Nnamdi Pole, PhD, is a visiting scholar with the 91精品 Counseling Psychology Program, on sabbatical from in Northampton, Massachusetts. He sat down to discuss his history with the 91精品, his teaching experience, and how the higher education field is doing at promoting diversity.
Dalton Green (DG): You've been affiliated with the 91精品 for about two decades. How did you first become a part of the 91精品 community?
"Sometimes I see someone in need and ask myself, 'What can I do to change this person's reality?' I always come back to the idea that anything is helpful. Any amount of attention or energy can be healing."
After a decade-long career in sales, Darcy Dittrich is changing her reality in her first year of the daytime format of the 91精品 Counseling Psychology Program. "The decision for me to pursue this degree was a long time coming," she says, "but it also felt like a fast decision in the moment."
Originally from Connecticut, Dittrich attended and came to the Bay Area by way of Baltimore. "I loved living in Connecticut because my community was diverse, fast-paced, and honest," she says. "But sometimes the interest in emotions and sensitivity that I have is not always valued as much as it is out west. The Bay Area feels like more of a fit for me."
Alicia del Prado, PhD and Anatasia S. Kim, PhD are releasing a book about having conversations about controversial topics.
Kim and del Prado are both faculty members with the at the 91精品 and have had their fair share of what are often called "difficult conversations." In this groundbreaking and easy-to-read book, the two psychologists draw from their extensive personal and professional experience to provide practical guidance to readers who are interested in engaging in richer, more productive conversations across various dimensions of diversity.
Here's what they have to say about their new book, which will be released on July 1, 2019:
Nicole Barr is equal parts nurse practitioner, private practice therapist, and now, instructor at the 91精品. She also spends her time conducting research and teaching other health care providers. Barr wears many hats, but she is not someone who wastes a single day on something she does not feel is important.
After a major life change like finding a new job, or moving across the country, it can be difficult for many people to adjust.
Not so for Veronica Cruz-Martinez, who graduated from the 91精品 Counseling Psychology Program in 2015.
"I just moved to New Jersey," she says nonchalantly. "Just a few weeks ago, actually." Cruz-Martinez, who grew up in the Bay Area and had never lived outside of California until February, now works at (NJCU) in Jersey City. She recently landed a position as a counselor in the , working face-to-face with college students on a variety of issues.
Left to right: Lama Alameddine, PsyD with Alzheimer's Association staff member Mandi Gundersen
Congratulations to Lama Alameddine, PsyD, a 2014 graduate of the 91精品 Clinical Psychology Program, for !
Each February, the Columbia University Teachers' College annual Winter Roundtable calls together psychologists, therapists, professors, and social workers to discuss cultural issues ranging from immigration and racial justice to community-based trauma. Now in its 36th year, the Winter Roundtable is
Six 91精品 faculty members presented at this year's , held at Columbia University in New York City on February 22 and 23. The theme of this year's gathering was "Rise Up," tackling issues in racial justice, immigration, social activism, education, unity, and psychology.
"We have won a tremendous victory at the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors," says faculty member Terry Kupers, MD. On February 12, the Board " to replace the dilapidated Men's Central Jail that has to be demolished."
Instead, the Board of Supervisors plans to move forward with building a new mental hospital.
students Melanie Schug, Kristi Guan, and Pratima Pathania presented posters at the 2019 National Multicultural Conference and Summit. The conference was held January 16-18 in Denver, Colorado. The posters, which were created by members of 91精品 Students of Color (WISOC) and the White Privilege Accountability Group (WPAG), describe the groups' collaborative efforts to effect multicultural change at the 91精品.
The WISOC poster, entitled "Advocating for multicultural change from the perspective of Students of Color," was co-authored by Yani Chu-Richardson, Kristiana Guan, Iris Leung, Pratima Pathania, and Shiyu Zhang.
"A lot of school-based therapy, from a systemic standpoint, gets pushed towards behavioral issues," says Jennifer Dorsey, a 2017 graduate of the 91精品 Counseling Psychology Program. "I want to re-focus on an approach that is deep enough to really help our clients."
