Communitymatterssept by The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

September 2014

In This Issue IDHS Grant Renewed Veterans and Military School Recognition NASP Success New DAAs MOA with APA Dr. Dass-Brailsford MOU with Gabarron Foundation Faculty Named to Top 100 Under 50 Alumnus Profile Dr. Nealon-Woods' World Tour Research: Culture & Race CETYS Student Exchange Let's Talk Solutions Event Forum on Human Trafficking

TCSPP Supports

Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities Conference Denver, CO October 4-6 New England Psychological

Message from the National President Welcome new and continuing students. As President, there is not a day that goes by without good news crossing my desk. It would of course take countless newsletters to capture the true extent of our faculty and students' success, and whole manuscripts to illustrate the impact of our mission in the community. That said, just this past Friday, two of TCSPP's International Psychology students from the Online Campus gave a most compelling presentation to our Board of Trustees on the field experiences embedded within their program. Not a person in the room was left unmoved by the elegance with which they recounted how their lives have been transformed as a result of their experience at The Chicago School. To quote one student: "The instructional approach at TSCPP is not limited to textbooks and lectures, but the individual experiences of professors and students are incorporated as well. The focus at TCSPP is on how every individual is contributing to change, even if it's only in one small corner of the world. How do we create change? Faculty creates change by challenging our perspectives and pushing us to self-reflect. They teach us about global issues and they show us in practicality that we can re-learn things we have learned. They teach us that we must be adaptable and flexible, and globally competent. Faculty teaches us the skills and expertise to provide culturally competent services that will change the well-being of people and agencies that we will work with. TCSPP is a place where dreams come true by helping students become scholars and experts who change the world." In the good news department, what more can I say? Our students are remarkable: Their impact on the world is immeasurable. We always encourage students to remain engaged and connected with our institution, whether they are attending classes on ground or online. Stay social and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Please share your stories and your experiences with us.

Association Annual Meeting October 17-18 Lewiston, Maine

Warm regards, Michele Nealon-Woods, Psy.D.

Illinois Department of Human Services Renews Agreement with Forensic Center at Chicago Campus Race, Ethnicity & Place Annual Conference October 22-24 Forth Worth, TX

National Latina/o Psychological Association Conference October 23-26 Albuquerque, NM McNair Research Conference and Graduate Fair October 31-November 2 Delavan, WI

Upcoming Events Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (S.T.E.P.) Saturday, October 4 Series Psicoterapia en Espanol: El Rol del Terapeuta y la Entrevista Psicologica Inicial Friday, October 10 Washington, D.C. Campus Commencement Friday, October 10 Introduction to Erickson Hypnosis and Stress Relief Friday, October 24 Los Angeles Campus Commencement Friday, November 7

In March 2014, The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) awarded a three-year $445,000 grant/contract to the Chicago Campus' Forensic Center to establish the state's first outpatient Fitness Restoration Program. The program will serve individuals found Unfit to Stand Trial by the Cook County Criminal Courts, and remanded to IDHS for treatment on an outpatient basis. Recently, the contract was renewed with a three-year agreement increasing the total grant award to $1.5 million. Read the news release.

The Chicago School Recognized for Commitment to Veterans and Military Service Members The Chicago School has been recognized by the U.S. Departments of Education and Veteran Affairs' list of colleges and universities committed to the "8 Keys to Veterans' Success." The "8 Keys" is a voluntary initiative that highlights specific ways that colleges and universities can support veterans as they pursue their education goals. Some of the "8 Keys" institutions commit to include building a culture of trust and "connectedness," promoting well-being and success for veterans, and ensuring consistent and sustained support from campus leadership. The Chicago School is also a signatory to the Department of Defense, the Department of Education, and the Department of Veterans Affairs Principles of Excellence Program. Military Friendly School For the third consecutive year, The Chicago School has been designated a Military Friendly School速. The list of schools recognizes the top 20 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools in the country that are doing the most to embrace America's military service members, veterans and spouses as students, and to ensure their success on campus. Representative of this award is Army 2nd Lt. Marie St. Clair (pictured), a second-year clinical psychology student at the Chicago Campus. "I am hoping to make a difference in the Army, specifically around traumatic brain injury and its assessment, as well as the stigma surrounding mental health," says St. Clair. "The education I am receiving at The Chicago School will help me know how to make informed decisions regarding treatment, assessment and an understanding of what an individual is experiencing." Read the news release.

