Unbound Posts Archive - Page 10 of 27

You Are What You Grow

14 December 2020

T12 Titans

No comments

The Garden of Eden, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Johnny Appleseed’s trees, Washington’s Mount Vernon, Monet’s Gardens, Thoreau’s Walden Pond, Louis XIV’s Gardens at Versailles. Our deep connection to nature is nothing new. But in the spring of 2020, in the midst of the first COVID-19 wave, some Americans reawakened to that connection. The week before the lockdown began, garden suppliers saw sales of plants, seeds, and bulbs hit record highs.

While some may be discovering a love of green and growing things for the first time, many made it a practice long before the pandemic. A report from Garden Research found that gardening hit a record high in 2018, with 77% of all U.S. households doing some sort of it. The same report found that millennials made up 29% of all gardening households and that at least one houseplant lives in 30% of all homes.

With society largely relegated to their homes for much of the year, enthusiasm for gardening has grown. Whether it’s people trying their green thumb with a few succulents or expert cultivators expanding their garden beds, the benefits are unambiguous: Caring for plants is good for us in almost every conceivable way.

The gifts of growing

Research has shown that plants have a power to decrease pain and stress that seems almost magical. Many of the benefits seem quite logical—like how gardening outdoors provides moderate- to high-intensity physical activity and increases your vitamin D intake. Other more fascinating benefits abound as well. A 2015 study found that plants in a workplace boosted creativity, productivity, and positive feelings. How can something as simple as a houseplant have such healing effects?

Immersed in the outdoors and medicine for more than 30 years, Kimberly Allen is a Ph.D. candidate at Saybrook University studying Mind-Body Medicine and Integrative and Functional Nutrition. She’s a kayaking and mountain climbing instructor, while also holding certifications as an emergency nurse and a family nurse practitioner. She also happens to be well-acquainted with the power of plants.

Allen notes that gardening offers its own physical benefits. “Gardening does more than just enhance our overall sense of mental health and well-being,” she explains. “Physiologically, exposure to soil is great for our microbiome. Exposure to soil bacteria such as lactobacillus and bifidobacteria are known to increase cognition and boost mood. So we gain a sense of calm and happiness by just inhaling the soil without even knowing it.”

“I think we understand intuitively how plants benefit us. There’s something that seems to really resonate right now for people with plants during COVID-19,” Allen says. “I see the way people are buying houseplants and seeds now as similar to how traditionally people brought evergreen into their homes in the dark days of winter. We’ve done this for centuries, and science is just recently giving us a little insight into why.”

Long before Christianity began the celebration of Christmas, many civilizations brought trees that remained green inside their homes. Some cultures believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness, and research is showing now, that in a way, the illness part may be true. A study published in 2012 found that trees, flowers, vegetables, and fruit produce antimicrobial chemicals called phytoncides. These chemicals are an immune reaction to ward off predators, but they have a tonic effect on humans—boosting our immune systems while lowering our stress response.

Terri Goslin-Jones, Ph.D., lead faculty of the Creativity Studies Department at Saybrook and an avid gardener, elaborates on the cause and effect of our relationship with plants.

“Gardening promotes exercise and being in nature, which leads to fitness and often healthier eating, which then decreases risk of illness,” Dr. Goslin-Jones says. “You’re getting out in the sunshine and fresh air. Gardening is holistically great for us.”

Plants and us

In 1974, Dr. Edward O. Wilson argued in his book Biophilia that humans have an intense, innate attraction to nature and living things. As much as humans respond to plants, plants respond to us—whether that response is a simple reaction to care or neglect, like perking up after a watering, or the more complex responses that research is just starting to explore, like whether plants have memories or respond to sounds.

Read related: Bringing The Outdoors In

“As you start to look at nature and plant life as part of the universe, there is this intuitive communication that we might not be aware of in everyday living,” Dr. Goslin-Jones says. “But once you start to immerse yourself with a plant inside your house or outside, it starts to interact with you in a very unique, special way.”

Empirical research into the intelligence and responsiveness of plants is still in a fledgling stage, but it makes sense that caring for a living thing can have deep mental and emotional benefits for people of many different walks of life.

Spending time in a garden was shown to improve short-term memory in patients with advanced dementia, and prisoners who took part in green prison programs in which they gardened and spent time with plants had 10% lower recidivism rates. One study also found that nature-based activities could be useful in treating post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.

