Message from the President
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One of the key messages put forth for World Health Day on April 7 is to make health services truly universal, requiring a shift from designing health systems around diseases and institutions toward those that are designed around and for people. The Chicago School has psychologists and behavioral health specialists who can lead this charge by creating systems in which mental health and physical health are fully integrated.
This Fall, we will launch a
Master's Program in Health Services Administration and our Institute for Health Services. The Institute aims to build
partnerships to enhance student education, to meet the growing needs of various health sectors; and to provide the community with the tools to address local and global professional skill development needs.
Since inception in 1979, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology has been part of a movement to advance the training of psychologists, and over the past five years, our mission has expanded to include preparing effective practitioners in health, wellness, and community-based care. As healthcare professionals and as a society, we must work together to ensure the health of our citizens and our nation. In doing so, we must have a clear understanding that emotional, physical, and social health are inseparable.
The Health Services Institute and our related health programs stand on the shoulders of a rich heritage of educating health care change agents of tomorrow.
Kind regards,
Michele
Michele Nealon, Psy.D.
President
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Industrial-Organizational Psychology Programs Top Ranked Based on Student Perceptions 
Congratulations to Business Psychology Department Chairs, Drs. Benesh, Carroll, Finkelman, and Roman for their work in raising the profile of our University's
Industrial-Organizational Programs! In a recent report, I-O
Graduate Programs Rankings Based on Student Perceptions, from the American Psychological Association's Division 14, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), 1,049 current graduate students provided ratings on the quality of their program across 25 criteria used when selecting or recommending a graduate program. Out of 203 Ph.D. programs, The Chicago School's doctoral programs ranked #16 in the category of "Learn Practical Skills" and #16 (tied) in "Rankings of Program Culture." Out of 157 M.A./M.S. programs, The Chicago School was ranked as #16 in the "Top 20 M.A./M.S. Programs Overall Based on Student Rankings." Well don
e I-O!
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E
xplore our new Dallas Campus at the Grand Opening Celebration!
 The Chicago School is expanding to Richardson, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, in Fall 2018. To celebrate and engage the communities surrounding the campus location, a
grand opening celebration
is planned for April 19, 2018. The event will feature speaker Tim Branaman, Ph.D., Chair of the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, and a ribbon cutting ceremony facilitated by the Richardson and Plano Chambers of Commerce. Elected officials, dignitaries, members in the psychology and behavioral health professions, and TCSPP alumni who reside in the area, are among the many important community members who have been invited to the event.
Read more
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Social Impact Leaders Awards a Success
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(L to R): TCS President Michael Horowitz, Torrey DeVitto, Larry & Marilyn Cohen, Dr. Richard Chaifetz, President Michele Nealon, Dr. Beth Rom-Rymer, student Ronald Love.
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The Chicago Campus held its inaugural Social Impact Leaders Awards Luncheon on March 29. Recognizing local mental health advocates for the impact they've made in the areas of mental health, behavioral health, and psychology, the luncheon hosted more than 170 attendees, including members of the Chicago Fire Department and the Chicago Police Department. Dr. Richard Chaifetz, CEO of ComPsych and a member of the Board of Trustees, was honored alongside Marilyn and Larry Cohen, founders of the Naomi Ruth Cohen Institute for Mental Health at The Chicago School (NRCI); and Dr. Beth Rom-Rymer, a leading force behind the passage of the 2014 Illinois law allowing licensed clinical psychologists with advanced, specialized training in clinical psychopharmacology and medicine to prescribe medications in the treatment of mental disorders.
Attendees were treated to networking opportunities; speeches from the honorees and Dr. Nealon; and an afternoon of hosting by NBC's
Chicago Med star Torrey DeVitto, a mental health advocate who has been candid about her struggles with anxiety.
"As the founder of ComPsych Corporation, I and my employees see firsthand the people who struggle with mental illness every day," said Dr. Chaifetz. "Additionally, as a Trustee of The Chicago School, I've seen directly the tremendous programs and training that the school provides for people who have chosen a career dedicated to helping people with these issues."
The successful event was sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois; TCS Education System; and The Saint Louis University Community and President Fred Pestello, with proceeds slated to go to NRCI, scholarships for students, and programs on the Chicago Campus.
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Breeda McGrath, Ph.D. |
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Spring/Summer 2018 Service Learning Awards
The Community Partnerships Department is pleased to announce the recipients of the Spring/Summer 2018 Service Learning Faculty Awards, which
are designed to encourage innovative approaches to integrate service learning into TCSPP's curricular offerings. Students participating in service learning crystallize concepts learned in the classroom through direct or indirect service in the community.