TCSPP in the Media Dr. Azara SantiagoRivera LawnDale News September 25 Dr. Hector Torres MyNDTALK Radio September 22 Dr. Nayeli Chavez Vivelo Hoy September 22 Dr. Patricia Arredondo Dr. Nayeli Chavez Noticias Mundo Fox 13 September 17 Dr. Joseph M. Stevenson The Chronicle of Higher Education The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education September 8 Dr. Eleazar Eusebio "Good Day Chicago" September 2 WGN Morning News September 2 Jennifer Stripe Portillo Dr. Anissa Jones Daniel Esquivel Diverse Issues in Higher Education August 28 Dr. Nancy Zarse WBBM-TV Chicago August 12

TCSPP Students & Alumni in the Media Nichole Martin MLife.com September 23 Dr. Anne Brennan Malec The Evanston Review September 9

Chicago Campus Graduates Are Largest Group in the U. S. to Obtain School Psychologist Credentials Thirty-eight graduates of the Chicago Campus' specialist-level, school psychology doctoral program obtained the National Association of School Psychologists' (NASP) Nationally Certified School Psychologist credential for 2013-2014--the largest group from one graduate school to do so in the U.S. during this time period. The vast majority of school psychologists work in K-12 public schools, and school psychologists must be credentialed by the state in which they work. Read the news release.

New Deans of Academic Affairs for Southern California and Chicago Campuses Cynthia Worthen, Ed.D. and Azara SantiagoRivera, Ph.D. have each been named Dean of Academic Affairs for the Southern California Campuses and Chicago Campus, respectively. Dr. Worthen most recently served as the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Argosy University after joining the institution in 2007. Previous positions also include campus director at the University of Redlands, Burbank Campus (CA) and program coordinator for the University of La Verne (CA). Other higher education roles include positions in enrollment services and financial aid at Georgia College & State University and Wesleyan College (GA), respectively. She has more than 20 years of experience in higher education administration, management, faculty development and accreditation. Read more. Dr. Santiago-Rivera moves to the Chicago Campus after serving as dean of academic affairs for TCSPP's Washington, D.C. Campus for almost two years. She will continue to serve in her role as Director of The Chicago School's National Center for Research and Practice, Latino/a Mental Health. She is also the founding editor of the APA Journal of Latina/o Psychology and has more than 20 years of experience as a scholar and researcher in counseling psychology and Latino mental health. Read the news release.

Tiffany Dumez Palos Patch August 29

TCSPP Signs Memorandum of Agreement with APA for Anti-Violence Program

Brian Daniels Strugglingteens.com August 22 Ghislaine ToussaintGreen The Dominican News Online August 20 Dr. Dianne Hengst UTSA Today August 12 Kyle Faust IGI Global August 4

Stay Connected

Universidad del Valle de Guatemala students hold completion certificates confirming their qualifications to serve as ACT facilitators.

The Chicago School has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the American Psychological Association (APA) to launch a partnership establishing the ACT Raising Safe Kids Program (ACT) Mid-Atlantic Regional Training Center located on the Washington, D.C. Campus under the direction of Milton Fuentes, Psy.D., chair of the Clinical Psychology Program. Developed and coordinated by the APA's Violence Prevention Office, ACT is an evidence-informed, violence prevention intervention program that focuses on early childhood before violence occurs or escalates. Launched in 2001, ACT focuses on the early years and on the important adults in young children's lives: their parents and caregivers. Read the news release. In conjunction with the signing, Dr. Fuentes facilitated a training of the ACT anti-violence program at Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG), a partner school. He trained 24 facilitators and helped build the infrastructure to establish and monitor the ACT program across the country. Similar to The Chicago School, UVG is in the process of signing an MOA with the APA.

Dr. Priscilla Dass-Brailsford Recognized for Excellence in Training and Mentoring Priscilla Dass-Brailsford, Ph.D., lead faculty in the International Psychology Department at the Washington, D.C. Campus, received the Donald Fridley Memorial Award for Excellence in Training and Mentoring during the 19th International Conference on Violence, Abuse and Trauma (IVAT). She was nominated by her students at Georgetown University, where she also serves as a research faculty member. Dr. Fridley was considered a master at training and mentoring other therapists. "I teach to learn and learn to teach," says Dr. Dass-Brailsford. "To receive an award for something that I love doing; something that is meaningful and important to me is truly a gift. My students bring so much to the learning process. They are eager to learn and, in graduate school, very motivated as well. It is such a joy watching them take some of their training and mentoring with me, and put their own stamp to it."