“We’re creating relationships when we care for something. When we care for a plant, we create a relationship with that plant. When I begin to talk to people about the healing benefits of spending time in nature, they will start to open up and often say things like, ‘I love to go on walks with my dog,’ or ‘I like to sit on the porch in the evening.’ I get to reaffirm that yes, what you are doing is wonderful. Keep doing that. It’s really, really good for you,” Allen says.

Plants also mirror the facts of life back to us, showing the effects of nurture and neglect. For people suffering from depression, anxiety, or other mental disorders, plants can offer a source of connection and meaning—literally, a reason to get up in the morning.

“If you start to care for a plant, it can offer a new mindset,” Dr. Goslin-Jones says. “You plant them; you’re nurturing them; you’re excited to see their buds and their growth. Now you’re connecting with the plant life and to the physical world. You offer compassion and care to something that is giving you feedback. Plant life offers increased awareness of nature, including our inner nature.”

Nature and creativity

A deep connection between art and nature goes back to the earliest instances of human song, painting, and storytelling. Our language is bathed with the imagery of the natural world generally, and plants specifically, where love blossoms and we reap what we sow. The natural world has served as the inspiration of countless great works of art, from Monet’s water lilies to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Looking back over centuries of global art, it’s easy to see the myriad ways that plants, gardens, and nature have inspired painters, composers, and poets throughout human history.

As head of the Creativity Studies Department, Dr. Goslin-Jones is most interested in the way creativity and gardening go hand in hand. She also has firsthand experience of the creative impulse that comes from the natural world.

“Gardening has a design element of color and texture,” she says. “It’s like painting for me, painting with plants to create this visual landscape that comes together to make a beautiful whole. That leads to inspiration in other areas—that garden then inspires me to write poetry or to paint or to travel. It really inspires all parts of my life and in all seasons of my life too.”

Not only do plants inspire us to make art—making art is incredibly good for us. Studies have shown that drawing reduces cortisol levels and improves mood, and a 2018 study found that writing about stressful or traumatic events was good for both physical and psychological health. Art therapy has also been successfully used to treat eating disorders, addiction, and chronic illness.

Additionally, making art can put us in a “flow” state—a term coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi to describe the experience of being “in the zone,” or the pleasurable feeling of total immersion in a task. A 2008 study on the brains of jazz musicians found that in a flow state, the self-monitoring portion of our brain is turned off, allowing for split-second decisions and essentially uninhibited creativity. Another study found that classical pianists who entered a flow state exhibited deeper breathing and a lower heart rate. Physical activities like gardening, exercising, and yoga are also lauded as ways to get into the flow.

“There’s a level of immersion, a meditative state, to gardening and being in nature,” Dr. Goslin-Jones says. “Monet is a wonderful example of this. I traveled to his gardens, and it’s almost a mystical experience. When you see his painting, he’s the ultimate example of getting inspiration from gardening. His whole life is suffused by gardening.”

The holistic benefit cycle

The positive effects of plant and human relationships connect and feed into each other—from creativity to holistic health. Gardening or spending time in nature pays physical benefits in exercise, sunshine, and fresh air.

Exercise, sunshine, and fresh air feed the mind-body connection, boosting our immune systems while also improving our moods and mental resilience. At the same time, plants and nature make us more creative and productive, setting off another string of mental and emotional benefits.

If gardening is the prescription for some of what could ail you, how much is prescribed? The truth is that even tiny doses of plants, sunshine, and fresh air can make a major difference. A 2009 study found that hospital patients with a houseplant in their rooms had lower blood pressure; less pain, anxiety, and fatigue; and more positive impressions of the employees caring for them.

Even in the sanitized stupor of hospital rooms, minor changes like a single plant or staying on the sunny side of the hospital can have positive effects.

If you’re planting a garden bed in a yard or a community garden, going for a hike, taking a walk to a green space, buying a succulent, or adding a few houseplants around a workplace or home, you are likely to receive the same restorative and inspiring benefits. In 2020, when 40% of Americans report experiencing a mental or behavioral health condition related to the coronavirus pandemic, these benefits are all the more important.

