When Hurricane Katrina hit the New Orleans area in 2005, it traumatized not only its victims but also the entire psyche of the community. Those who lived through the upheaval continued to feel the impact, including thousands of citizens who were also struggling with mental health issues.
“Katrina devastated everyone, but especially poor black communities that could not afford flood insurance and which resided in predominantly especially low lying areas such as the lower Ninth Ward,” says Christoph Leonhard, Ph.D., professor at The Chicago School’s Clinical Psy.D. program at Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA). “In addition to losing homes, churches, schools, and neighborhood social networks, many individuals also suffered PTSD due to the trauma of the storm and its aftermath; many also had depression and loss of hope for the future.”
Until 2015, no Psy.D. in clinical psychology programs were available in Louisiana outside of Baton Rouge, which was more than 80 miles from the heart of the devastation. Recognizing the need to rebuild the city’s mental health infrastructure post-Katrina, leaders from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology forged a partnership with historically black college XULA. They soon launched the Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology program right in New Orleans with an inaugural class of 16 students.
“I always wanted to be a clinical psychologist, but leaving the city was not an option for me,” says current student Jill Boutte. “I have been impressed by The Chicago School’s engaged-practitioner model, especially in New Orleans, because this is a very personable, hands-on city.”
The first of its kind in Louisiana, students can now gain extensive clinical training with community partners—including outpatient clinics, hospitals, mental health centers, and governmental agencies—while preparing for professional practice as licensed psychologists.
“Since starting the program, we have been providing thousands of hours of much needed psychological services on a pro bono basis to underserved communities in and around New Orleans,” Dr. Leonhard says. “Through our academic and research work, we have also been tackling many of the mental health disparities affecting local underserved populations, including how to better understand and treat trauma due to violence in marginalized communities; how to better understand and leverage the relatively low rate of alcohol use among African American college students so that this knowledge may benefit other communities; how to minimize recidivism in youthful offenders; and how to reduce the disparate HIV infection risk in African American women, to name just a few.”
In early 2018, Dr. Kelli Johnson was named department chair of Clinical Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at XULA. She looks forward to the program’s continued growth.
“I’m extremely excited by the opportunities that are open to The Chicago School in New Orleans and am delighted to be part of its future,” Dr. Johnson says. “The commitment of the program, faculty, staff, and students to being of service to the community is impressive, and I am honored to be a part of that mission.”
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