Tulane’s Associate Professor of Psychology, Dr. C. Chrisman Wilson passed away suddenly last Monday, July 25.
Dr. Wilson served Tulane, its students, and the Tulane scholarly community for 30 years, coming from Texas U. to a position at Tulane in 1981. His contri- butions to the school and the department were significant and long-standing. He served as Chair of the Psychology Department and as the Director for the School Psychology Doctoral Program.
He distinguished himself in service and leadership. He was Chair of the Institutional Review Board (Human Subjects Research), Chair of the Academic Integrity Sub- committee, and Chair of the Senate Committee on Athletics. He served as interim director of the Center for Education, and on committees for Dean's Honors Scholar admissions, Grievance, the Newcomb Childcare Center, Health Professions, and Academic Standing. He was named Distinguished Newcomb Fellow for his devotion to the academic life of Newcomb College.
His class in Abnormal Psychology was a favorite with students. “Nearly every psychology major over the past 20+ years elected to take Abnormal Psychology with Chris,” his family noted in the Times-Picayune article. “Every semester, the course enrolled 150+ students. Chris continually added video and sound bites to keep the course engaging to each generation. He recently developed a new under- graduate course in clinical interventions, a sign he remained the consummate teacher.”
Chris earned his Bachelors Degree from Western North Carolina University, his masters from Radford University, and his PhD from the University of South Carolina.
Chris’ research interests included professional school psychology, applied behavioral analysis, behavior therapy and social learning in children. He published in the area of child psychology including a book on behavioral assessment, and articles in Genetic Psychology and Abnormal Child Psychology.
“Chris was the co-founder of the School Psychology program at Tulane and served as the Director of the program from 1992 – 2004,” said Dr. Stacy Overstreet, Tulane Professor and colleague. “Chris left an indelible mark on the program and the students who completed it,” she said. “We will miss the experienced wisdom, professional perspectives, and sharp wit that Chris brought to our lives.”
Dr. Dan Tingstrom, a former student of Chris’ is now on the faculty of USM. He said, “Chris was always patient and very giving of his time and support… I learned a great deal from Chris both in and out of the classroom.”
“Chris also had a very quick wit and welcomed sense of humor.”
And, “He was a committed family man and loved his wife, Gail, and his son, Evan dearly. In our many get-togethers over the years he spoke of them often.”
Dan said, “Chris was my teacher, supervisor, mentor, and ultimately my friend. I will miss him dearly.”
Chris is survived by his wife Gail Cannon Wilson, PhD and son, Evan Chrisman Wilson. He was 67.
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In a mental health industry driven by lower costs and increasing reliance on pharmacology, psychoanalytically trained psychologists remain steadfast in offering their clients an intimate, personal approach for lasting change, and a process that acknowledges the unique inner journey of the individual.
The Times spoke with psychoanalytically trained psychologists in our community, several on the faculty of the New Orleans–Birmingham Psychoanalytic Center, who have remained committed to the values inherent in the psychodynamic process. In recent years careful outcome research has shown that psychodynamic approaches are on par with other evidenced-based techniques. Advances in cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and even evolutionary psychology, support the main tenets of Freud and other depth psychologies: The unconscious really exists and is important; inner conflicts cause human suffering; and the defenses restrict well-being and creativity.
Empirical support
“There is plenty of empirical support for psychoanalytic technique and psychoanalytic concepts in the scientific literature…” said Dr. Denise Newman, New Orleans psychologist and former Tulane professor, who specializes in developmental psychopathology, the way normal development can cause mental health problems. She looks at the role of personality processes and identity formation in mental health, especially for cultural and racial minority youth.
“As a scientist,” said Newman, “I have no problem with psychoanalytic theories guiding my clinical treatment of patients. But I came to that conclusion after a very lengthy course of study and comparative analysis of different models of the mind and explanations of psychopathology.”
“Most of the current trends, economic pressures, and politics of clinical training and treatment were not supportive of my conclusions,” she explained. “Nonetheless, to my way of thinking, psychoanalytic theory, with all of its various revisions over the last 120 years, most closely respects the intricate contours of the human mind. It most closely observes the multiplicity of subjective experience and the over-determined nature of complex human behavior.”
Dr. Eric Cerwonka, a clinical psychologist practicing in Lafayette, agrees. He pointed to the work of Dr. Jonathan Shedler whose “The Efficacy of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy,” (American Psychologist, Feb-Mar 2010) made a splash in the media, including a review in Psychology Today and an APA press release in January this year.
Cerwonka practices psychodynamic psychotherapy because “I like to see people get better, especially patients that have not benefitted from other types of psychotherapy,” he told the Times. He remarked on Shedler’s finding that psychodynamic approaches are equal to cognitive behavioral therapies, and that the benefits last well after therapy has been completed.
These conclusions emerged from Shedler’s review of eight meta-analyses focusing on effect size as a measure of change. In one meta-analysis of 1,431 patients in psychodynamic therapy the effect size was .97 (.80 being large) for symptom improvement. This placed the psychodynamic approach on par with cognitive behavioral therapy. But perhaps even more important was that effect size increased by 50 percent on follow-up, nine months later.