When travel, eating out, and many of the “normal” ways we socialize and relax are out of reach, buying a few houseplants to keep you company are can brighten our days and decrease the stress many of us feel. With so many unknowns surrounding us, one clear promise is the bulbs will bloom in the spring and the seeds will bear fruit again, and by witnessing these miracles, we can remain invigorated.

Learn more about Saybrook University

If you are interested in learning more about the community and academic programs at Saybrook University, fill out the form below to request more information. You can also apply today through our application portal.

More, More, More!

14 December 2020

T12 Titans

No comments

Marie Kondo started a revolution nearly a decade ago with a simple concept: Clean out your house. Get rid of things. If it doesn’t spark joy, throw it out. Meanwhile, experts believe that one in 20 people in the U.S. could be clinically diagnosable hoarders. The average American home contains 300,000 different items. Seemingly from birth, as Americans, we’re taught that we need things. All of them. For most of the 20th century, this sort of overconsumption was largely lauded—there were no ramifications, at least none that we could see.

And then we noticed the world was on fire—or melting, or maybe both. Simultaneously.

On April 22, 2020, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and week six of our pandemic-induced lockdown. Our time inside presented an opportunity to consider the ways that overconsumption and care for our Earth go hand in hand. According to NASA satellite readings, levels of nitrogen dioxide were down by as much as 30% in China in January. Meanwhile, with fewer cars on the road, Los Angeles’ smog lifted, and according to Environmental Protection Agency data, the city experienced its best air quality in almost 40 years. Across the world, the famed Venice canals sparkled, and in Delhi, a city where people wore masks because of car pollution, residents saw actual stars. Pictures abounded of clear skies and wild animals inhabiting green spaces again—making it difficult to deny that our everyday actions were affecting the environment.

Our need to collect things stems back to how we evolved. In our fight to survive, we learned that collecting more food, more blankets, and more shelter made us more likely to stay alive and more likely to attract a partner. This behavior to consume had no limits.

The evolutionary need to keep consuming has turned into overconsumption. People buy more than what they need, and because the world is not an unlimited resource, the effects are far reaching.

Economist Thorstein Veblen explored the tendency to overconsume in 1899, applying it to class distinctions. He wrote, “The motive is emulation—the stimulus of an invidious comparison, which prompts us to outdo those with whom we are in the habit of classing ourselves.” Essentially, we continue to want more so that we can show that we can afford more.

The phrase “Keeping up with the Joneses” comes to mind.

Linda Riebel, Ph.D., ecopsychologist and Saybrook alumna and faculty member, equates this to an addiction. “For some people, purchasing something, no matter how trivial or useless, brings a jolt of satisfaction, even happiness. For others, the act of shopping is the reward, as they spend whole days at the mall—or used to before the pandemic. Addiction seems to be a plausible analog, in that each brief moment of satisfaction fades and the person feels a need for a new one.”

Our capitalist economy thrives on this need for more with advertisers and products galore. From our hunter-gatherer roots to our new life spent indoors, “things” are often tied to security—whether rightly so or not. We feel secure if we have things, and society and advertisers play on that heartily. After 9/11, President George W. Bush told us to support our country by buying things. Economy above all.

“Our economy is predicated on the notion that ‘growth is good,’ even though numerous people have pointed out that unrestricted growth is also the hallmark of cancer. Wall Street analysts predict how well a company ‘should’ do, and companies desperately try to persuade people to buy their products and services. Enter advertising,” Dr. Riebel continues.

“This is the industry—with the regrettable complicity of psychological knowledge—that batters us with phone calls, images, intrusions into our emails, tracking and selling our movements. You know the drill,” she says. “Even the urge to use less has been co-opted, such as the magazine Real Simple, stuffed with advertisements for things. Today’s online version touts cosmetics: ‘Someone Buys This Foundation Every 60 Seconds (and It’s on Sale During Amazon Prime Day!).’”

But the Earth simply cannot keep up. According to figures by the Global Footprint Network, an independent think tank, the first time that human consumption surpassed the planet’s capability to produce was December 29, 1970. This date moves forward each year, with this year’s “Overshoot Day” falling on August 22, 2020. It would currently take 1.6 planet Earths to support our demands on the ecosystem.

When climate change was initially discussed in the late 20th century, we were told that Antarctica was melting, the polar bears had nowhere to live, and that our aerosol cans were making a hole in the ozone layer—but all of that was far away from our every day. We could turn the channel, ignore the facts, and move on with our lives. Now with dire climate disasters happening more and more frequently, it’s becoming more difficult to ignore—yet still we consume.

