International Psychology celebrates anniversary and award

The Ph.D. in International Psychology at The Chicago School’s Online Campus was proud to celebrate 10 successful years on the heels of receiving a significant award in 2019.

The program began in 2009 with a forward-thinking strategy and mission devoted to serving communities everywhere. The Chicago School understood that with increasing globalization and internet connection, the opportunities for students were robust and the need in global communities was growing quickly.

“International psychology invites and encourages one to look at the contemporary events in our world through various lenses. We encourage students and practitioners to favor the cultural practices of other countries—not imposing Western psychology practices on everyone,” explains Department Chair Viviane de Castro Pecanha, Ph.D.

In 2019, the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) recognized the International Psychology program with the International Program of Excellence Award. Since 1953, UPCEA has recognized professional, continuing, and online educators for their achievements in innovative programming, marketing and promotion, community development and services, research and publications, and other areas. The UPCEA International Program of Excellence Award honors programs engaged in activities that promote the exchange of knowledge and ideas of global significance.

“The honor to be recognized for our work and our students’ impact is particularly humbling as a program in International Psychology. We seek to educate international psychologists to be transformational agents of change who can work in diverse parts of the world and inside the U.S. with organizations offering international missions,” Dr. Pecanha says. “With globalization and the widespread use of the internet, the world is becoming smaller, and our students are equipped to respond to global, contemporary complex problems through a culturally and contextually sensitive lens.”

Dr. Pecanha started her journey with The Chicago School as the first faculty member of the Psy.D. program at the Los Angeles Campus. As she prepared to return to her native country of Brazil, former President Michael Horowitz, Ph.D., and President Michele Nealon, Psy.D., who was the dean at the time, asked her to support launching the new program.

“Our alumni prove that the knowledge and skills provided by an international psychology degree are actually being valued in the global workforce market—and this is only bound to keep increasing,” Dr. Pecanha says.

From immersing themselves in various countries to understand how other cultures address mental health, to supporting organizations and businesses enter markets outside the U.S., to working with governments in the development of public policies regarding forced migration and asylum seeking, opportunities abound for graduates with an international psychology perspective.

Dan Velasco, Ph.D., assistant professor of International Psychology, was part of the program’s first cohort in 2009. After graduating in 2012, he moved to Japan and currently works as a professor and mental health therapist in Tokyo. He recently became a certified psychologist by the Japanese Psychological Association. He lives out The Chicago School values of education, innovation, service, and community on an international playing field.

“Now more than ever, International Psychology is playing an important role in our globalized world, and I am thrilled to be able to help spread this important discipline in the global community. On top of educating future international psychologists, I have also been experiencing what it’s like to live out what we were taught. If it weren’t for my experience at The Chicago School, none of this would have been possible,” Dr. Velasco says.