Shedler noted to APA, “Pharmaceutical companies and health insurance companies have a financial incentive to promote the view that mental suffering can be reduced to lists of symptoms, and that treatment means managing those symptoms and little else. For some specific psychiatric conditions, this makes sense,” he said. “But more often, emotional suffering is woven into the fabric of the person’s life and rooted in relationship patterns, inner contradictions and emotional blind spots. This is what psychodynamic therapy is designed to address.”
Self-Awareness, Creativity & Culture
For many who provide psychoanalysis the outcomes of reduced anxiety or depression are a result of deeper changes, such as greater emotional congruence or creativity.
Dr. Randolph Harper, psychologist, psychoanalyst, past president of the New Orleans–Birmingham Psychoanalytic Center (NOBPC) and faculty instructor said to the Times, "What is most gratifying to me is to be able to do personal growth, to meet the patient where they are, in a personal, intimate way. And when they are blocked, to help them open up and be more creative."
Dr. Harper is also an instructor in psychoanalysis, teaching formally and informally since the 70s. “That sort of teaching is very exciting and very stimulating,” he said about his work at the Center. “You meet really good people who want to learn and grow.” Dr. Alvin Burstein, professor and past Chair of Psychology at Southeastern Louisiana University, clinical psychologist, and psychoanalyst, spoke with the Times about the trend away from personal introspection.
“It seems to me,” he said, “that as a society, we increasingly value external stimulation as opposed to reflection and introspection. There is a related expectation that ‘rewards’ a la Skinner should be external rather than internal. The measure of personal worth is one’s salary, and the dollar obviates the need to cultivate personal values.”
Psychoanalysts often consider art, literature, and personal or cultural symbolism to be important to self- awareness. For Dr. Newman, whose clinical emphasis is with adolescents, adults, and families, these are also significant. Her research while at Tulane explored these issues, such as, “Ego Development and Ethnic Identity Formation in Rural American Indian Adolescents,’ published in Child Development. “I have a special interest,” she said, “in how life transitions stress human adaptive capacities, call us to question who we are, and then how people transform themselves out of that distressed state into a more differentiated self.”
She was recently interviewed for Yahoo Associated Content, “Tips on Overcoming Racial Identity Issues.” She explained some of the psychological connections for overcoming racial identity issues and encouraged the exploration of “one's cultural roots and heritage and to express one's sense of identity,” through music, dance, poetry, and other artistic expressions.
Dr. Carolyn Weyand, clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst from New Orleans, and instructor at NOBPS, is also faculty member for the China American Psychoanalytic Alliance. She explained there are “four psychologies” in the Freudian tradition: Freud’s Drive Theory, Ego Psychology of Anna Freud, Self Psychology of Hans Kohut, and the school of Object Relations.
“All overlap,” Weyand noted, “in that they all assert the presence of a dynamic unconscious, and that we have powerfully formative experiences with the significant people in our lives.” While the four schools disagree on which motivations drive fantasy and behavior, she explained that “They all agree on the function of defense mechanisms; on the observations that children are psychologically different from adults in their mental functioning, changing over time.”
They also all agree “on the importance of fantasy in psychological process–that internal reality trumps external reality every time,” she said.
New Orleans–Birmingham Psychoanalytic Center
Drs. Weyand, Newman, Burstein and Harper are members of the New Orleans-Birmingham Psychoanalytic Center, a regional organization for training, education, and community outreach.
The NOBPC is the oldest psychoanalytic training center in the southeastern United States, originating as a study group in 1947. Acknowledged by the American Psychoanalytic Association in 1949, it became a fully accredited institute in 1961.
Dr. Harper, past president and faculty instructor, explained that the Center’s purpose is education but also to apply its principles to the human condition. From the bylaws, he noted one of their goals, “…to develop a community of analysts, analytically informed clinicians, scholars, artists and lay people who share an interest in psychoanalysis and the application of a psychoanalytic point of view to the human condition.”
Harper explained, “…We created only one class of membership, not different classes of membership if one is an analyst or a clinician, scholar or lay person who is not an analyst.” Center members strive for an organization that promotes participation, mutual respect, and creative involvement for its diverse membership, a group that includes psychologists, physicians, social workers, professors, and others, he noted.
This is working well, he said. Following a site visit by the American Psychoanalytic Association, the committee members said they were “very impressed” with the quality of membership and the Center’s collegiality. “They said they thought that this model represented what would be considered ‘best practices’ as a model of organization and governance,” Harper noted.
Dr. Harper himself has an unusual honor. He was the first non-physician applicant accepted to the New Orleans Institute following the 1980s lawsuits that opened training to psychologists.
Outreach and education is inherent in many of the Center’s programs. Their popular “Film and Discussion Series” is enjoyed by mental health professionals and local film buffs. The series has included reviews of films Grey Gardens (1976), Harold and Maude (1971), and Pan’s Labyrinth (2006). The psychological and cultural significant of characters and story lines are explored using psychoanalytic themes.
