Alba Cabral - St. Luke's (child)
Ben Harris - Columbia
Katie McLennan - Columbia
Sara Markese - Jewish Board (child)
Vernon Smith - UPenn
Michal Weber - Kings County

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.

By Alex Crumbley

Kevin Meehan, Joe Reynoso, Jasmine Ueng-McHale, and Ben Harris presented a paper entitled “The Nature of Interpersonal Representations in Children with ADHD” at the Division 39 conference on April 15. The panel was chaired by Steve Tuber, who spearheaded the project.

Joe started off the two-hour presentation by introducing the study as an investigation into the object relations and cognitive-affective resources of ADHD children. He gave an overview of research on ADHD, pointing out that the field has largely failed to investigate aspects of personality and internal representation in the diagnostic group. Joe went on to argue for the potential benefit of a psychoanalytic approach to ADHD, adding that Rorschach research could provide a valuable paradigm for accessing the internal representations of children with the diagnosis.

Kevin then described the population, which consists of 36 children from a larger study conducted in Hilary Gomes’s Neuropsychological Center for Children. After describing in detail the difficulties with diagnosis and establishing a clinical group for the project, he went on to state the purpose of the investigation: to examine the relationship between ADHD symptomatology and social problems, and to explore how the Rorschach variables, as indicators of internal resources, relate to this relationship.

Jasmine followed with some findings. The data indicate that children with attentional difficulties have less access to indicators of internal resources on the Rorschach, give more constricted protocols, and have more difficulty accessing and engaging color. Also, children struggling with impulsivity may have difficulty marshaling inner resources to buffer against stimuli. She hypothesized that such resources may partially mediate the relationship between attentional difficulties and social problems.

Ben gave two case illustrations to illuminate the data presented. First, he described an ADHD girl who had a very constricted protocol, positing that she was so overwhelmed by the stimuli that she deadened her responses as a defense. Next, he presented an ADHD boy whose responses were not constricted but rather revealed a bimodal way of handling the blots. On achromatic cards, his answers were very deadened, as he did not have the inner vitality readily available enough to "bring something" to the cards. But on the color cards, he showed high levels of inanimate movement and poor form quality, indicating the extent to which the color enlivened him, but in an unmodulated, anxiety-driven way. Ben went on to argue that this is ultimately good sign, as it indicates that the boy has access to resources that can be worked with and modulated through therapy.

Steve then went on to link the findings more broadly to the clinical presentations of such children and their impact on their family, friends and in the therapeutic relationship. He also discussed the importance of integrating nomothetic and idiopathic data to enhance our understanding of these children’s phenomenology.

Despite inclement weather, the turnout was extraordinary. Amidst an Indian buffet, a full bar and DJ Peter Fraenkel spinning, a large crowd gathered, including current students and faculty, their families, and alumni spanning generations. Also in attendance were Steve's wife Jody, his youngest son Savi, and some surprise guests including friends from Steve's childhood in Hastings and Jody's mother, "the sole surviving grandparent." The party began with toasts by faculty members Elliot Jurist, Arietta Slade, and Peter Fraenkel, as well as alumni Melissa Ritter, Jeannie Blaustein and Paul Donahue.

Steve was given a small glass mountain with an inscription. It reads, "With much admiration and love, we honor Steve Tuber for twelve years of wise, generous and loyal service as the director of the Ph.D. program in clinical psychology at CUNY. You have led us through difficult times, and the program is now richer and stronger as a result. You have our everlasting gratitude." Elliot Jurist also presented to Steve a Boston Celtics jersey with "Tuber" embroidered on the back.

Steve said of the party, "So much of my experience growing up was the belief that I would never be fully appreciated. This has been a transformative experience. People said such nice things and were so warm. It is an experience of getting back more than you deserve. It was reparative."

Last year was filled with milestones for Steve. In January, he celebrated his fiftieth birthday. In March, his youngest son was Bar-mitzvahed. In July, he officially stepped down as director. Currently, his oldest son is applying to college. He describes it as "a watershed year of shifting my way of being a parent and my home life. It is in that context that I had the idea of stepping down. I was also experiencing fatigue with the superego dimensions of being a parent, like making evaluative decisions and thinking like an administrator. As a parent, I was experiencing emerging colleagueship with my children, so it felt right to want to shift to being more of a teacher/colleague with younger peers and students."

Steve remarked that Elliot was the right person to take over the position and that this fact allowed him to step down with confidence. "The party and the decision were very unambivalent," he said. However, Steve made sure to point out the party's one failing: "There was a dearth of dancing on the part of students." It remains unclear whether this hesitation was due to the bittersweet nature of the celebration or merely unanalyzed inhibition.

Here is where they are heading this summer:
Steve Bashkoff - Colin-Goldwater
Carrie Capstick - Bellevue
Debbie Gillman - St. Luke’s (Adult)
Erika Goldberg - Karen Horney
Jonathan Keigher - Manhattan Psychiatric
Kevin Meehan - St. Luke’s (Adult)
Sunita Mohabir - North Central Bronx
Joe Reynoso - King’s County
Marjorie Schwartz - Beth Israel
Banu Seckin - North Central Bronx
Elizabeth Zick - St. Luke’s (Child)

The O.E. wishes you all excellent success on this next leg of your journey!

The Blaustein Philanthropic group’s Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation is dedicated to the funding of various educational opportunities, health and mental health programs, and human rights. The CUNY clinical program first received a mental health grant from the Blaustein Foundation six years ago and renewed its funding last year. The foundation has offered to help support a number of special opportunities in the upcoming year.

Included in these special offerings are future talks by Dr. Drew Westen and Dr. Nancy Mc Williams. Dr. Westen is from the Laboratory of Personality and Psychopathology at Emory University and Dr. McWilliams is the author of the popular psychoanalytic primer Psychoanalytic Diagnosis as well as many other texts. The Blaustein grant also allows for Dr. Rebecca Chaplan, the Psychological Center’s primary psychiatrist, to teach psychopharmacology and conduct didactic sessions with adult intake classes.

From Brotherhood to Manhood: How Black Men Rescue Their Relationships and Dreams from the Invisibility Syndrome, by Anderson J. Franklin (John Wiley & Sons, $24.95). A.J.'s 2004 publication graced Essence magazine's top ten-bestseller list this summer.

Affect Regulation, Mentalization, and the Development of the Self, by Peter Fonagy, Mary Target, György Gergely, and Elliot L. Jurist (Other Press, $37.00). The paperback edition arrives in stores in April. Elliot's book was awarded the Goethe Award for Psychoanalytic Scholarship's second prize by the Canadian Psychological Association's Section on Psychoanalysis.

Therapeutic Communication: Principles and Effective Practice, by Paul Wachtel (Kongo-Shuppan). The Japanese translation of Paul's 1993 book was published in 2004.

Reading David: A Mother and Son's Journey through the Labyrinth of Dyslexia, by Lissa Weinstein (Perigee Books, $14.95). The paperback edition of Lissa's book came out this fall.

The O.E. welcomes news of books and papers published by members of the City community. Please write to observingego@yahoo.com

The project received the blessing of the IRB last year and is titled, “The Effects of Patient Personal Qualities and Beliefs about Psychotherapy on the Outcomes of Psychotherapy.” It has been designed primarily by Jeff Rosen and Peter Fraenkel with input from Elliot Jurist, Dan Grady, and students from Quantitative and Qualitative Methods classes. As its title suggests, this project seeks to find out whether patients’ beliefs about psychotherapy influence outcomes such as the likelihood that the patients enter individual treatment, the quality of the therapeutic alliance, the longevity of treatment, and the success of the treatment. The project will also examine the mediating and moderating effects that personal qualities such as relationship styles, demographic factors, and self-reported symptoms of patients may have upon outcomes of therapy.

Once data collection begins, all new patients will be invited to give their consent to participate in the study upon presentation to the clinic. Clinic staff will administer the Relationship Styles Questionnaire (RSQ), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and a Demographic Information questionnaire prior to any intake appointment. During the intake process, members of the research team will administer the qualitative interview, a thirty-minute tape-recorded interview in which patients will be asked about their beliefs about psychotherapy. Together, all of these measures make up the baseline data that will be compared to the outcome measures. Additional process data will be collected at three- month, six-month, and twelve-month intervals, and it will include a re-administration of the BSI and the RSQ.

The research project has not gotten off its feet quite yet due to a host of minor procedural questions around when exactly to attain consent, administer baseline questionnaires, and approach the patient for a qualitative interview during intake, as well as the formalization of procedures for ongoing collection of data. Discussion of these and other questions is ongoing, and the research team looks forward to acquiring input from faculty at other clinical programs who have embarked on both successful and less successful research ventures at their respective program clinics.

In preparation for the clinic research project, Jeff Rosen has been looking at the vast archives of data that we have on patients who have come to the clinic over the past twenty years and whose cases have been long since closed. Dr. Rosen has been recording information such as age, gender, race and ethnicity, country of origin, first language, previous mental health history, and presenting problem. He is looking at how these factors correlate with the result of the intake process, the likelihood of referral, the likelihood that the patient engaged in individual therapy at our clinic, and for how many sessions. Although these data cannot be used for any formal publications due to the requirements of informed consent, it will aid in providing an overview of the clinic’s retention rates and provide some indications on the personal and demographic factors that may contribute to retention. Starting this spring, the clinic will provide demographic questionnaires to all patients who show up to the clinic, regardless of whether they are referred out, never return, or enter the formal intake process, in order to compile ongoing clinic statistics on who we are serving.

One of the many products of the retreat in September 2004 was the formation of the Research Working Group, a working group of clinical students who meet under the guidance of Jeff Rosen to discuss ongoing research projects at the Psychological Center. This group has begun to apply the same question that the Clinic Research Project asks of patients—i.e., how their beliefs influence the outcomes of therapy—to clinicians. The group has designed a semi-structured interview to be administered to therapists about the wishes and aspirations that therapists envision for their patients and about the markers of therapeutic progress. Students in the working group will pilot this interview on advanced graduate students who have volunteered to be interviewed. The interview will be refined over the pilot administrations, and it will then be administered to faculty members in the Clinical Psychology program at City College with the hopes that it may later be administered on a wider scale to supervising clinicians who agree to participate. This project is seen as a first step in the identification of the treatment goals and aspirations that are shared within this psychodynamic community. This will enhance our ability to create a set of outcome variables that both have meaning to this community and are a prerequisite to mounting our own investigation of treatment effectiveness.

Research at the Psychological Center is an up-and-coming reality that is sprouting buds in a number of interesting directions, from the formal Clinic Research Project to the informal collection of clinic statistics on the patients who screen for services at the front desk, to the Research Working Group’s survey of clinician’s beliefs about and goals for the therapy they provide. Opportunities abound for involvement at the level of overall project and procedural design, data collection, data entry, interview transcription, and both qualitative and quantitative coding and analyses. These projects promise a better understanding of who we are and are not serving at the Psychological Center, as well as what personal factors, beliefs, and attitudes about therapy make patients more likely to engage in and benefit from the therapeutic process at our clinic. The answers to some of these questions will not only lead to further questions, hypotheses, research, and dissertations, but will provide us with a lens for self-reflection that we have not had in the past.

April 29, Tues: 11:45-12:30 Faculty Meeting (8/132); 12:30-1:50
Colloquium: Susan Scheftel on the artist Joseph Cornell (6/326)

May 6, Tuesday: 11:45-12:30 Faculty Meeting (8/132); 12:30-1:50
Colloquium: George Masari on his book, REVOLUTION IN MIND: THE
CREATION OF PSYCHOANALYSIS (6/326)

May 8, Thursday: 12:30-1:50 Department Meeting (Dean's Office)

May 13, Tuesday: 11:45-12:45 Advisement (Faculty offices); 12:45-1:50
Community Meeting (6/326)

We will also have an end of the year party/award ceremony on May 20,
Tuesday (this date, time and place will be confirmed shortly).