Wright Institute Students Engage in CPA Leadership and Advocacy Day at State Capitol

Wright PsyD Student Grace Kiriakos Writes Article for California Psychological Association of Graduate Students (CPAGS) Blog

Grace Kiriakos, PsyD student, wrote an article for the California Psychological Association of Graduate Students (CPAGS) blog about her experiences at the CPA Student Leadership and Advocacy Conference (SLAC) in November, 2013.

In the article, she described learning about legislative processes that advance an awareness of the psychology profession, and how to redress major social and health problems related to mental health care inequities.

A member of the CPAGS Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Grace hopes "to promote awareness of military suicide and participate in legislative advocacy that seeks to mitigate the alarming system failures leading to the ever-growing death-by-suicide count."

My Diem Nguyen, PsyD Student, Named 2014 Scholar by APA

The Multicultural Concerns Committee (MCC) of the American Psychological Association Division of Psychoanalysis named My Diem Nguyen a winner of the 2014 Scholars Program. Selection of this year's 22 scholars was based on:

• knowledge of psychoanalytic ideas and multicultural literature;
• ability to reflect on one's minority experience; and
• capacity to make future scholarly and/or clinical contributions to psychoanalytic psychology by bringing in insights from the ethnic minority experience.

This year's winners represent a diverse cultural, ethnic, and sexual orientation backgrounds, as well as academic and clinical experiences.

In New York this April, all award winners will attend a reception, an MCC board meeting, and an evening reception co-sponsored by The Psychoanalytic Network.

Wright Alumni Publish Psychology Books

Rebecca Bailey, PhD (alumna, 1993) and Nicole Kosanke, PhD (alumna, 2000) have recently published notable psychology books.

Dr. Bailey collaborated with her sister, Elizabeth Bailey, RN BC to write Safe Kids, Smart Parents: What Parents Need to Know to Keep Their Children Safe (Simon and Schuster, 2013). The book offers practical steps for reducing the risks of child abduction and abuse, and guides parents in discussing these issues with their children. Dr. Bailey is a leading family psychologist and personal therapist. She has worked as the director of her local police department's youth and family services program and is the founder of Transitioning Families.

UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center and The Wright Institute to Present CE Workshop: "The Science of a Meaningful Life: Self-Care for Health Professionals"

The Wright Institute is co-sponsoring with UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center to present a Continuing Education workshop "The Science of a Meaningful Life: Self-Care for Health Professionals." on Friday, April 4 from 8:30am-4:30pm.

At this all-day seminar geared toward health care professionals, Shana Shapiro, PhD, will offer concrete, research-based strategies for combatting stress and burnout as well at boosting compassion and mindfulness. Special guest presenter Rachel Naomi Remen, MD, will supplement Shapiro's presentation by providing innovative methods for care providers to connect with their patients. 6 CE credit hours for attending in-person or online.

For more information: 510.841.9230 x114, julie@wi.edu, CE webpage.

Dale Siperstein, Ph.D., to Give Faculty Forum Presentation on Monday, March 3, 2014

This Faculty Forum will be a preview of Dr. Siperstein's forthcoming forensic case presentation at the Society for Personality Assessment in Arlington, Virginia. She will provide a retrospective case analysis with psychological testing of a 10 year-old boy who, at the age of 20, murdered his father. The case discussion is entitled "The Child is Father of the Man."

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.