Celebrating 50 years at the Wright Institute

To commemorate its 50th anniversary, the Wright Institute held a celebration at the Clinical Psychology Program campus on Saturday, May 11. Over 300 guests including alumni, faculty, and staff came together for food, live music, and historical displays covering different branches of the Wright Institute's history and identity. Guests had the opportunity to reconnect with classmates and colleagues while viewing photos of Wright Institute founders and faculty over the years, reading newsletters from throughout the Wright Institute's history, learning about both programs, and snapping silly pictures with friends in the photo booth.

Faculty Spotlight: Nnamdi Pole, PhD

Nnamdi Pole, PhD, is a visiting scholar with the Wright Institute Counseling Psychology Program, on sabbatical from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. He sat down to discuss his history with the Wright Institute, his teaching experience, and how the higher education field is doing at promoting diversity.

Dalton Green (DG): You've been affiliated with the Wright Institute for about two decades. How did you first become a part of the Wright Institute community?

Student Spotlight: Darcy Dittrich

"Sometimes I see someone in need and ask myself, 'What can I do to change this person's reality?' I always come back to the idea that anything is helpful. Any amount of attention or energy can be healing."

After a decade-long career in sales, Darcy Dittrich is changing her reality in her first year of the daytime format of the Wright Institute Counseling Psychology Program. "The decision for me to pursue this degree was a long time coming," she says, "but it also felt like a fast decision in the moment."

Originally from Connecticut, Dittrich attended Michigan State University and came to the Bay Area by way of Baltimore. "I loved living in Connecticut because my community was diverse, fast-paced, and honest," she says. "But sometimes the interest in emotions and sensitivity that I have is not always valued as much as it is out west. The Bay Area feels like more of a fit for me."

It's Time to Talk (and Listen): How to Have Constructive Conversations About Race, Class, Sexuality, Ability & Gender in a Polarized World

Alicia del Prado, PhD and Anatasia S. Kim, PhD are releasing a book about having conversations about controversial topics.

Kim and del Prado are both faculty members with the Clinical Psychology program at the Wright Institute and have had their fair share of what are often called "difficult conversations." In this groundbreaking and easy-to-read book, the two psychologists draw from their extensive personal and professional experience to provide practical guidance to readers who are interested in engaging in richer, more productive conversations across various dimensions of diversity.

Here's what they have to say about their new book, which will be released on July 1, 2019:

Alumni Spotlight: Nicole Barr '13, NP, LMFT

Nicole Barr is equal parts nurse practitioner, private practice therapist, and now, instructor at the Wright Institute. She also spends her time conducting research and teaching other health care providers. Barr wears many hats, but she is not someone who wastes a single day on something she does not feel is important.

Alumni Spotlight: Veronica Cruz-Martinez, AMFT

After a major life change like finding a new job, or moving across the country, it can be difficult for many people to adjust.

Not so for Veronica Cruz-Martinez, who graduated from the Wright Institute Counseling Psychology Program in 2015.

"I just moved to New Jersey," she says nonchalantly. "Just a few weeks ago, actually." Cruz-Martinez, who grew up in the Bay Area and had never lived outside of California until February, now works at New Jersey City University (NJCU) in Jersey City. She recently landed a position as a counselor in the NJCU Counseling Center, working face-to-face with college students on a variety of issues.

Increasing Access to Support for Patients with Dementia

Left to right: Lama Alameddine, PsyD with Alzheimer's Association staff member Mandi Gundersen

Congratulations to Lama Alameddine, PsyD, a 2014 graduate of the Wright Institute Clinical Psychology Program, for receiving the Alzheimer's Association 2018 Community Partner of the Year Award!

Wright Institute Faculty Visit New York for Columbia Winter Roundtable

Each February, the Columbia University Teachers' College annual Winter Roundtable calls together psychologists, therapists, professors, and social workers to discuss cultural issues ranging from immigration and racial justice to community-based trauma. Now in its 36th year, the Winter Roundtable is "the longest running continuing professional education program in the United States devoted solely to cultural issues in psychology, education, and social work."

Six Wright Institute faculty members presented at this year's Winter Roundtable, held at Columbia University in New York City on February 22 and 23. The theme of this year's gathering was "Rise Up," tackling issues in racial justice, immigration, social activism, education, unity, and psychology.

A new mental health jail vs. community mental health treatment

"We have won a tremendous victory at the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors," says Clinical Program faculty member Terry Kupers, MD. On February 12, the Board "voted not to build a 'mental health jail' to replace the dilapidated Men's Central Jail that has to be demolished."

Instead, the Board of Supervisors plans to move forward with building a new mental hospital.

Students Present Poster at 2019 National Multicultural Conference and Summit

Doctor of Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) program students Melanie Schug, Kristi Guan, and Pratima Pathania presented posters at the 2019 National Multicultural Conference and Summit. The conference was held January 16-18 in Denver, Colorado. The posters, which were created by members of Wright Institute Students of Color (WISOC) and the White Privilege Accountability Group (WPAG), describe the groups' collaborative efforts to effect multicultural change at the Wright Institute.

The WISOC poster, entitled "Advocating for multicultural change from the perspective of Students of Color," was co-authored by Yani Chu-Richardson, Kristiana Guan, Iris Leung, Pratima Pathania, and Shiyu Zhang.