“Until the early 20th century, consume literally meant ‘to waste.’ So at the heart of consumerism is a willingness to not only waste food and things, but to waste people,” says Shuli Goodman, Ph.D., alumna and founder and executive director of Linux Foundation Energy.

“The mind is always going to want more because that is what the mind does. The mind always wants to grasp more, but what is unique about the United States is that we’ve been able to produce more and more because of our natural resources,” Dr. Goodman says. “But a lot of people don’t recognize that at the heart of the American experience is Manifest Destiny, which is everywhere we look—Target, Amazon, everywhere. I want, therefore I can have.”

Even with the impressive, unexpected benefits to nature after our imposed lockdown, thanks to ecommerce, consumerism and overconsumption did not miss a beat. According to the Digital Commerce 360 analysis of U.S. Department of Commerce data, figures show that in the first six months of the year, consumers spent $347.26 billion online with U.S. retailers, up 30.1% from for the same period in 2019. Online spending represented 18.6% of total retail sales for the first two quarters of 2020. Another market that is known for single-use products, which is harmful for the environment, is also rising during the pandemic: food delivery. Grubhub reported a 35% increase in active diners—from 20.3 million in 2019 to 27.5 million in 2020.

Dr. Riebel even links overconsumption of the Earth’s resources to eating disorders in her 2001 liminal paper, “Consuming the Earth: Eating Disorders and Ecopsychology.” She writes, “Consumption of the earth’s natural resources exists in its starkest and most literal form in the act of eating. Eating disorders are symbols and manifestations of psychopathology on a grand scale, made more poignant by the fact that they are so difficult to cure.”

Curing the ills we’ve caused Earth may be just as difficult, but it doesn’t mean we mustn’t try. Dr. Goodman works in the energy field, finding ways to move into a renewable, sustainable market to produce and democratize power. She believes that looking through a historical lens, we can begin to understand the damage we’re doing.

“We have lost our historical context: Why we came to this country, what we were looking for, and the degree to which we have succeeded,” she says. “We’ve been soothed into complacency because of our ability to live like kings and queens and go buy, buy, buy. There’s no other way to think about climate change than by thinking about our materials and what we use to create these things to consume.”

A recent headline read that the United Nations “warns that world risks becoming ‘uninhabitable hell’ for millions” if nothing is done. “Consumerism is relatively new and directly related to fossil fuels. If you look at the kind of exponential growth curve of fossil fuels, the GDP, and carbon, they follow exactly the same curve, starting around the 1850s,” Dr. Goodman says.

The climate crisis is a direct reflection of our need for more. According to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), 7,348 major natural disasters occurred between 2000 and 2019—including earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes—claiming 1.23 million lives, affecting 4.2 billion people, and resulting in $2.97 trillion in global economic losses.

Overconsumption and its effects are everywhere. We can talk about the use of plastic: an average person living in North America or Western Europe consumes 220 pounds of plastic each year, mostly in the form of packaging, compared to one-fifth that level in Asia. Or we can discuss the rising levels of debt—financial company Nerdwallet reports that the average American household is $132,529 in debt. Or about binge drinking (consuming more than four drinks in one sitting) accounting for 90% of the alcohol consumed by those under the age of 21 in the United States.

Overconsumption and its effects

0lbs

of plastic are consumed each year by an average person living in North America or Western Europe

$0

is the amount of debt the average American household has.

0%

of alcohol is consumed through binge drinking by those under 21 in the U.S.

Learning to limit our consumption of anything does not appear to come easily to Americans.

“We consume the Earth to ease our pain. But the success of this strategy is fleeting—the pain comes back, so we do more of the same, demanding more consumption-induced oblivion. Attempts to stop merely reinstate the cycle,” Dr. Riebel writes. “We become ever more disconnected from our bodies, our fellow humans, our fellow creatures, and our self-respect. Humans are not always rational and, as the environmental crisis shows on a ghastly scale, are capable of ignoring even the most elementary factors needed for survival.”

Though it may not have been part of our evolutionary development, the humanistic foundation that Saybrook has relied on for more than 50 years provides a way through this crisis. While a focus on altruism and providing for others cannot provide a cure for the climate crisis, it does provide our only hope of survival.

“If you begin to change systems, to democratize energy and electricity, if you stop pumping the bones of our ancestors into our cars so we can drive to the mall, if you do that, it will have a profound shift on how culture is organized,” Dr. Goodman says. “I trust that if we begin to address this at a structural level, many things will change, and it will begin to cascade its way down. On a day-to-day basis, we vote with our dollars. I think that we have to begin taking responsibility for every single day we vote for something with what we spend our money on.”

**Learn more about Saybrook University**

If you are interested in learning more about the community and academic programs at Saybrook University, fill out the form below to request more information. You can also apply today through our application portal.

Transformation amid turbulent times

10 December 2020

T12 Titans

No comments

2020 has been a year of compounding catastrophes. As of this writing in November, the COVID-19 pandemic has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, and the economic ramifications have leveled families, businesses, and entire industries. In parallel, the country is experiencing a long overdue reckoning on racial justice as citizens express outrage at the continued lack of accountability for police officers who harass and assault communities of color.

How to adapt to changes, and to ultimately overcome such adversity, is a prospect with which many industries, including the business world, are all too familiar. In 2019, Gartner, a management consulting firm, surveyed business leaders and found that typical organizations today have undertaken five major firmwide changes in the past three years—and nearly 75% expected to multiply the types of major change initiatives they would undertake in the next three years.

From rebranding to new leadership to major pivots of their business models, millions of organizations around the globe endure large-scale institutional change. To navigate through these times of uncertainty, knowledgeable executives practice “change management,” a process Harvard Business School defines as “the method of leveraging change to bring about a successful resolution.” In fact, in 2017 businesses spent more than $10 billion dollars on change management consultancy.

As 2020 draws to a close, it is not that difficult to see the United States as a giant corporation undergoing organizational change—all the while enduring a global pandemic. Is it possible to apply the tenets of change management to how we might adjust as a country and ultimately prevail?

What makes the current state of global affairs in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic particularly stressful is the degree of uncertainty.

And there is no easy fix, no “cure” around the corner that can be implemented and become effective. Even with a safe and successful vaccination, the speed of distribution and the pace at which the economy will recover are both still in question. A September 2020 Pew Research Center poll found that only 51% of U.S. adults said they would “definitely or probably get a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 if it were available today,” with 49% saying they “definitely or probably would not get vaccinated at this time”—a reluctance many attribute to the politicization of the vaccination process.

“The polarized mind is about a fear-driven move toward the perception of absolutism, certainty, and sameness,” says Kirk Schneider, Ph.D., psychology faculty member at Saybrook and author of The Depolarizing of America: A Guidebook for Social Healing. “This is why people who are polarized tend to cluster in groups of people who are similar to them. You have these echo chambers and cultural silos because they feel safer.”

But in addition to bridging divisiveness, the fact remains: Much about the near future is unknown. During times of extreme uncertainty—no matter the reason—Tom Hayashi, Ph.D., chair and program director of the Department of Leadership and Management at Saybrook University, believes an “adaptive leadership” approach is the best way forward.

In short, it requires thinking on your feet, coalition building, and taking ownership while addressing the people factor—all tactics that Dr. Hayashi has found fruitful in his consultations and research in the field with organizations during COVID-19.

Part of most action plans right now include moving services online—but they also need to include holding conversations with all participants in the decision-making process, which makes a significant difference in how programs are implemented.

“Plans should be in response to external and internal customers. A way to, in real time, display adaptive strategies and leadership,” Dr. Hayashi says. “Organizations can effectively adapt in the midst of a crisis situation by paying attention to not only the technical aspects of organizational pivot but to ensure that the focus is on the most important asset, its people. Research in change management has consistently shown that dedicated attention and investments in the capabilities of the workforce such as leadership and team coaching as an integral part of systems and process adjustments can significantly enhance productivity by 30% and reduction in attrition by as much as 50% … ultimately effective adaptive leadership translates to positive people and profit outcomes when organizations can really use every break they can get in times of the global pandemic.”

Another key component of effective change management is diversity: diversity of thought, diversity of identity, diversity of talent. By incorporating such diversity into a group tasked with making change, leaders have access to a wider variety of perspectives and, in turn, can adjust their strategies accordingly.

Think of it this way: In a work environment, if employees don’t feel understood or valued, then culture, productivity, and retention can suffer. In fact, a 2018 report from McKinsey and Company found that public companies in the top quartile for ethnic and racial diversity in management were 35% more likely to have financial returns above the industry average, and those in the top quartile for gender diversity were 15% more likely to have returns above the industry average.

For both government officials and business executives, the proof is in the pudding: When leaders invest in diversity, it pays dividends.

“One of the phrases I use with my clients is ‘Be a listening, learning leader,’” says Saybrook University Board Trustee Joanne L. Smikle, Ph.D. “Do not walk in pretending that you know it all, that you have all the insights in the world, and that you are the fount of all knowledge. Leaders have to be open to hearing different perspectives. It’s important to find and prioritize fresh voices.”

It’s a widely accepted tactic of adopting changes in business to listen to those who the change is going to affect—aptly named an open-source approach. By ensuring diverse voices and making them a part of conversation, research shows that successful implementation grows by 22%.

“I think people need not fear what they have a voice in,” Dr. Smikle adds. “So the question is, ‘What are you going to do to actively solicit input and insights from lots of different people?’ It’s like when I work with clients on strategy, I say, ‘Do not think because you are an executive at this company that you are necessarily the best person to guide strategy or know what is best for the organization. The people close to the work have a level of intelligence that the people at the top of the house don’t have. Let’s hear from those people. Let’s invite them into these strategy sessions. Let’s invite them to shape the future of this organization.’ It’s the same model for this country.”

One of the resonating values of civil progress has long been increasing the voices that are heard—and it’s easy to understand that as a nation, our success with dealing with these rapid changes is much more likely to be successful by incorporating valuable insight from all communities.

The American Society of Quality defines change management as “the methods and manners in which a company describes and implements change within both its internal and external processes. This includes preparing and supporting employees, establishing the necessary steps for change, and monitoring pre- and post-change activities to ensure successful implementation.” Noting that the reason most changes fail are human reasons.

Change does not happen in a vacuum.

Success and failure are largely dependent on whether or not key constituencies buy into the premise. Within an organization, employees can be resistant to change, as the status quo is oftentimes more comforting than the prospect of the unknown.

Causes for fear are abundant in today’s world, made exponentially worse by the uncertainty of it all. We don’t know how many people will perish before a viable COVID-19 vaccine emerges, or whether local, state, and national governments will actually move forward to address the racial injustices laid bare over the course of many years—not just 2020. If the unknown and uncertain inherently predispose us to fear, then it’s no wonder anxiety is at an extreme high for so many.

These dual pandemics—COVID-19 and racism—are now responsible for a sort of collective trauma. A recent CNN investigation considers the impacts that mass trauma can have on a population by revisiting the prolonged state of “chronic threat response” (the ongoing state of being in survival mode) provoked by the events of September 11, 2001. According to the World Trade Center Health Registry, roughly 20% of registrants reported PTSD symptoms many years later, indicating that the aftereffects of the coronavirus could be equally enduring.

Generations are brought together by these collective experiences while such a precarious environment also has the potential to drive individuals into polarized cultural vacuums, where oversimplified answers (think so-called miracle “cures” like hydroxychloroquine) are offered as confident, comforting explanations to complex and confusing questions.

In the context of lessons learned from change management theory, no amount of transformation can thus find success without first unifying preexisting divides. After all, rebuilding this country will be a collaborative process. The message of “together we can fix it” is sure to have a much broader appeal than the long-standing “only I can fix it” idea.

“Before change, there must be healing,” Dr. Smikle says. “You are not going to get buy-in in a fractured organization. You need to understand who your constituency is, work to strengthen those relationships, and once you’re sure those relationships are strong, work on cultivating new relationships.”

Between March 1933 and June 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt gave 30 fireside chats, intimate addresses broadcasted on radios across the U.S., on topics ranging from unemployment and economic policy to the looming threat of fascism. In the early days of mass media, it afforded the president a way to communicate directly with the public, securing support for the ambitious agenda of his first 100 days in office.

Such regular, informal entreaties allowed Roosevelt to exhibit accountability through transparency, as Dr. Hayashi suggests, and to showcase his skills as a listening, learning leader, as Dr. Smikle advises. He offered clear-cut plans to ease collective fears and referred to the American public directly as “you,” speaking openly and frankly about shared values—working to break down the divides of Dr. Schneider’s “polarized mind.”

The idea of applying business values to our current cultural issues is one of the founding principles of Saybrook’s new MBA and DBA programs. With the new Sustainable Social Impact MBA and DBA degrees, the university continues doing the work toward a more equitable and just society through bridging business success and social consciousness.

“We are not interested in just looking at a single bottom line but looking holistically at the world. We believe in the quadruple bottom line: People, Planet, and Profit guided by Purpose,” Dr. Hayashi says. “From change management being applied to the big issues our nation faces such as police reform, to enhancing diversity, equity initiatives within a belonging framework, redesigning systems relies on mindsets beyond our own perspectives.”

The struggles our nation confronts today are on par with the Great Depression of Roosevelt’s time and once again require a trailblazing solution. As a savvy adaptive leader, FDR was able to execute on those tactics and turn the country around by unifying and connecting citizens, which we know is the only path forward.

In 2016, Harvard Business Review reported that 70% of transformational changes fail. The principles of change management are nothing new—but rather, they offer a universal playbook for governments, organizations, and individuals alike coping with transformation in turbulent times. And perhaps, therein, offer some sort of comfort. As Roosevelt famously said in his very first fireside chat, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” and now more than ever before, we must not be afraid of what lies ahead.

Learn more about Saybrook University

If you are interested in learning more about the community and academic programs at Saybrook University, fill out the form below to request more information. You can also apply today through our application portal.

5 Different Types of Therapy in Psychology

2 December 2020

T12 Titans

No comments

Updated on:

December 12, 2024

Therapy is a broad treatment system with many far-reaching branches. In this context, therapy refers to the use of psychological methods and systems to treat people with depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders. Various types of therapy in psychology exist. Here we cover a few of the most common varieties.

The Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology program from Saybrook University features several courses covering various therapy practices. This online doctoral program requires virtual learning experiences, community learning experiences, and clinical internships to ensure our graduates are prepared for professional competence when providing psychological therapy treatments.

Here are five of the most common kinds of therapy.

5 Types of Therapy in Psychology

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, is often utilized to help people who struggle with negative thoughts or are looking to break a habit. In CBT practices, the psychologist must study a patient’s patterns of thinking and gain understanding of the origins of these patterns. Once identified, specialists can work to combat thought patterns that are causing emotional harm, focusing on developing coping mechanisms that will help patients deal with issues as they arise in the long term.

The Clinical Psychology doctoral program includes several courses that delve into behavior, including Biological Bases of Behavior. This course explores how the brain and nervous system produce a range of behaviors such as sensations, emotions, sleep, language, behavior, and reproductive behavior. Another course is Cognition & Affect in Human Behavior, which covers major theories and current research in how information processing and learning, developmental influences, and the relationships between cognition and emotion are presented in individuals.

A psychologist (Ph.D.), a licensed clinical social worker (Ph.D.), or a licensed professional counselor (M.A. or Ph.D.) trained in CBT can properly treat patients in need of this specific counseling.

2. Psychodynamic Therapy

This type of therapy focuses on self-awareness and self-examination. In this practice, psychologists will guide patients toward identifying the root cause of any suffering or problematic relationships.

Many parts of psychodynamic therapy evolve from principles of psychoanalysis and can be applied to a wide range of psychological disorders. Psychologists who practice psychodynamic therapy help patients to form a practical and positive sense of self.

Psychodynamic therapy can be carried out by a licensed clinical social worker, a psychologist, or a licensed professional counselor who has training or experience in psychodynamic therapy.

Request info

3. Humanistic Therapy

Humanistic therapy focuses on examining a patient’s worldview and how it affects their everyday choices. It deals with unraveling one’s true self, processing others’ criticism, and realizing self-acceptance.

This type of therapy is slightly different from others because humanistic therapy focuses on the specifics of an individual’s day-to-day life.

Humanistic therapists’ job is to help patients gain personal acceptance, determine what they wish to achieve in life, and find the methods that will help them get there.

Engaging in humanistic therapy requires the help of a psychologist or licensed clinical social worker with training in humanistic therapy to guide participants through the process.