Forensic Training Institute Demonstrates Excellence at IVAT Conference The Chicago School's Forensic Training Institute at the Los Angeles Campus, led by Loren Hill, Ph.D., and the Clinical Forensic Psychology Program, students and faculty, also participated in the IVAT Conference, engaging in over 20 scholarly presentations. As a result, The Chicago School was the largest participating organization at this year's gathering.

TCSPP Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Gabarron Foundation

Pictured from left to right: Emily Brinkmoeller Karem, Vice President, International Services & Operational Integration, TCS Education System; Juan Gabarron; Dr. Patricia Arredondo, TCSPP Chicago Campus President; Dr. Nealon-Woods; Carmen Bona, Gabarron Foundation Board Member; Anthony Marsiglia, Gabarron Foundation Board Member; Antonio Gabarron; and Dr. Tiffany Masson, Dean, Online Programs.

Spain's Gabarron Foundation, an organization whose mission it is to defend, promote and spread art, science and knowledge based on the belief that a more educated society is a freer and better society, signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with The Chicago School. The MOU puts in place a partnership that would include designing a graduate program that combines art and psychology; partnering to create a certificate program to train teachers in an art method course developed by the Gabarron patriarch; hosting each other at each institution's existing campuses, and marketing each other's relevant programs. The door is also open for the possibility to develop other programs, including at the doctorate, undergraduate and continuing education levels.

Drs. Kelly and Torres Named to 'Top 100 Under 50' in Chicago Kristy Kohler Kelly, Ph.D. and Hector Torres, Psy.D., both professors at the Chicago Campus, have been named to Diversity MBA Magazine's eighth annual "Top 100 Under 50 Diverse Emerging Leaders" list. Their fellow list-members hail from a variety of organizations, including Fortune 500 companies and nonprofit agencies. Winners on the highly selective list are chosen based upon position held, length of time in that position, contributions made to their communities and the advance degree held. They were chosen from a highly competitive list of 300 applicants. Drs. Kelly and Torres will be featured in the fall issue of the magazine, and were honored at an awards gala.

Meet Alumnus Steve Calandro Already successful in the field of organizational analysis/development, leadership development, executive coaching, training and facilitation for over 20 years, and with a roster of national and international corporate clients to his credit, alumnus Steve Calandro could not overcome the marketplace's bias of not having a graduate degree. It was then that he decided to pursue a master's degree in Applied Industrial and Organizational Psychology through The Chicago School's Online platform, graduating in 2010. "I settled on The Chicago School for several reasons, including accreditation and the online format. What sold me, though, was one word: 'Applied.' While I love my work, including the research, my clients understandably have no time for theoretical debate. All my work has been performance focused and very applied," says Steve. Steve started a one-man consultancy called Absolutely Accountable in 2012. Based in the Washington, D.C. area, he created his company specifically to address on-the-job performance improvement for individual contributors, managers/leaders, teams, and at the enterprise level. His clients have included Bechtel; World Bank; the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; the Department of Homeland Security, Freddie Mac and Johns Hopkins University, among others. In addition, he has written white papers and spoken at national conferences on his research on factors that affect human performance at work that have resulted in findings that helped him to reengineer performance management systems and develop, facilitate and implement organizational interventions, learning strategies, programs and trainings. "I am passionate about this work. From a career perspective, the degree I received from The Chicago School gives me additional credibility with clients and allows me more flexibility in offering research-based solutions. My goal for each and every client is to develop approaches that actually change client outcomes."

President Nealon-Woods Embarks on World Tour to Speak on Psychology's Role in the World Today As part of the World Tour to address the persistent issue of mental health disorders and stigma across the globe, National President Dr. Nealon-Woods traveled to Lima, Peru where she initiated the first in a series of global meetings designed to highlight the importance of internationalization at The Chicago School. She met with community partners who are crucial to providing immersion experiences to students including Asociación Taller de Los Nińos and the artist who created El Ojo que Llora. These visits were significantly moving as Dr. Nealon-Woods was able to better understand the impact these international experiences have on our students, and how their lives are forever changed by them. She also visited The Chicago School's academic partner, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC). In addition, Dr. Nealon-Woods had the opportunity to meet with the vice-rector, and heads of both the psychology and education departments to continue to build on

the strong relationship. The visit to UPC culminated in Dr. Nealon-Woods' guest lecture, "The Role of Psychology in the World Today," which attracted students, faculty, leadership and other local practitioners for a standing room only presentation that was also streamed live to all Chicago School locations. Dr. Nealon-Woods is also scheduled to visit Northern Ireland this year, furthering the theme of psychology's role in today's modern world. Read her speech.

