By Alex Crumbley

On May 24, students and faculty celebrated the end of the year with a party honoring Dan Grady. Several students were presented with awards, and a new award was announced.

First, the David Ertel Award was introduced to commemorate this City graduate and child therapist whose untimely death at 48 was a great loss for the New York psychological community. The award will be given annually to a student who has written an outstanding dissertation. Elliot noted, “David was someone who worked with children, so we’re going to try to give the award to people who work with children.” In attendance were Ertel’s wife, Madeline Lippman, and several of his friends who told stories about his aplomb in working with kids. Dr. Lippman thanked Jonathan Cohen and Fred Stern for being instrumental in creating the award, and she also thanked Steve and Elliot for their role in its establishment.

The first recipient of the David Ertel Award was Katie McReynolds for her dissertation titled, “The Research and Theory Related to the Comprehensive Rorschach Method of Evaluating Emotional Resources.” She said of her thesis, “I am systematically evaluating Rorschach responses to get a sense of the quality of emotional resources,” and she added, “Now that I’ve heard about David Ertel, I feel honored. I want to study that magical quality that he had as a therapist.”

Next, the I.H. Paul Award was given to Regine Seckinger and Monica Grandy for excellence in their dissertations. Regine’s work is titled, “In the Flesh: The Role of Body and Affect in Metaphor in Psychotherapeutic Processes.” She said of her thesis, “Metaphor is not just a linguistic thing. It’s nonverbal and non-intended, and these help us to be with a person on many different levels.” Monica’s dissertation is titled, “Entry into Emerging Space: The Use of Transit Metaphors in Adult Therapy.” She explained that her work “links processes of metaphor specifically to affect regulation.”

The Vera Paster Award for Community Service is given annually to honor Dr. Paster, a long-time member of the department. Elliot said, “This was not a hard choice. Joe Reynoso is, I think, known and loved by everyone. I really am very sad that Joe is going to be leaving because he’s been such a valuable member of the program, and he’s been a wonderful mentor to younger students.” A mix-up with the delivery of the sandwiches for the party nearly caused Joe, always instrumental in coordinating City events, to miss the presentation of his award. But he made it in time and said, “You haven’t fully been a City student until you’ve been able to drive the director’s car and impersonate him at Fairway, which I just did.”

Finally, Elliot spoke highly of Dan Grady’s tenure as Clinic Director. Dan served in the role for two years and made immense progress with the clinic’s efficiency and in making students feel supported and well supervised. Elliot expressed that he wanted this party to stand as a tribute to Dan’s good work and a fond farewell to someone who has embodied all the best qualities of the City community since he started his Ph.D. work years ago.