Practice (srP) Project.
LEAdInG THOUGHT In THE FIELd
Grant Supports Socially responsible practice project
the grant will support the school’s
work developing community engagement,
data collection, assessment, literature
review, and an action-plan white paper to
be published in may.
the “strategic civic leader fellows
grant” awarded to the Adler school is
among several that illinois campus
compact provided to its member institu-
Wendy Paszkiewicz, Psy.d. Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs
newest Core Faculty named to Adler School
Paul Rasmussen, Ph.D., core faculty,
doctor of Psychology in clinical
Psychology Program. see feature,
page 13.
Karen Koch, Psy.D., Program director,
master of Arts in counseling: forensic
Psychology Program.
Michele Kerulis, L.C.P.C., interim direc-
tor, master of Arts in counseling: sport
& health Psychology Program.
Robert Musikantow, Ph.D.,
core faculty, master of Arts in counsel-
ing: organizational Psychology Program.
Maricruz Ramos, N.C.C., L.P.C.,
core faculty, master of Arts in
counseling Program.
the illinois Academy of criminology
has honored Victoria priola-Surowiec,
psy.d., department chair for forensic
and Police Psychology programs at the
Adler school, with its prestigious Ann
o’Brien stevens Award, presented annu-
ally for outstanding contributions to the
field of criminal justice by a woman.
priola-Surowiec receives Illinois Award for Outstanding Contributions to Criminal Justice
in their nomination letter to the acad-
emy, Priola-suroweic’s students—police
officers who see first-hand the impact
of her work in the field—said: “she is a
dedicated professional who has delivered
beyond her duties an avenue for police
officers that has changed the way polic-
ing is performed. she is truly an innovator
and a positive contributor to the field of
criminal justice.”
Priola-suroweic received the award at
the academy’s annual awards ceremony
may 6 in chicago. she is a member of
the Association for innovation in law
enforcement, the international Associa-
tion of chiefs of Police, and the Police
executives research forum.
Victoria Priola-surowiec, Psy.d.
tions to projects that support
collaboration between academic affairs
and student affairs creating a campus
infrastructure that supports and
demonstrates civic engagement and
student involvement in three areas:
co-curricular service, leadership devel-
opment, and curricular activities.
the Adler school launched the srP
Project last fall as an initiative of its
new strategic plan to reflect on its
organizational core competency of
socially responsible practice. through
a yearlong schedule of conversations,
events, and activities, faculty, staff,
students, and alumni gathered to discuss
and debate socially responsible practice,
as well as express through art, music,
and other experiential means.
the white paper published this
month updates the Adler school’s 2006
socially responsible practice document,
and describes the existing educational
model, outcomes and culture. for more,
visit adler.edu.
16
starting in June, the institute on
social exclusion (ise) will pilot a best
practice-based mentoring program
that has grown from its work the last
two years guiding a highly successful
anti-violence program for at-risk youth
on chicago’s southwest side.
the new mentoring program will
work with at-risk African-American boys
14 to 17 years of age, providing them
with strong adult mentors who can
positively impact the boys’ levels of self-
esteem, self-concept, academic perfor-
mance, guidance, and emotional support.
ise developed the pilot based on
literature review of best practices for the
targeted population and needs assess-
ment of prospective mentees.
the Adler school has welcomed new
leadership to its institute on Public
safety and social Justice (iPssJ).
Elena Quintana, ph.d., comes to
iPssJ this month as its new executive
director. she had previously served as
director of evaluation for the chicago
Project for Violence Prevention (cease-
fire) at the university of illinois at
chicago since 1999.
While there, Quintana developed a
hospital initiative to prevent retaliations
immediately after shootings, a chicago
Public schools initiative serving youth
at highest risk, and an iraq initiative
to resolve general community conflict
in Basra, iraq.
