Wright Alumni Assuming Key Leadership Roles

The following are among our outstanding graduates assuming leadership positions in clinical psychology graduate programs:

Rob Perl, Psy.D., is chair of the Clinical Psychology program at the American School of Professional Psychology, Argosy University (San Francisco Bay Area).
In addition to serving as an associate professor at Argosy, Dr. Perl maintains an independent psychotherapy practice in Berkeley, where he works with adults and adolescents in brief and long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy.

Ron Pilato, Psy.D., is an executive core faculty member and Director of Clinical Training in the Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) program in Clinical Psychology
at Sofia University (Palo Alto).

Megan O'Banion, Psy.D., serves as Director of Clinical Training in the Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) program, and assistant professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles. Dr. O'Banion is also the Vice Chairperson of the Board of the CAPIC Board Executive Committee.

Becky Pizer, Psy.D. and Rosilda James, Psy.D. to Present Faculty Forum on "Self Care and Community Care"

Wright Institute faculty members Becky Pizer, Psy.D., and Rosilda James, Psy.D., will offer a faculty forum presentation on "Self Care and Community Care" on Thursday, February 6, 2014 at noon. Dr. Pizer describes the forum as "an experiential workshop about who we are and what we bring to our work and each other."

Richard Espinoza, PsyD Student, to Present Study on Life Coaching at International Conference

This April, PsyD student Richard Espinoza, MA, will present his study on "The Psychotherapist/Life Coach: Role Differentiation in Psychotherapists Practicing Life Coaching" at the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends in Porto, Portugal.

According to Espinoza's abstract, life coaching has an increasing number of practitioners, and is a mental health related profession with no system of centralized accreditation, licensing, or unified definition. The limited research on coaching suggests a tentative definition as an unlicensed mental health practitioner without formal training or supervision in psychotherapy.

This international conference seeks to provide a wide connection between researchers, lecturers, students, professionals from psychology, and human sciences and their peers.

Wright Institute and ACPA to Present CE Workshop "From Exner to R-PAS: Surviving the Transition"

The Wright Institute and ACPA will present an intermediate Continuing Education workshop "From Exner to R-PAS: Surviving the Transition," on Saturday, February 1, 2014 from 9 am - 4 pm.

Faculty members Barbara Peterson, PhD, and Andrew Pojman, EdD, will present "From Exner to R-PAS: Surviving the Transition," a Continuing Education workshop on Saturday, February 1, 2014, from 9 am - 4 pm at the Wright Institute. The workshop will focus on bringing Comprehensive System trained psychologists up to date on the new Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS), which builds on and expands the rich Exner tradition. Participants will learn about changes in administration, coding, and interpretation of the R-PAS system. The program will also include a presentation of case material and analysis of the material using the R-PAS system. This intermediate course presumes previous knowledge of the Rorschach Inkblot Method.

Wright Institute Program Receives APA Grant for Internships

The Wright Institute Integrated Health Psychology Training Program (IHPTP) has received a $20,000 grant from the American Psychological Association (APA) to advance APA-accredited internship programs.

The APA Grants for Internship Programs is a three-year initiative to increase the number of APA-accredited internship programs and positions. IHPTP was awarded $20,000 on December 13 to assist with its goal of becoming an exclusively-affiliated accredited internship site during the 2014-15 year.

Dr. Patricia Wood to Present Faculty Forum, "Making Sense of Social Class," January 6, 2014

Dr. Patricia Wood, PhD, will give a noon Faculty Forum presentation on "Making Sense of Social Class," January 6, 2014 at the Wright Institute, Room 109/110. This Forum will begin by identifying some of the complexities in defining social class and the numerous ways class status has been measured in psychology.

Issues of downward and upward class mobility, in addition to the culture of class status will be explored. Finally, we will review two contrasting models of social class used in clinical psychology, and discuss how each model informs the way we work with clients around issues of class status, class culture and class mobility.

Hanna Levenson to Create Book and DVD Series on Supervision

Hanna Levenson, PhD, core faculty member, has contracted with the American Psychological Association to create a 12 DVD and book series on supervision.

Hanna Levenson, PhD, an Institute Faculty member, has just signed a contract with APA to create a 12 DVD and book series on supervision that she has been planning for several years. Dr. Levenson and her colleague Dr. Arpana Inman from Lehigh University will interview 12 expert supervisors from various orientations for the series. In addition, each supervisor will conduct a demonstration supervision session with a student, including voiceovers. The supervision DVDs will be modeled after APA's Expert Therapist series and will be accompanied by a book on each topic. The first four videos to be filmed in 2014 explore supervision from dynamic relational, cognitive-behavioral, critical incidents, and competency perspectives.

Dr. Steven Kanofsky presented on how aspects of Narrative Therapy and Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Therapy might enrich Control Mastery Theory and practice.

Dr. Steven Kanofsky recently gave a presentation on how some concepts and methods of Narrative Therapy and Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Therapy (AEDP) might enrich Control Mastery Theory and practice.

Wright Institute Dean, Dr. Gilbert Newman, lobbied U.S. Congress on passing the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act to reduce suicide risk in college students.

The Wright Institute Dean, Dr. Gilbert Newman, recently lobbied the U.S. Congress regarding passage of the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act designed to reduce the risk of suicide in college students.

Dr. Susana Winkel was invited to participate in public forum/discussion "Safe at Work: Reducing Workplace Harassment and Violence for Low-Income and Immigrant Women."

Dr. Susana Winkel was invited to participate in "Safe at Work: Reducing Workplace Harassment and Violence for Low-Income and Immigrant Women," a public forum and discussion on sexual harassment and assault in San Francisco.