Another community outreach project is the FAR Fund Project, headed up by psychologist, psychoanalyst, and Board Member at Large, Dr. Kathryn Nathan. The project offers education, support and help to local mental health professional following the challenges of Katrina and other disasters. Nathan and New York colleague, Dr. Ghislaine Boulanger, recently presented at APA Division 39 (Psychoanalysis) regarding the psychodynamic perspective for those in natural disasters.
The team has helped produce a mini-documentary for wider distribution and education, that dramatically and beautifully describes the journey of New Orleans therapists during the city’s crisis. The 18-minute documentary, “Shared Trauma- Psychotherapy in New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina,” directed by Neil Alford and produced in conjunction with FAR Fund Project of New York, can be viewed at http://www.neilalford.com/portfolio/
Perspectives
Dr. Alvin Burstein, clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, professor, author and poet, serves as Board Member at Large, on Outreach and Continuing Education Committee, Clinical Assistance Committee, and Ethics Committee at NOBPC.
He has been responsible for university training programs for clinical psychologists at University of the Michigan at Ann Arbor, the University of Illinois Neuropsychiatric Institute in Chicago, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He has served as Chair of Psychology at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond.
“I got my doctoral training in the years before full time fee for service careers for clinical psychologists were common,” he told the Times. “Indeed, my psychoanalytic practice has always been combined with an academic career”. Burstein served on the APA Committee on Accreditation for many years, and also as member and chair of the APA Board of Education and Training. “So,” he explained, “I am very sensitized to the connections between the university and the professions, as well as to interrelations among the professions.”
“Under financial pressures at the state and national levels,” he said, “universities are becoming much more pressed to justify their activities on the basis of subsequent employment and there has been a simultaneous skepticism about the importance of a general education, one not focused on a particular career path.”
In the 60s and 70s, clinical and counseling psychology flourished, he explained, because the National Institute of Mental Health and the Veteran’s Administration began to provide support. “Those same years were the salad days for psychoanalysis,” he said, “when department of Psychiatry chairs were likely to be psychoanalysts and psychiatric careers focused on psychotherapy.”
“Much has changed since that time,” he said. “External support for clinical and counseling psychology has dried up. Psychiatric practice, and research, has become much more biochemically oriented. Psychoanalysis, or more generally, depth psychology, is not, as it was in the post-WW II years, an engrossing topic in the eyes of the intelligentsia.”
“From my perspective,” he said, “this last poses the most significant challenge. Psychoanalysis as a general theory of the mind and a way of understanding human nature and as professional practice depends upon it being seen as relevant by the intelligentsia, the educated classes.”
“… we need analysts and analysands,” he explained. “Analysts will only emerge from the educated classes, and analysands will only emerge in a society in which depth psychology is seen as valuable.”
“The humanities– literature, history, art, etc.– are important and are so named because their study generates an understanding of human nature. The reason that Introductory Psychology attracts great quantities of students is not because of a general aspiration to become practitioners, but because of a hopefully unquenchable interest in human nature.”
“That includes the question, Dr. Burstein said, of ‘Who and what am I?’ There is no more important question beyond that of brute survival.”
The New Orleans–Birmingham Psychoanalytic Center. Panel of New Orleans clinicians at the FAR Fund Project community presentation, September 2010, “Stetched Thin.” (L to R) Ghislaine Boulanger, PhD, Debby Poitevent, LCSW, Elsa Pool, PhD (at that time President of the NOBPC), and Kathryn Nathan, PhD, grant coordinator of the project. A community outreach effort of the NOBPC, the group discussed the personal and professional impact of shared trauma of Katrina and then the BP oil spill for therapists and their clients. (Photo courtesy of the NOBPC) Neil Alford directing the 18-minute documentary, “Shared Trauma- Psychotherapy in New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina,” at the Center, produced in conjunction with FAR Fund Project and the NOBPC. It can be viewed at http://www.neilalford.com/portfolio/ (Photo courtesy of NOBPC.)
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The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) announced that it will fund a network of researchers, called the Deepwater Horizon Research Consortia, to study the effects of the oil spill on citizens of the Gulf Coast. “The five-year, $25.2 million program will support population- based and laboratory research at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans; Tulane University, New Orleans; the University of Florida, Gainesville; and The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston,” noted the July 7 press release.
The researchers will study the effects of the oil spill on a variety of physical and psychological variables including reproduction and birth outcomes, mental health, cardio-respiratory system, and resiliency of the Gulf Coast citizens in dealing with disasters.
“A focus will be on the physical and psychological health of vulnerable populations,” noted Gwen Colman, Ph.D., director of the NIEHS Division of Extramural Research and Training, “especially pregnant women, children, fishermen, immigrants, and minorities.” The NIEHS group will also study the potentially harmful effects of “contaminants in air, water, and seafood, and assess their relationship to health outcomes.”
This study is different from the research started earlier this year by NIEHS designed to study adverse effects on oil spill clean-up workers and volunteers, called the “GuLF Study.” The new study will focus on members of the general public.
NIEHS officials noted, “In addition to sharing data and research results, each of the four institutions will implement a community resilience project, which seeks to better understand how local populations respond to and recover from disasters. Through their partnerships with community-based organizations, researchers will assess how culture, social networks, and other determinants may enhance pre-event preparedness and post-event recovery.”
Edward Trapido, ScD, of LSUHSC will lead the research team to answer questions about “mid- and long-term effects…” including physical, behavioral, social, and economic,” he noted in the NIEHS announcement.
“… the LSU School of Public Health-New Orleans will launch a longitudinal study of women and children in the affected parishes to look at the effects of the disaster, …”
Dr. Stephanie Tortu, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and Professor (Psychology) at LSUHSC told the Times the group is just getting started but will be “looking at the effects on families and children.”
The group plans to study 4,000 women and 2,000 children in Orleans, St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, Lafourche, Terrebonne, and St. Mary's Parishes.
Tulane University Maureen Lichtveld, MD, MPH will lead the “The Transdisciplinary Research Consortium for Gulf Resilience on Women’s Health.” She noted in the announcement that the focus of the Consortium will be to study the effects of the disaster, “… combined with the other adversities faced by the area, on mental health and reproductive outcomes among pregnant women and women of reproductive age living in affected parishes in Louisiana.”
An additional goal will be to “Utilize community-based participatory research and outreach strategies to strengthen community resilience in vulnerable Gulf Coast populations.”
For more information go to http://www.niehs.nih.gov/about/od /programs/gulfspill/
May 2010, Houma, La.- Crew of a fixed-wing aircraft release dispersant over oil in Gulf. LSU Health Sciences Center and Tulane U. will help understand physical, psychological, and social impact of the Deepwater Horizon disaster on citizens of coastal parishes. Deepwater Horizon was over a year ago now but the disaster released 5 million barrels of oil and the equivalent of 3 million barrels of natural gas. into the Gulf area. LSUHSC and Tulane will help discover the complex effects, including psychological variables, on those in the coastal Gulf South. Photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard
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Originally published: . Volume 2, No. 12. Source pages: 2.
–Is the important question to ask beyond brute survival, said Dr. Alvin Burstein, psychologist and psychoanalyst (see article this issue).
Psychology could use that advice. The Fort Hood psychiatrist is in the news again and every third reporter calls him a psychologist. To the public there’s little difference. The word “psychologist” leads the listener to a person who treats mental illness, and then to the cognitive frame for psychiatrist.
We come by our problems partly because we’re so diverse. We’re scientist-practitioners, scientists, and professors, who according to ASPPB, apply ourselves in clinical, counseling, school, forensic, cognitive & behavioral, clinical health, correctional, academic, industrial-organizational, clinical neuropsychological, rehabilitation, psychoanalysis, and research. And even this list doesn’t include everything or capture our real identity. Psychology could do ourselves and the public a great service by devising a worthy frame. A cognitive frame (metaphor) collapses, limits, and directs the listener. It creates a readiness and priming effect. It is necessary for accurate problem-solving, for defining issues and generating solutions.
We are an intellectually rich, diverse community of premier social scientists that apply what we know to the human condition, and we deserve a worthy frame that doesn’t mean psychiatrist.
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Originally published: . Volume 2, No. 12. Source pages: 2.
The Psychology Times is holding a contest in honor of our second birthday. Submit your positive comment about the Times and you could win a $100 gift certificate to Amazon or for your favorite charity. The best negative comment will win a $20 gift certificate or donation. Top comments will be published in the Times’ anniversary issue with or without the name of the author, as he or she wishes. Send your entry to psychologytimes@drjulienelson.com
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Originally published: . Volume 2, No. 12. Source pages: 3.
Ms. Gail Lowe, Executive Director of LPA, told the Times that another call for nominations to the state psychology board will go out in September. This will begin another election cycle to fill an opening for 2012, which will be left as Dr. Tony Young completes the term that he took over for Dr. Glenn Ally, who resigned in 2010, leaving a partial opening. The typical term is for five years.
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Originally published: . Volume 2, No. 12. Source pages: 3.
In the July 1 issue of the Times, in the story “MPs Qualify To Supervise Without Psychology License,” Dr. Tony Young was incorrectly identified as a medical psychologist. Dr. Young does not currently hold the MP credential. The Times previously obtained the information from the board’s website. We are sorry for any confusion this may have caused.
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Originally published: . Volume 2, No. 12. Source pages: 9.
The LSBEP posted an alert on 6/30/11 suggesting licensees know what is posted about them on the Internet. The alert says licensees need to make a “good faith effort to correct” any errors about themselves.
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Contemporary psychoanalytic theory and practice, referred to as Object Relations, is an evolution of classical psychoanalytic theory. The term “object” was coined by Freud, and is synonymous with the word person or people. Hence the term “Object Relations” refers to psychoanalytic theory based on the relationship between objects (people). Where classical psychoanalysis is sometimes referred to as a psychology of one, object relations theory is a psychology of more than one, with the actual developmental relationship serving as the basis of personality and future relationships (This is what Freud meant when he said that there is no such thing as a new relationship, that all relationships are superimposed over old relationships). More specifically, both the outside object and the relationship with that object are introjected by the developing mind. In this way Object Relations theory stands congruent with other exciting and cutting edge developmental theories such as Bowlby's Attachment Theory. Due to these origins, however, Object Relations theory is based on the same assumptions of classical psychoanalytic theory.
Of course, a central assumption of Object Relations theory is the recognition of an “unconscious mind,” that influences behavior and that produces the symptoms of psychopathology. In addition, Object Relations theory is based on the assumption (like all psychoanalytic theory) that symptoms have symbolic meaning. As such, the role of the therapist is the accurate reading of that symbolism as fodder for treatment.
Also central to Object Relations theory is the assumption that personality and psychopathology have a developmental etiology, i.e. symptoms result from a disruption in the developmental sequence, and that earlier breaks in the developmental sequence are associated with more severe pathology. Nonetheless, these disruptions are not necessarily the result of the horrible trauma of common lore. While abuse and neglect are certainly pathogenic, more often these breaks in the developmental sequence are found to be the result of much more banal events (e.g. a second colicky baby results in the caregiver being unavailable to the other child).
Developmental Sequencing
Within the confines of our mind we all carry an “internal map” or schema of the outside world. But this is not so for the newborn. In the immediate postnatal period a child has no memory traces nor can they focus their eyes. Thus, they have no “internal map” as we know it. Nonetheless, during this time the child does have a crude understanding of self and mother, which exist internally as one ephemeral unit. As such, both the internal world and the external world are represented in the unconscious by one object. As development progresses, however, visual acuity improves and memory traces accumulate. Soon an infant begins to differentiate between the external world and the internal world (i.e. there is someone out there and I am in here). This then becomes the building blocks of what will eventually become "the mind:” two individual objects, one representing mother and one representing self. Disruption of this stage can later lead to a state in which the patient is unable to differentiate between the outside world and the internal world. Problems related to this early developmental stage can later result in a state in which the patient is unable to differentiate between internal "voices" and external "voices." Hence, Object Relation theory provides a psychological explanation for auditory hallucinations (my apologies to the chemical imbalance industry). As time moves on, however, these single objects are unable to represent the infant's ever expanding world. This is especially true for emotions. Angry, blue-in-the-face baby cannot be represented with the same object as happy, loving baby at the breast. Similarly, “mother the-caretaker-and- provider” cannot be represented with the same object as “neglectful-make-me-wait-she's- trying-to-kill-me mother.” As such, baby now uses a very primitive defense mechanism to rectify the situation: a splitting defense. In this regard the infant now develops dual objects for both self and mother, and the emotion that accompanies those objects. Now the infant has two separate objects for self (good baby/bad baby) and for mother (good mother/bad mother), and the emotions (actually instincts) that accompany these objects: libido and aggression, respectively. As time moves on, however, baby begins to understand that good mother and bad mother are actually the same person, as is good baby and bad baby, and a merging of the objects occurs. With this merger baby can now experience people (and themselves) as whole objects, with both good and bad qualities. Accompanying this is also a merger of the emotions/instincts that are associated with each object. Hence, the aggressive instinct is now tempered by libido, and the pure rage that is a product of pre- merged (split) objects is no longer produced. Problems related to this stage produce a condition in which splitting is the major defense and rage is still experienced (i.e., a borderline condition).
As you can see, Object Relations theory, similar to classical psychoanalytic theory, can account for the clinical conditions that many face daily in their practice. Although space limitations limit further discussion, I feel I would be remiss if I did not at least mention the curative (rather than palliative) aspects of psychoanalytic treatment. Just as pathology is caused by early problematic relationships, the curative aspects of treatment also rest on the relationship. Although the exact mechanics are still pondered, the psychoanalytic relationship is what is therapeutic i.e. that it is introjected by the patient, to replace or mitigate early malignant relationships.
Dr. Cerwonka is in private practice in Lafayette. He completed his doctoral training at Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus, and his post-doctoral training at Columbia University.
Dr. Michael Schwartz from New York (L) and Dr. Eric Cerwonka, who received his training in New York, discuss issues at the LPA convention. Dr. Schwartz was a guest presenter and will Chair a program at APA.
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Dr. Gary Jones has built a prestigious and fruitful career from his talent for working with people, his enjoyment of psychophysiology, and his love of mentoring students in psychology.
He is Chair of the Department of Psychology at Louisiana State University Shreveport and Tenured Professor, coming to LSUS eight years ago after a full and varied career at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), including Director of Clinical Psychology Training, Director of USM’s Psychology Clinic, and Professor at a university that many in Louisiana affectionately regard as home.
Dr. Jones is a member of the Counsel of Graduate Departments of Psychology (COGDOP) and a member of Association of Heads of Departments of Psychology (AHDP). He has been a member of the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology (CUDCP) and the Association of Directors of Psychology Training Clinics.
He is Team Chair, APA Accreditation Site Visit Teams, Clinical Psychology, a position he has held for over ten years. He also serves as Site Visitor, Clinical Specialty Member, and Site Visitor, Health Psychology Specialty Member, among many other duties.
His research in cardiac awareness and visceral perception has spanned decades and led to over 80 publications, 67 national and international presentations, 44 invited addresses and presentations at state/regional meetings, and four book chapters including “Constitutional and physiological factors in heartbeat perception,” in From the heart to the brain: The psychophysiology of circulation-brain interaction, and “Perception of visceral sensations: A review of recent findings, methodologies, and future directions,” in Advances in Psychophysiology.
“My dissertation was an analysis of the imagination process involved in systematic desensitization,” Gary told the Times. He found that “what made people react physiologically was not the valence of the imagined scene, but the activity involved in the imagery.”
“The issue of visceral awareness,” he said, “its accurate measurement, individual differences, and the impact of awareness on a person's understanding of their health or sickness became my programmatic research for the next 35 years, and virtually all of my research, and that of my students, has been in that area. I'm still fascinated by it.”
Along the way he has produced works such as “An investigation of the role of physiological arousal in test anxiety,” in Educational and Psychological Research, “Physiological responding during self generated imagery of contextually complete stimuli,” in Psychophysiology, and “Perception of arousal and awareness of physiological responding prior to and after running 20 kilometers,” in Journal of Sport Psychology.
“I did a series of studies on an American Heart Association grant to understand how patients with serious cardiac diseases such as arrhythmias or premature ventricular contractions interpreted visceral feedback and how it impacted their use of medical services or their understanding of their own health,” he told the Times. “In short, most cardiac patients are not particularly aware of cardiac activity, have lots of misinformation about what their heart is doing, and make lots of bad behavioral choices based on misinformation about their physiological functioning.”
His extensive publishing record in psychophysiology is paralleled by his service as editor for numerous journals. He has served as the Associate Editor for the International Journal of Psychophysiology, as Consulting Editor for the journals of Psychophysiology, Journal of Psychophysiology, Biological Psychology, Psychobiology, Journal of Applied Psychophysiology, and Psychosomatic Medicine.
He has also served as Consulting Editor for Science, Journal of Behavioral Assessment, Biofeedback and Self-Regulation, Journal of Personal & Social Psychology Consulting, and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. He has served as Special Series Editor for Biological Psychology.
Gary is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Louisiana, in Mississippi, and holds the Certificate of Professional Qualifications in Psychology (CPQ). He has served on the Mississippi Board of Examiners and he is a past member the American Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards.
He is a member of the American Psychological Association, Southeastern Psychological Association, and Fellow of the International Organization of Psychophysiology. He is a past member of American Psychological Society, Society for Psychophysiological Research, and Society for Behavioral Medicine.
He has served on the Scientific Program Committee for the World Congress of Psychophysiology, on the Convention Committee, Membership, and Bylaws Committee for the Society of Psychophysiological Research. He serves in multiple roles for the Southeastern Psychological Association. He has served as President of the Biofeedback Society of Mississippi, and in many roles for the Mississippi Psychological Association, including Chair of the Scientific Affairs, and Legislative Committee. He has served on numerous university committees including the College of Business, Education, and Human Sciences Technology Committee, the LSUS Technology Fund Committee, the University Research Council, Graduate Council, and the Statistical Review Committee. He has worked as a clinician in private practice, and as Clinical Psychology Consultant and Clinical Supervisor, to P.A.C.E. – Head Start, as a Clinical Psychologist Consultant to Pine Grove Recovery Center, and consultant to Department of Youth Services.
Gary earned his B.A. in psychology from Penn State, and his masters and doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Bowling Green State University. But he chose psychology only after some turns.
“I started as a marine biology major at Penn State primarily because I had watched Lloyd Bridges on the television program, Sea Hunt, and that seemed really interesting,” he explained. However, he soon changed to biology, then education, and finally psychology.
Nothing quite felt right until one day, while walking past an office in the basement of the psychology building at Penn State, Gary spotted a “very large piece of electronic equipment…” It was a Beckman Dynograph, a device for recording physiological, autonomic, or cerebral electrical signals.
Gary was hooked. The combination of psychology, sophisticated electronic equipment, and research, was exactly what he had been looking for. “What a combination! It pushed all my buttons simultaneously,” he said.
“I decided quickly that I would like to be a psycho- physiologist,” and he asked to work in the lab, proceeding next to graduate training with Bowling Green’s Dr. Harold Johnson, a licensed clinical psychologist and psychophysiologist.
“To me, psychophysiology was a natural combination for a clinician,” Gary told the Times. “I was most fascinated with the role of a person's perception of visceral sensations as being critical to the emotional experience.”
He still loves gadgetry. “I am definitely an old technology geek (long before there was such a term) and have been one since my introduction to amateur radio at about 12 years of age.” He began collecting physiological data on $50,000 minicomputer in 1971 that had only 64K of memory, with hard drives that were “the size of a large steamer trunk,” explained Gary.
In recent years Gary has attended an NIMH and APA sponsored Advanced Training Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital in Functional Magnetic Resonance Imagery (fMRI) at Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, a collaboration of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard, and MIT.
What has been most rewarding? “I am, at my core, mostly an academic, researcher, and mentor,” he said. “Clearly, the most rewarding part of all of this activity was my role as a mentor for doctoral students.”
During his almost 30 years at USM, Gary mentored approximately 65 doctoral candidates. “There is nothing like having a research group of 4 to 9 PhD candidates all working in the same area as I was working. These people were bright, enthusiastic, eager, motivated and excited about learning psychology, and it was an amazing environment for me.”
Gary’s very first graduate student was Dr. Glenn Ally, Louisiana medical psychologist. “I taught the intellectual testing courses,” Gary said, “for our program and students were required to do lots of practice testing, and Glenn would bring his son [Brandon] in to be tested by his colleagues. Brandon was a fixture of the testing classes,” Gary said.
“About 25 years later, a young man named Brandon Ally applied to our doctoral program…” and “…became ‘my’ last doctoral student. The ‘Ally psychologists’ bookended my mentorship career. Brandon is one of ‘my’ most distinguished students, now on the faculty at Vanderbilt Medical School (after leaving Boston University and Harvard Medical), and has a research track record that puts almost all of us to shame.” “Seeing all of those kids turn into professionals and make careers and names for themselves is amazing, and to have a little to do with furthering that process, is, by far, the best part of my career in psychology.”
What does Dr. Gary Jones see ahead for psychology? “I think that this is an exciting time for psychology. I think that psychology is growing into a real science.” He explained that the field has advanced more in the last 15 years than in the previous 100. “We have a lot more to learn, but psychology is riding technological advances into advanced understanding of human behavior.”
His advice to younger psychologists? “Truly master the knowledge and skills available in your disciplines.” And, “… graduate school is just not getting a degree but is the acquisition of knowledge that you are going to build on the rest of your career. Don't be in a rush…”
Dr. Gary Jones is married to Dee (Dolores) Jones. Dee is a professional librarian now at the LSU Health Science Center Medical Library in Shreveport. In her career she has served as the Curator of the DeGrummond Children's Literature Research Collection, the second largest collection of original children’s literature manuscripts and original illustrations in the U.S. Also, Dee has served on the Board that confers the premier national award for Children's Literature, the Andrew Caldecott Medal.
The $50,000 minicomputer and steamer trunk-sized hard drives are on the right. The now Dr. Michael Scott above is collecting dissertation data, while Drs. Ken Jones and John Caldwell program the computer. (Photo courtesy Dr. Gary Jones.) This was a newspaper picture taken sometime during Dr. Gary Jones’ first year (1975-1976 ) as a faculty member at USM. (Photo courtesy Dr. Gary Jones.)
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 2, No. 12. Source pages: 16.
The LSBEP is considering revising requirements for Continuing Education requirements, and conducted a survey of licensed psychologists in June and July to discover their views on number and kind of training activities for verifying continued competence.
Dr. Tony Young, Chair of LSBEP noted to the Times that, “ASPPB has published a draft of guidelines regarding CE or Maintenance of Competency that we are mulling over. They are incorporating suggestions now from state boards and revising their document, as I understand it.” He indicated that the document is available on the ASPPB website at http://www.asppb.net/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=3572
Changes in Continuing Education may follow the ASPPB’s recommendations, after input from state boards and individuals are included.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Editor’s note: “Webpages” is a new feature that highlights the web presence of those in the Louisiana psychology community. In this issue we look at the delightful website of Dr. Michael Chafetz, designed and developed by Kathy Sautter, of KC Web Concepts in New Orleans and wife of Dr. Fred Sautter. (See next page.)
New Orleans clinical and neuropsychologist Dr. Michael Chafetz’ website is a beautiful display of information and graphics that understandably describes his services but goes much further to inform and educate providing a variety of content, answers to common questions, links, and information for the visitor.
This highly educational site begins with an engaging introduction and invitation to explore ideas: “Everyday life is rich and interesting, and often demanding. When things go wrong with the brain, it is the job of the neuropsychologist to understand what is going on with respect to a person’s strengths and weaknesses. Use this website, and feel free to explore how neuropsychological services may be of service to you. –Michael Chafetz, PhD, ABPP “
A classic image of the brain, sets just the right tone, and the uncluttered pages are framed by a lovely net of neurons. Very cool.
The wealth of information includes a description of clinical neuropsychology, forensic neuropsychology, and testamentary capacity analysis in clear terms that will be helpful to those seeking a clear description for these complicated issues.
He provides a description of his practice: evidence- based neuropsychological assessment for cases involving head injury, stroke, toxicity, MS, dementia, other neurodegenerative processes, ADHD, and learning disabilities. Assessments include analysis of effort/validity, and of social and emotional functioning, along with extensive neuro- psychological testing. Dr. Chafetz handles medicolegal cases, along with long- and short-term disability, workers’ compensation, and fitness-for- duty examinations.
And he describes his credentials, licenses, and board certifications, which are impressive. Throughout there is a host of education resources for both specific and general help and direction.
A “Frequently Asked Questions” section provides the visitor with clear, specific answers to questions about services and what an individual might expect.
A comprehensive set of resources and links about Alzheimer’s, brain injury, military brain injury, childhood learning disorders, Lewy Body Dementia, memory & aging, and Multiple Sclerosis aid the visitor in specifics.
In the section “Giving Back,” Mike lists foundations he supports, including Access to Care, Brain Injury Association, Multiple Sclerosis, and describes his program to donate a portion of certain fees to the client’s choice. He also supports the “Louisiana Recovery, Development, and Wetlands Protection” project.
The site is beautiful, informative, educational and opens the door to who Dr. Michael Chafetz is, just the right amount.
Visit at http://www.michaelchafetz.com/
Dr. Chafetz’ website was designed by Susan Sautter, artist, math wiz, and program- mer. She is with KC Web Con- cepts in New Orleans. She provides design and devel- opment of custom sites and told the Times “ I come up with a custom design, not a template. Mike already had a web pre- sence on a directory of experts, and he wanted to add a more professional website presence. Mike had the idea to use fractals, and I found the images we used in his site. It resonates with the whole idea of the brain, networking and neurons.”
Susan is married to Fred Sautter, PhD, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Tulane University Health Science Center and Director of the Family Mental Health Program at New Orleans VA Medical Center. Dr. Sautter has developed a couple-based treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder called “Structured Approach Therapy”.
Susan can be found at http://www.kcwebconcepts.com /index.html
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 2, No. 11. Source pages: 16.
The very popular “Summer Symposium” is almost here, designed by Profes- sional Training Resources and Dr. John Simoneaux. The PTR team above is (L to R) Byron, Lisa, Nancy, Gayle and Milka. The date this year is July 27 – 29 and it is to be held at the Hilton in Lafayette, LA. Attendees can earn 23 CEs in a relaxed, positive atmosphere. For more information go to http://professionaltrainingresourcesinc.com/
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 2, No. 11. Source pages: 16.
This Friday, July 8, the New Orleans Regional Psychologists (NORP) will hold their first meeting and organizer Dr. Carolyn Weyand invites all psychologists to attend. The group will gather at the home of Dr. Kim Van Geffen. Please contact Carolyn at carolynweyand@gmail.com for more information.
The Lafayette regional group will continue it’s meetings and interested persons are invited to contact Dr. Gail Gillespie at gailgill@msn.com.
The Baton Rouge Area Society of Psychologists meets the fourth Thursday. President Dr. Jesse Lambert can be contacted to confirm dates and for additional information.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
In a June 13 decision the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists (LSBEP) reversed their October 2010 opinion (#012) that said only psychologists licensed under the LSBEP would qualify as supervisors of students, interns, or post- doctoral individuals who seek licensure as a psychologist.
The reversal allows medical psychologists to act as supervisors, licensed only under the medical board, to supervise those seeking a psychology licensure.
In a statement issued by LSBEP and posted on their website, the board said that they revised their opinion “based on a broader interpretation…” of the applicable sections of the law, “particularly Subpart A of Section 2365 that expressly authorizes those duly licensed as medical psychologists by LSBME to represent themselves as psychologists.” The statement also indicated that the original opinion would have invalidated psychologists from other states providing supervision.
The reversal came after Dr. John Bolter, a medical psychologist representing the Medical Psychology Advisory Committee (MPAC), and Dr. Robert Marier, Executive Director of the state medical board, asked the LSBEP to reconsider their opinion, according to the published statement.
Bolter and Marier “presented evidence from the respective statutes and from prior LSBEP actions, particularly related to approving supervision of applicants and candidates for licensure by psychologists who are licensed in states other than Louisiana,” according to the June statement from the psychology board.
The Times attended the September 2010 board meeting where these issues had been discussed. At that time members reviewed the legal definition of “psychologist,” and noted that the law indicates that “psychologist” means a person licensed under the psychology board. Dr. John Courtney argued that the board had no authority over those from other states who might supervise individuals for a license in Louisiana, and they were valid supervisors. But Dr. Lee Matthews pointed out that those licensed in other states will still fall under that state’s psychology board, and also the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB). Dr. Joe Comaty had said that the definition of a psychologist was clear in the law and medical psychologists who did not retain their psychology license did not meet the definition.
The Times requested additional information about this recent reversal but was told that first the board needed the publisher’s “credentials” and determine if the Times is a “legitimate news organization.”
The psychology board is currently composed of three medical psychologists, Drs. Comaty, Courtney, and Young, who fall under the authority of the medical board and Drs. Bolter and Marier.
State records indicate that Drs. Comaty and Courtney pay yearly dues to LAMP-Political Action Committee, the organization that lobbied Act 251 in conjunction with medicine. Dr. Bolter is also a member.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.