Quintana completed her doctorate in
clinical-community psychology at dePaul
university and her undergraduate work at
university of california–santa cruz.
dan Cooper, m.S., has been named
Assistant director of iPssJ. he joins the
Adler school from Bethel new life, a
community development corporation on
chicago’s West side, where he served
for three years as director of evaluation.
he has also served as an adjunct faculty
member at the Adler school, teaching
community psychology.
cooper has worked with community-
based organizations and coalitions
throughout chicago on issues ranging
from violence prevention, youth develop-
ment, and organizing and coalition build-
ing, to housing, economic development,
deb Bailey is lead faculty coordinator
for the Adler school Vancouver cam-
pus’ general service Agreement with
the British columbia ministry of Public
safety and solicitor general to develop a
“learning Package and Provincial
toolkit—enhancing frontline effective-
ness to respond to Youth gangs.”
the project involves developing two
ISE pilots At-risk Youth mentoring program
Institute on public Safety and Social Justice Welcomes new Leadership
Vancouver project Helping Communities Address Youth Gangs
and strategic planning. A Ph.d. candidate
in community research and action at
Vanderbilt university, cooper holds a
master of urban planning and policy from
the university of illinois at chicago and a
master of science in community research
and action from Vanderbilt university.
the work of the iPssJ is to analyze
current public safety and security policies
with regard to social justice; engage in
practical field work that encourages
residents and public safety officials to
work together to build safer, healthier
communities; and stimulate public
discourse on the balance between public
safety and social justice issues. for more,
visit adler.edu/ipssj.
resources: 1. a provincial toolkit and
curriculum for communities to address
youth gang issues and 2. a greater
Victoria learning package including an
evaluation and final report that docu-
ments the training session development
process, proceedings, and learnings,
and next steps for addressing youth
gangs in greater Victoria.
read about more projects, research and news from the Adler school institutes at adler.edu/institutes.
summer 2011 gemeinschAftsgefÜhl17
Longtime community leader Jean Carter-Hill lives on the 6100 block of South
Ada Street in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. As of march, five houses on her
block stood vacant, including one next door to her home.
“There was a fire in the building,” she says. “I’ve been in touch with the police
and fire departments, trying to get it demolished. It’s a hazard.”
Weighing the Effects
18
Police have arrested people for entering that building, she
says, and she frequently calls a neighbor who is home during the
day to monitor for trouble. “sometimes it kind of makes you sick
to think about all the things that go on that you can’t do anything
about. i’m about ready for some mental help myself,” carter-hill
says, laughing. then, more soberly, she adds, “for real.”
to Lynn Todman, ph.d., executive director of the institute on
social exclusion (ise) at the Adler school, traditional psychologi-
cal approaches like one-on-one counseling or helping people
develop “coping” skills are only part of the answer to addressing
the anxiety and stress carter-hill and her neighbors face.
this kind of situation also calls for legislative and policy
decisions that address the root cause of their stress and anxiety.
An example is the recent proposal to amend chicago’s vacant
buildings ordinance to require banks to secure and maintain
their foreclosed properties, and increase fees and stiffen penal-
ties related to registering foreclosures.
to ensure that policy makers account for the mental health
implications of their decisions, todman leads a diverse team of
academics and community leaders developing a mental health
Jean carter-hill, executive director of imagine englewood-if and member of the institute on social exclusion’s mhiA project team, on the block where she lives.
(continued on next page)
"We seek to address both poor community mental health and the lack of community voice in public decision-making processes."lynn todman, Ph.d., executive director, institute on social exclusion
impact Assessment (mhiA) tool—the first of its kind in the
united states and only the second in the world.
the mhiA project advances established practices in urban
planning and public health—assessing the environmental
and physical health impacts of public decisions—into mental
health. By doing so, the project is attracting buzz and informa-
tion requests to the Adler school from researchers, community
leaders, and policy makers, both nationally and internationally.
the goals of the mhiA, todman says, are “to create a pro-
cess by which mental health professionals can impact public
policy decision-making, and ensure that communities have
a voice in the decisions that affect them. We seek to address
both poor community mental health and the lack of community
voice in public decision-making processes.”
too often, government decisions made without considering
mental health implications have harmed communities in the
long run. take, for instance, the decision in the 1940s to house
low-income families in densely populated high-rise housing
projects. chicago’s robert taylor homes, completed in 1962,
provides a notorious example of a housing project that fostered
economic decline and social decay. it was demolished in 2007.
“sometimes we make decisions without understanding fully
how those decisions are going to impact people and their com-
munities,” todman says. “the mhiA is a tool that can be used
to help ensure that the government doesn’t make decisions
that harm the health and well-being of communities, espe-
cially low-income and other vulnerable communities.”
todman and the team began developing the mhiA after the
ise last June convened the nation’s first conference highlighting
the social determinants of mental health—which include hous-
ing quality, neighborhood conditions, food security, employ-
ment opportunity, working conditions, public safety, and public
service systems.