This year's recipients will be implementing their work in the community with schools, nonprofits, and townships.
Service Learning Awards Recipients: Gregory Canillas, Forensic Psychology; Heather Laird, Marriage and Family Therapy; Maria Malayter, Business Psychology; Lavonda Mickens, Marriage and Family Therapy; Michelle Passoni, Marriage and Family Therapy; Patricia Perez, International Psychology; Sandra Siegel, Counseling Psychology.
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Meet Owner and Clinical Director of Dedicato Treatment Center and Alumnus, Keith Marshall, Psy.D.
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Keith Marshall, Psy.D.
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Dr. Keith Marshall's motto is, "Let fear be what it is...but do not let fear determine who you are." He found strength and purpose in adversity, and so many people are the better for it today.
Dr. Marshall is a proud alumnus of The Chicago School (L.A. Campus, '15), and Pacific Oaks College. He earned his doctorate in Applied Clinical Psychology at TCSPP, maintaining a perfect grade point average while working as a clinical director for two substance use disorder rehabilitation centers. That's no mean feat!
A believer in whole-person health, he is also certified as a trainer and professional fitness instructor. Dr. Marshall is the owner and Clinical Director of California-based
Dedicato Treatment Center which operates an inpatient substance use disorder treatment facility in Sierra Madre, and an outpatient treatment facility in Pasadena. The California Department of Health Care Services has licensed/certified both locations. In July 2017, the Center also received accreditation from the Joint Commission
------ a distinction only 6% of treatment centers hold nationwide. He credits his education with giving him "the confidence and credibility to meet with business professionals and secure funding for the center."
His career success followed a long period of struggle with addiction, which derailed his early promising career in environmental services management. He experienced trauma upon trauma, unemployment, and homelessness. He recalls, "I realized my true passion and purpose in life is to inspire, educate, and empower people suffering from addiction." He returned to school in 2006...and the rest is history.
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Counseling Psychology students (L to R): Denisha Maddie, Shanna N. Smith, Karen Bugarin,
and Silvia P. Salas. |
February proved to be a busy month for many students and faculty members as they prepared and presented at conferences.
Counseling Psychology Program
professors, Dr. Hector Y. Adames and Dr. Nayeli Y. Chavez, presented two research projects with two teams of students at the 35th Annual Winter Roundtable on Cultural Psychology and Education
at Teachers College, Columbia University. Shanna N. Smith, Silvia P. Salas, Denisha Maddie, and Karen Bugarin presented their research, "When History Fails, Music Speaks: AfroLatina Women's Experiences of Oppression and Persistence in Music," while Jessica G. Perez-Chavez, Chelsea L. Parker, and Claire Manley presented, "Her Voice is Power: Immigrant Women Persisting and Resisting the Inhumanity of Detention." All of the students are members of the
IC-RACE LAB
, developed and run by Drs. Adames and Chavez.
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| School Psychology students (L to R) Natalie Nordlund and Briana Naseer. |
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Several Chicago Campus
School Psychology faculty members and students presented at the
2018 National Association of School Psychologists Annual Convention in Chicago. Assistant Department Chair Dr. Kelly Broxterman presented twice with students Natalie Nordlund and Briana Naseer, including a mini-skills presentation,
Systems Change Through Problem-Solving: Tools and Forms for Change Facilitators. Dr. Elaine Fletcher-Janzen made several presentations and was granted the opportunity to give the lead presentation for presidential strand in neuropsychology,
A Biopsychosocial Approach to Trauma Sensitive Schools. Dr. Marla Carson and Dr. Danel Koonce presented
Chasing Cut Scores: Identifying a Screener for Executive Functioning Skills with students Molly Pierce and Meghan Lyons; and Dr. Amanda Skierkiewicz presented
Reconceptualizing ADHD: A Brain-Based Approach to Assessment and Intervention.
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Chicago Campus Student Named 2018 Newman Civic Fellow
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Mariana Lopez
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Mariana Lopez
, a second year student in the
M.A. Counseling Psychology Program, Latino Mental Health Concentration
on the Chicago Campus, has been selected as one of 268 students who comprise the 2018 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows. The Fellowship is a yearlong program that recognizes and supports community-committed students who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country. Lopez was chosen for using her clinical skills and her experience as a certified yoga instructor and Advanced Living Light Reiki practitioner to bring awareness, reduce stress, and increase an overall sense of well-being for low socioeconomic status LatinX elderly populations.
"Elders and senior citizens are being forgotten," Lopez explained. "I wish to promote healing and social justice through teaching and employing powerful yet gentle practices such as Reiki, yoga, and meditation practices."
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Bobbie Gallagher, BCBA: Mother, Advocate, Student
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| Bobbie Gallagher, BCBA |
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"My children are my motivation for nearly everything I do. I have three adult children, my youngest two both have autism. Our family has often had to fight to get the right services for our children. Their struggles, sometimes at the hands of those who professed to be knowledgeable, have always motivated me to learn more and help not only them, but other families," Bobbie Gallagher, BCBA, M.A., founder and owner of Autism Center for Educational Services
(ACES), explained when asked why she's chosen to do the work she does.
Gallagher is in her final year of the
Online Ph.D. Applied Behavioral Analysis Program, but has been running ACES since 2006. Like most of us, her professional life is informed by her personal life, desires, and goals. As a parent of two children with autism, much of her professional life has been about improving their lives, the lives of others who have autism, and those who educate and take care of individuals with the condition.
She has been consulting for several years, and authored the book,
A Brick Wall: How a Boy with No Words Spoke to the World. Spanning 20 years, the book is a nonfictional account of how she and her husband raised their children while challenging a governmental system that didn't always recognize the disability. Their efforts, with those of Congressman Chris Smith (NJ), resulted in the passing of federal legislation advancing research and awareness of autism.
Always ready to face the next challenge, for her dissertation Gallagher took on the world of gynecological medicine and how it deals with autism. Titled, Effects of Behavior Skills Training on OBGYN Staff's Implementation of Visual Supports and Domains of SCARF® to Improve Gynecological Visits for Females with ASD, the dissertation was inspired by her daughter's visit with a new doctor for a gynecological exam, an
experience, she explained, that highlighted the need for professionals outside of the educational field to learn about autism spectrum disorder.
After graduating, Gallagher plans to continue to teach medical professionals how to assist individuals with autism without sedation or restraint. She also still has goals to achieve. "A lifetime goal is to ensure that all individuals with disabilities receive sex education specific to their needs within our school programs to decrease victimization and criminalization of individuals with autism."
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2018 Community Partnerships Annual Awards
The Chicago Campus' Community Partnerships Department Annual Awards Luncheon recognized students, faculty, staff, and community partners who provided outstanding service to the community in 2017.
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Celebrity and Local Leaders in Mental Health Advocacy to be Recognized at the Mental Health Heroes Awards Luncheon
The Chicago School's Southern California Campus will hold its second annual Mental Health Heroes Awards Luncheon on May 9, 2018, at The Olympic Collection in West Los Angeles. The event will recognize Kim A. Bunnell, NAMI; Drs. William and Debbie Covino, Cal State LA; Dr. Peyman Raoofi; and NBA Champion Metta World Peace for their work to improve treatment, raise public awareness, and reduce the stigma of mental illness, substance use disorders, and suicide. Registration is now open. Read More.
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D.C. Campus to Hold Forensic Mental Health Awareness Conference in May, 2018
Showcasing current trends in the field of Forensic Psychology, the Washington, D.C. Campus' inaugural
Forensic Mental Health Awareness Conference will be held on Friday, May 11, 2018. The one-day symposium is designed to allow students, faculty, and professionals in the field to present their research and expertise in wide-ranging clinical areas such as court-related services, correctional settings, community mental health centers, and trauma-informed care. Registration for the conference opens in early April.
"The conference is being held in conjunction with May's Mental Health Awareness Month," said Ryan Tobiasz, Psy.D., LPC, Department Chair, Forensic Psychology. "We are working to raise awareness in our community and advocate for our clients."
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TCSPP Supports
April 12 - 13
Oak Lawn, IL
April 13 - 15
Houston, TX
Garden Grove, CA
April 26 - 29
Atlanta, GA
May 24 - 28
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
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Upcoming TCSPP Events
Dallas Campus Grand Opening
April 19
Mental Health Heroes Awards Luncheon
May 9
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Commencement Dates
Southern California & Online
June 25
Terrace Theater, Long Beach
Chicago Campus & Online
July 6
Auditorium Theatre, Chicago
Washington, D.C. & Online
October 26
Lisner Auditorium, Washington D.C.
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TCSPP Faculty Scholarship
Gerardo Rodriguez-Menendez, Ph.D., ABPP, MSCP,
author, chapter 2,
Hector Y. Adames, Psy.D. & Nayeli Y. Chavez, Ph.D.
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Insight Magazine
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Check Out What's New on Our Social Media Sites.
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