For nearly a decade, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology has extended its mission to train engaged practitioners to points around the globe—with one-of-a-kind study abroad programs that blend psychology education with service.
So when Assistant Professor Michael Davison began organizing a December 2015 study abroad trip to Athens, Greece, for his seven-week online ethics course, he reached out to local agencies to find an opportunity for the students to serve.
As a result, 12 students representing every TCSPP campus and a variety of programs spent a portion of their 10-day Athens adventure, one component of a credit-bearing course, putting theory into practice—assisting a group of refugees, most of them flooding into the country from Syria.
“This site was chosen to demonstrate to students the effects of unethical behavior and the human cost and graphic nature of being a victim of unethical and immoral actions,” says Dr. Davison, explaining that the Greece-based ARSIS, or Association for the Social Support of Youth, was an ideal place for the students to gain this valuable hands-on experience.
“Students were challenged to reflect upon their individual beliefs, personal biases, and judgments related to psychology practices and how their beliefs could impact individuals in a culture other than their own,” he says.
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, more than 800,000 refugees fled to Greece last year as a result of the Middle East conflict. The student volunteers worked with local social workers and psychologists to review lists of what was needed to serve the refugees living in the 50-person shelter and at makeshift camps set up in the area.
Dr. Davison says it was a profound experience for the students as well as himself as a forensic psychologist, recalling a conversation he had with a Syrian man in his late 20s who came into Greece through Turkey.
“He was grateful that he had money to pay to get on a boat to Greece, but knew he was putting his life in jeopardy whether he fled or stayed,” Dr. Davison recalls. “Then he shared the depth of his guilt and sadness about his decision to leave— sadness for leaving behind his life, his identity, and his culture.”
As Dr. Davison and the students would learn, this man and the other refugees were also suffering from the prejudice shown them from around the world.
“He stated that as he learns to speak Greek and English better, he understands that refugees are often viewed negatively by many people around the world,” Dr. Davison adds. “In ending our conversation he said, ‘Tell people.’ He tearfully expressed his wish that I would tell people that refugees are just like them.”
For a course designed to cover the status of current ethical standards in psychology in the context of ancient Greek principles, the experience working with ARSIS could not have been more appropriate.
Since leaving Greece, many of the students have opted to stay in contact with the agency and continue to support their efforts. Dr. Davison says he hopes to take another study abroad group there in the future.
“This will give us an opportunity to deepen our relationship with ARSIS and more opportunities to provide service to this needy population,” he says.
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