“the enthusiasm sparked by the conference propelled us to
action,” says Jared Berger, an Adler school doctoral student
who works at ise. from there, the team implemented a pilot
mhiA last fall in which it assessed the likely mental health
implications of the proposal to change chicago’s vacant building
ordinance. the team examined literature and solicited commu-
nity and other stakeholder input to develop a series of hypothet-
ical pathways illustrating the relationship between the proposal
and the mental health of the englewood community.
A policy brief was written and presented to the sponsoring
alderman, Pat dowell, who asked todman to testify before the
full chicago city council when the measure comes up for a vote.
community input is essential to a valid and meaningful mhiA,
todman says. “too often, people in communities like englewood
are ‘acted upon,’” she says. “they don’t even know policy is
coming, and then they have to live with it. the idea of the mhiA
is for residents of such communities to weigh in on and influ-
ence those decisions to help ensure that they promote good
health and well-being.”
to that end, englewood community representatives, including
carter-hill, as executive director of imagine englewood-if, are
critical partners in the ise’s new 18-month mhiA project to be
announced this spring.
summer 2011 gemeinschAftsgefÜhl19
(continued on page 21)
20
"We seek to address both poor community mental health and the lack of community voice in public decision-making processes."
22.4 percent of residents unemployed
17.3 percent of children screened with
elevated lead levels
19.4
percent of births premature
BY THE nUmBErS
The Englewood Community
21.6 percent of households on public
assistance
17percent
of housing units
vacant
*sources: 2000 u.s. census data, metropolitan chicago information center analysis of u.s. census microdata, chicago department of Public health community Area health inventory
$19,247 median household income
summer 2011 gemeinschAftsgefÜhl21
Transforming the System
the first step of the mhiA process is screening potential
legislation and policies for analysis. the ise team has reviewed
a range of ideas: from an ordinance that would increase the
use of city funds for affordable housing, to a proposal lowering
the age of gun ownership to 18, to a proposed increase in the
minimum wage, to abolishing the open admissions policy at
chicago’s public colleges.
englewood representatives on the mhiA team have been
central to the screening process, identifying the most salient
community issues.
“guns, violence, and jobs—those are the issues that matter,”
said diahann Sinclair, who serves on the board of teamwork
englewood, a leading community development body in the
neighborhood and a partner in the mhiA project. housing is
also at the top of the priority list.
once a policy proposal has been selected for assessment,
the researchers will determine the scope of health impacts to
assess and create a work plan for analysis. the assessment
itself will profile the community’s current mental health condi-
tions and evaluate the policy’s potential impacts, positive and
negative, on the collective mental health and well-being of the
englewood community.
Where relevant, the assessment may suggest strategies to
manage any adverse impacts or amplify any positive impacts
the policy might have on community mental health. findings
will be shared through a final report. how legislators’ and policy
makers’ ultimate decisions eventually affect the community’s
mental health will be evaluated and monitored over time.
mhiA team member Begum Verjee, Ed.d., Program director
The assessment will profile the community’s current mental health conditions and evaluate the policy’s potential impacts, positive and negative, on the collective mental health and well-being of the Englewood community.
22
the leading support from two significant foundation
partners is enabling development of the groundbreak-
ing mental health impact Assessment (mhiA)
project through the institute on social exclusion at
the Adler school.
in January, the robert Wood Johnson foundation
announced a $250,000 grant to support the project
“as a critical opportunity to improve people’s health
beyond the healthcare system—in the communities
where people live, work, and play.”
As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted solely
to public health, the robert Wood Johnson foundation
supports projects aligned with its mission to improve
the health and health care of all Americans, and its
goal to help society transform itself for the better.
Weeks later, the W.K. Kellogg foundation awarded
$150,000 to the Adler school to further support the
mhiA project. the W.K. Kellogg foundation, estab-
lished in 1940, supports children, families, and
communities as they strengthen and create conditions
that propel vulnerable children to achieve success
as individuals and as contributors to the larger com-
munity and society. its grants are concentrated in
the united states, latin America, the caribbean, and
southern Africa.
“these grants acknowledge the significance of our
work and its implications for the mental health and
well-being of residents in disadvantaged communities,”
says Lynn Todman, ph.d., executive director of the
institute on social exclusion and mhiA project leader.