Research: The Role of Culture and Race on Health, Cognition and Well-being Multiculturalism and health have always held a strong interest for Counseling Department associate professor and neuropsychologist Hector Adames, Psy.D., prompting him to make it the focus of his research. "Multiculturalism is the linchpin that holds my research agenda together," says Dr. Adames. Specifically, Dr. Adames' research focuses on the associations between sociocultural context, race, and health. He also explores how social issues (e.g., racism, sexism, xenophobia) impact neuropsychological functioning. He also learned that being a member of a particular marginalized social group can effect health, and contribute to the problems of living. For Latino Americans and African Americans in particular there are health disparities in comparison with the larger American population. Dr. Adames' interest has led him to investigate how a patient's ethnicity and race can inform how clinicians approach, treat, and conceptualize "minoritized" groups. Hoping to use his findings to help health providers become more culturally responsive and empower communities, Dr. Adames has written several articles and chapters on the subject. His co-authored book on the this topic is scheduled to be published in 2015.

The Chicago School and CETYS Students Exchange Experiences at Irvine Branch Campus

Students from the Irvine Branch Campus and CETYS University experienced a weekend of cultural immersion, workshops and other activities. Faculty in the Marriage and Family Therapy department including Drs. Nadia Rojas Jones and Jennifer DeFeo (both center) were among several faculty who participated.

Students and faculty from The Chicago School's Irvine Branch Campus, hosted 12 Centro de Ensenanza Technica y Superior (CETYS) Universidad Masters psychology students from the Tijuana and Ensenada campuses at a student exchange in August. Developed and organized by the Marital and Family Therapy Interim Associate Department Chair Jennifer DeFeo, Ph.D., the exchange was a result of her own participation in a faculty exchange that took place at CETYS University locations last year. Read the full story here. Dr. DeFeo will also be participating in the Latin American Congress for the Advancement of Psychological Science on October 14 in Buenos Aires. She will be speaking with government officials about the DSM-5 system, and incorporating it into the practice of psychology in Argentina. At this time, there is no structure for utilizing DSM systems, however, clinicians want to be educated on how this impacts their field, and how they can incorporate and build a standard around using a diagnostic system.

'Let's Talk Solutions' in Washington, D.C. Opens the Dialogue on Mental Health Issues As part of The Chicago School's 35th Anniversary, "Let's Talk Solutions," a dynamic exchange on the future of mental health, will take place at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, November 20. The goals of the event are to create a national conversation to reframe views on mental health; increase mental health services in under-served communities; and expand access to, and the quality of, mental health care for veterans. Scheduled featured speakers and panelists are Dr. Nealon-Woods; Dr. Arredondo; and Dr. Orlando Taylor, director, The Chicago School's Academic Leadership Graduate Certificate Program. Panelists will include Lee Woodruff, best-selling co-author and "CBS This Morning" contributor; Dr. Joycelyn Elders, 15th U.S. Surgeon General; and Dr. Mark Russell, retired U.S. Navy Commander and military clinical psychologist. Co-hosts for the event are the Naomi Ruth Cohen Institute for Mental Health Education at The Chicago School, The Community Foundation for the National Campaign Region, and the Honorable Danny K. Davis, Congressman for the 7th District of Illinois. A limited number of seats are available and registration is required. For additional information, contact Julia Baldwin or call (240) 235-5045.

Dr. Gregory Canillas Presents at Educational Forum on Human Trafficking

Gregory Canillas, Ph.D., co-chair of the Commission for Youth & Children, City of Long Beach (CA), and faculty member of the Los Angeles Clinical Psy.D. Program, was a presenter at the Long Beach's first educational forum on the growing problem of human trafficking. The forum was held at Dignity Health St. Mary Medical Center and was co-sponsored by the City of Long Beach Commission on Youth & Children. The event was aimed at first-responders and frontline health care professionals who work with the victims of this crime but was also open to the wider community. Pictured with Dr. Canillas (center) is California State Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal and Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe.