October 19, 2003

Psychology is Complicated

Having Dr. Anderson here today  made me think about when I was planning to become a psychologist, as an undergrad at Columbia! Clergyman, Magician. Or both. The combination might be more effective. You know, they were right.  A little bit.  But psychology is much more. It is the science of Human behavior AND it is clinical practice AND public interest AND theory. Psychology is complicate and it’s more than anyone thinks.  

Jeannie-Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, character from children’s literature who’s always there to listen and offer sound advice. That’s a very good description for young children. Her actual work, diagnosis and treatment of children on the autistic spectrum, helping their families and schools, involves so much more.  It’s diagnosis and treatment neuro-based disorders with psychological methods and skills.   

So on this occasion honoring Dr. Anderson, a leader who has seen and articulated the enormous role our discipline can and should play in our nation’s long-term and overall health, it is appropriate that I let you know that TCS is about more than being kind or helpful. We’re into some pretty serious stuff here. Schizophrenia, depression and the neuropsychological disorders we diagnose and treat need more than a kind ear. Psychology does mean caring, and sharing, but knowing when stillness is the best response to trauma and terror requires professional training and sophistication. Psychology means seeing the bigger picture and helping our patients/clients see it-at a pace they can manage. And it means communicating carefully and actively with a treatment team in a hospital with families under inordinate stress and organizations in crisis.  

The School

The Chicago School’s efforts actively promote health and resilience, we reach into many communities, helping people and organizations stay well.  But there is still more.  We are in the remarkable business of crossing Boundaries...of transferring our skills from the developing person to their various social and physical environments-what Bronfenbrenner called, “considering the entire ecological environment.” So our perspective is uniquely broad.  Our school now has programs in Industrial-organizational, Forensic and Clinical Psychology-our interventions are increasingly complex and multidimensional. Our faculty across programs teach students to look across environments from individuals to families, to institutional, community, cultural and social levels.  

This year The Chicago School was one of only two Illinois institutions to be awarded a Federal GPE grant through a very competitive process. Under the guidance of our faculty, Gladys Croom and John Benitez, our doctoral students are working with pre-school and school age children, through a neighborhood settlement house in the Latino community-Eric Neighborhood House. They are for screening educational and psychological factors that might impede development.  One of our forensic student’s is staffing a program in a neighboring village, which diverts young offenders from the courts and correctional system to more effective rehabilitation programs. Our industrial-organizational students are working with major non-profit organizations in the city to develop their leadership capabilities.  One alumni of the year, Michael Bland, is gaining national recognition for his work with victims of clergy sexual abuse and the other, Kathleen Sherell, is a voice for the aging, chronic mentally ill.  Alumni, Charles Barringer work for the city of Chicago in HIV Aids prevention. These are just a few of our environments.  

Places the public does not yet fully associate with psychology-beyond hopelessness, brining confidence to people and situations where these most nourishing thoughts and feelings are in short supply.  

We’re in the Act of Becoming   

We live in a world that needs psychology more than ever.  We have important perspectives on the conflicts themselves.  We serve those affected and we sustain the caretakers-from the police and firefighters to military personnel. Protecting the protectors is a challenge we understand.  

We’re also teaching our students to be active in public policy, to be a voice for the mentally ill, for resources, for remembering and for responsiveness to underserved communities.  

We have a mission and it guides us. It is not a collection of words on a plaque.  It didn’t come from some corner office-it came from inside the hearts and minds of each of us.  We provide an excellent education for careers in psychology and related health sciences and we do it through innovation, service and dedication to community. There is no distance between what we say and what me mean. We live our mission in our 200,000 pro bono and low cost service hours-annual hours-in our ideals, our practice-oriented education and in our commitment to engage and serve our communities.  

We’re at the heart of things-living and working right at the center of people’s lives-offering the resources our culture needs for education, prevention and intervention, to keep systems growing and developing, to keep the dynamic and to always be in the act of becoming.  

Today’s brunch is in honor of a psychologist who has been at the heart of things for many years. A leader who has crossed systems and boundaries and whose work and leadership inspires us, Dr. Norman Anderson. Dr. Anderson is completing his first year as CEO of the APA-the larges and oldest psychology society in the world. He’s devoted his professional life to bridging science and practice, connecting health and behavior and studying the relationship between health and race. His priorities at APA flow from his previous work as a Harvard Professor of Health and Social Behavior and other very significant settings. His priorities are ours; bringing psychology’s broad expertise to healthcare, the public and policy makers, and expanding the role of psychologists in our healthcare system, the workplace and our nation.  

Dr. Anderson, we welcome you to Chicago and The Chicago School!