“the Adler school is uniquely qualified to undertake
this work because everything we do, like the mhiA,
occurs at the intersection between social issues
and psychology.”
lynn todman, Ph.d. executive director, ise mhiA Project leader
Leading foundations:
mHIA is ‘critical opportunity’Pictured below: Jean carter-hill community garden, nicholson technology Academy in englewood
for the Adler school’s m.A. in community Psychology Program
in Vancouver, says, “A lot of community programming is just
putting Band-Aids® on wounds rather than looking at how
systemic issues could be transformed through policy changes.
i’m really excited to look at the transformative processes
rather than just offer Band-Aid® treatments.”
todman says, “We’re excited to be advancing hiA practice
in this way. the mhiA also is a perfect example of what drives
the faculty and staff of our institute and the Adler school as a
whole: advocacy, community engagement, and practice and
intellectual innovation that are directed toward creating a so-
ciety in which everyone has access to basic rights, resources,
and opportunities.”
3
1
2
summer 2011 gemeinschAftsgefÜhl23
Adler School faculty and alumni are
engaged throughout the world.
1 USA (Massachusetts): lynn todman, Ph.d., executive director
of the institute on social exclusion, delivers a webinar series
this summer through the harvard graduate school of educa-
tion for state superintendents of education, harvard graduate
school partners, and key program stakeholders on how
educators can apply the social exclusion framework guiding
system and structural change in public education.
2 USA (Washington, D.C.): raymond e. crossman, Ph.d.,
President of the Adler school, participated April 5 in “effective
alcohol and other drug abuse and violence (AodV) prevention
programs and strategies on college campuses for lgBt
students,” hosted by the u.s. department of education higher
education center for Alcohol, drug Abuse, and Violence
Prevention. the expert panel was a historic first meeting
convened by the u.s. government to make higher education
more safe and inclusive for lgBtQ students. crossman also
spoke in march on the Amercian council on education’s first-
ever panel on lgBtQ issues at its annual conference.
3 Puerto Rico: Adler school core faculty Joe troiani, Ph.d.,
presented on military psychology clinical practice and need,
and maria Vannucci, Ph.d., was selected for poster
presentation on a model for post-doctoral training, at the
national council of schools and Programs of Professional
Psychology (ncsPP) mid-winter conference in san Juan in
January. Wendy Paszkiewicz, Psy.d., Associate Vice President
for Academic Affairs, serves as ncsPP president-elect.
4 Rwanda: in collaboration with heartland Alliance for human
needs & human rights, the chicago campus hosted a two-
week visit by rwandan clinical psychologist eugene rutem-
besa. rutembesa came to the school during the fall to learn
about its graduate programs and trauma concentration, as
well as experience its community engagement through com-
munity service Practicum and clinical programs.
5 Ethiopia: debra Paskind, m.A., Atr-Bc, lcPc, core faculty
in Art therapy, travels with art therapy students this summer
to hwassa and dilla, ethiopia, to provide services and training
through a pilot program with heartland Alliance and its local
partner organization. expected activities include working with
The Global View
8
74
6
59
24
children and women in a shelter, facilitating self-help group
meetings, and providing staff development including training
for local counselors and paraprofessionals in therapeutic uses
of art to enhance self esteem, improve communication skills,
and foster improved interpersonal skills.
6 South Africa: Joshua ndlela, intern psychologist at nelson
mandela metropolitan university, came to the Adler school
chicago campus as part of a ford foundation scholarship dur-
ing the fall to experience community Psychology classes, ob-
serve faculty and student working with community partners in
the field, and lead discussion groups on work in south Africa.
7 Sri Lanka: in february, martha casazza, ed.d., Vice President
for Academic Affairs, and lynn todman, Ph.d., assisted a
team from heartland Alliance working with its rehabilitation
program for former child soldiers in war-ravaged sri lanka.
in advancing international programming to extend the Adler
school’s commitment to social justice practice worldwide,
the school is establishing sabbatical for faculty, exchanges
with global scholars that have included guests from rwanda
and south Africa, and opportunities for students to engage in
academic work and community service in costa rica, ethiopia,
and other countries.
8 India: inquiries from indian students have more than tripled
in the last year amid growing international student interest in
attending the Adler school. As of April 15, the school fielded
inquiries from nearly 1,200 international students, compared
with 528 in 2010. so far this year, students have applied to the
Adler school from 23 countries.
