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FIELDING INCLUSION | 2019
FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | www.fielding.edu
ALL ABOUT ACCESS
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FROM PRINCIPLE TO PRACTICE NEW SOCIAL JUSTICE & DIVERSITY CONCENTRATION
MEETING STUDENTS WHERE THEY ARE
he social justice and diversity mission of Fielding Graduate University is of great need during these times of dramatic social change and upheaval. The American Psychological Association (APA) also mandates that training psychologists become competent in theory, research, and practice with diverse groups to overcome mental health disparities.
BY LINDSAY CAHN, DIRECTOR OF ADVISING
Lauren Mizock, PhD, faculty in Fielding’s Clinical Psychology program, developed the new Social Justice and Diversity Concentration to address these issues. The concentration makes a clear link between the clinical psychology curriculum and the university’s central values of social justice and diversity.
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tudents with disabilities have enough barriers in their lives – and requesting accommodations shouldn’t present any more of them. That is my guiding principle as the Accommodation Coordinator for Fielding Graduate University.
In a lot of ways – ie. distance learning, social-justice focus, adult education – Fielding has always been ahead of the curve. I believe Fielding is also ahead of the curve in its inclusion of students with disabilities. Disabilities are not only physical or sensory impairments, but include learning disabilities and chronic illness, as well. One of my main priorities is reaching students who may not be aware they qualify for accommodations. Distance learning and online education both “level the playing field” for many students with disabilities. For example, students at brick-and-mortar universities may need accommodations to access classrooms, because the building isn’t wheelchair accessible (new public buildings weren’t required to be accessible until 1968, so many historic university buildings still aren’t). Students with “invisible disabilities” like PTSD, ADHD, or anxiety disorders may have difficulty concentrating in a traditional classroom because of the number of people in the room, the noise level, or even the physical layout of the room. Students with chronic illnesses cannot always predict when they will be well enough to attend classes. Fielding’s model lets students engage with the course material from a place where they feel comfortable, in the manner – and in many cases, at the time – that works best for them. Of course, distance education doesn’t entirely eliminate the need for accommodations. In some cases, technology itself is the barrier. For instance, students with hearing impairments may not be able to follow a Zoom discussion if they can’t read lips because participants don’t have their video turned on. The accommodation that student may need is a reminder to the faculty instructor to set ground rules for class discussions about using the camera when speaking, taking turns talking, and muting when not speaking.
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Lindsay Cahn
expensive to purchase, voice-to-text is now included with all computers, Mac or PC, allowing students with visual or physical limitations to control their computers with their voice.
Dr. Mizock was inspired to create the concentration based on student request. One student submitted a letter to the faculty proposing a concentration of this kind to facilitate “more training on appropriately addressing and effectively meeting with clients who receive community based mental health services… curricula and research that addresses diverse and underserved communities in a more inclusive way.” Faculty officially approved the concentration in June of 2017.
New advances in character recognition and computer voices allow any text to be converted to audio in a manner of minutes. We used to have to wait weeks or months for a human to read a book onto an audio tape, or transcribe it into Braille; now I can contact a publisher to get the electronic book file in one or two days and it can be converted to audio in seconds. There is even a choice of multiple male and female speaking voices (and accents!). Audio books are useful not only to people with visual impairments, but also to those with many types of learning and cognitive disabilities.
Students in this concentration develop specialized training in psychotherapy, diagnosis, assessment, and research in cultural issues in clinical psychology. The concentration includes coursework, research, and clinical practice components. The requirements of the concentration are designed to be accessible and feasible to doctoral students engaged in the already rigorous course requirements of the program.
While accessing the publisher’s text file is limited to students with disabilities, all students have the option to purchase their books in electronic format, or even access them for free through the library. The Fielding library alone hosts 100,000 electronic books!
Advanced seminars are delivered at national sessions by a range of faculty in the clinical program across a breadth of topics. Courses include Cultural Competence in Research, Cultural Sensitivity in Assessment, Clinical Practice with Transgender Individuals, African American Psychology, LGBTQ Psychology, and Sexual and Gendered Violence. New faculty are developing other topics in immigration, intersectionality, and relational cultural therapy.
One of the things I’m most proud of is the ease of access to disability services at Fielding. At other, larger schools, students often must wait a long time before they can meet with a disability services advisor – who often will only accept a certain type of documentation. At Fielding, I’m available to meet with students when they need me, and often accommodations can be enacted immediately. Depending on the accommodation requested and the nature of the disability, I may not need documentation at all.
Students can fulfill the research component by addressing issues of culture and equity in their dissertation, research practicum, or other conference presentation or publication projects. For the clinical training portion, students can work with underserved populations at their clinical practicum, internship, or potentially volunteer experience.
At Fielding, accommodating disabilities isn’t just about following the law. Including students with disabilities in all aspects of the university community is an important part of our vision to pursue a more just and sustainable world. •
A number of students have already completed the concentration, and new students continue to enroll each term. “Multicultural psychology is no longer seen as a specialty but a necessity in clinical training,” says Dr. Mizock. “The concentration legitimates the commitment that many students wish to make to issues of community and equity.” •
As technology advances, many accommodations become easier to provide. One example is dictation or voice-to-text software. Once very Dr. Lauren Mizock