9 Thailand: Art therapy faculty of the Adler school in the fall
provided training for faculty of srinakharinwirot university
in Bangkok in areas of art therapy leading to preparation for
practicum experiences. during their chicago stay, the thai
faculty took part in intensive study and co-curricular experi-
ences including art therapy intervention methods with specific
populations, and art therapy in practice at Adler school practi-
cum sites.
summer 2011 gemeinschAftsgefÜhl25
OUr ALUmnI: LEAdInG CHAnGE In THE WOrLd
Cultivating Hopein december, Jennifer Van Wyck arrived in haiti to begin a year of providing mental health services in the displaced persons camps outside Port-au-Prince. impoverished communities there continue struggling to rebuild, more than a year after an earthquake devastated the country. more than half of the nation’s 1.5 million people left homeless by the quake remain living in camps.
Van Wyck, who earned her master’s in counseling psychology from the Adler school’s Vancouver campus, is one of five co-founders of Phoenix Vision society (phoenixvision.org). Phoenix Vision’s focus on multi-dimensional trauma healing “coincides with the holistic philosophy so ingrained in the Adler school curriculum,” Van Wyck says. “i really believe in the philosophy of the Adler school; i practice daily the integration of community and social advocacy.”
A woman pauses for a photo from a haitian camp where Adler school alumna Jennifer Van Wyck works with residents to rebuild their lives.
26
in three different
internally displaced peoples (idP) camps. the first one is home
to 50,000 people. i am the only mental health worker and work
there only two days a week.
i deal mainly with child abuse and rape. i work out of the hos-
pital, so i see many extreme cases. i also do healing groups for
haitian community workers, teens, women with post-traumatic
stress disorder, and one that focuses on positive parenting,
because physical child abuse is standard here.
in my free time, i have one-on-one sessions with individuals
with severe cases of trauma. i visit many clients in their homes
and do family counseling. i’m also implementing a mental health
program for the volunteers, because burnout is a common and
real problem.
the second camp i work is in champs de mars, the heart of
downtown Port-au-Prince and the location of most riots. living
conditions are deplorable.
i actively work with 20 women completing microfinancing
education that we provide in collaboration with another organiza-
tion. our main focus is relocation, microfinancing, and healing
from trauma and daily re-traumatization, to enable the women
to successfully maintain a small business. they are the poorest
of the poor, and lack energy, motivation, and commitment, but
we are making progress. i’m currently creating a microfinancing
protocol, and we disburse our first loans within the month. We
will then start to relocate the women to a safer area, based on a
protocol i’m creating with another non-governmental organiza-
tion (ngo).
the last idP camp where i work is just outside Port-au-Prince.
the president here is very motivated to improve living conditions.
right now, the people have no water, food, or electricity.
People are incredibly friendly and welcoming. Whenever i
I am working
Jennifer Van Wyck, at right
arrive, all the children shout my name and run toward me,
hanging off of me while i walk around the camp. often when i
arrive, people are in my tent waiting for group to start.
my work has focused on multi-dimensional healing. in my
regular groups we talk about the effects of life on the residents’
psyches. We do visualizations to help heal traumatic incidents
and the pain of their daily lives. in one group, we all cried when
one mother described how her children have to sift through
garbage piles to find food.
the goal is to help create community and support. in a city
that is rife with overpopulation, never have i heard so many
people saying that they feel alone.
At the same time, i have procured and distributed 15 hand-
washing stations with water filters, and a semi-regular supply
of soap to address fears of cholera, which thankfully has not
become a major problem in the camp. i have also organized a
group to come in and provide cholera education and training.
i have started a community garden project. With camp
leaders, we have developed a system supplying the produce to
the poorest in the camp. With the help of an agricultural expert
we are working on creating an irrigation system.
in a single year, the people of haiti have braved an earth-
quake and endured a cholera outbreak, hurricanes, and violent
elections. they struggle daily with no jobs, living in tents with
nothing to protect them or give them a sense of safety.
there is much to be done. But in three months, we have
cultivated hope in people’s hearts. We have empowered
communities. We have approached healing from a variety of
different angles, and assisted people in processing their grief
and starting over.
the strength of these incredible people has understandably
been shaken. our vision is to heal and repair it.
Jennifer Van Wyck, Adler school graduate
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