As part of the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. degree, Saybrook offers an Existential and Humanistic Psychology Specialization. Within this program, there are additional courses focused on humanistic psychology. This includes Foundations of Existential and Humanistic Psychology, which provides an overview of humanistic psychology history, current manifestations, and contributions to other fields of psychology such as clinical practice. Another course in this clinical psychology doctoral program is Humanistic Psychology and Psychotherapy, which covers the foundations and origins of humanistic psychology and the cultural impact in psychological practices.

4. Psychoanalytic Therapy

Psychoanalytic therapy deals with understanding the subconscious or unconscious mind. This type of therapy may be the best fit for those who have undergone therapy for a long time and want to go deeper to understand the unconscious origin of the thoughts that affect their actions.

Psychoanalytic therapy is often used for patients with compulsions, obsessions, or phobias. The therapist will then help their patients explore the unconscious and subconscious mind to find the origins of destructive behaviors and work to eliminate them.

Psychoanalysts—likely psychiatrists (MD), psychologists, or licensed professional counselors—who have been trained in psychoanalytic theory and technique are best fit to oversee the process of psychoanalysis.

5. Integrative or Holistic Therapy

Holistic therapy is an integrative approach to counseling based on psychosynthesis principles. It deals with understanding the relationship between an individual’s spirit, mind, and body and addresses how issues in one aspect of a person’s lifestyle can affect other areas.

Pursuing integrative and holistic therapy as a career exposes practitioners to greater awareness of self and the environment, which will, in turn, promote greater acceptance of self and clients. Therapists in this profession views their patient’s symptoms as a window into their consciousness, which can lead to or bring attention to a person’s higher awareness.

In relation to integrative or holistic therapy practices, Saybrook offers the Ph.D. in Psychology: Consciousness, Spirituality, and Integrative Health Specialization. This program focuses on spiritual development, self-discovery, personal transformation, exceptional human experiences, and transpersonal development. The psychology doctoral specialization offers students a comprehensive, interdisciplinary understanding of how embracing spiritual approaches leads to optimized well-being.

Dive Deeper into Psychological Therapy with a Psychology Degree

Saybrook University offers various graduate-level psychology programs, including specializations that allow students to pursue the program that best suits their academic and career aspirations.
The Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology degree allows students to pursue their doctorate through online courses and in-person clinical experiences without relocating or stepping away from work or family responsibilities. This clinical psychology Ph.D. degree program provides graduates with a deep understanding of the different types of psychological therapy, the theories and research that support or challenge various application methods, and the experience needed to apply these techniques in clinical settings.

Learn more about the different types of psychology therapy by earning your doctoral degree from Saybrook.

Grey Dietz

9 November 2020

T12 Titans

No comments

Grey Dietz
M.A. Integrative and Functional Nutrition, 2020

“A dream starts as a broad idea; work is required to make it a reality.”

Holistic Insight

For Grey Dietz, earning a master’s degree from Saybrook was an integral part of doing that work.

“I have dreamt of being a doctor since I could walk,” Dietz says. “In high school, people did not understand my commitment to what I wanted to do. In college, professors suggested that medicine might not be the field for me. Many of my friends were dissuaded from the medical field and changed their majors. After college, I was advised to fit the ‘cookie-cutter’ mold: attend medical school right away or do a post-baccalaureate. But that’s not what I did, and I think it’s about time we all break the mold.”

Dietz came to Saybrook at an integral time in her life, opening her eyes to unique opportunities. Before her last year of undergraduate studies, she realized she wanted to stray from the norm by studying nutrition after graduation. “I found Saybrook’s ‘Integrative and Functional’ approach to nutrition to be exactly what other schools are lacking.”

“Saybrook immediately felt like home,” she says. “The curriculum inspired me to learn and grow in the basic sciences behind nutrition, but also pushed me to understand the complexities backing a nuanced field. ‘Nutrition’ does not only refer to food. It refers to the mental well-being or illness surrounding eating. It refers to barriers people have of attaining food based on their socioeconomic status. It refers to cultural differences regarding tradition and food availability. It refers to people coming together to share conversations and grow relationships. Food and how it metabolizes in the body is not even close to the whole story.”

During her time at Saybrook, Dietz researched nutrition in conjunction with pregnancy, mental health, gastrointestinal distress, and demography. She learned how a proper diet could have far-reaching positive influences on quality of life for all people through unique opportunities to directly interact with real patients and physicians, and integrate her practice with more holistic ideas of health.

She earned her master’s degree from Saybrook in the spring of 2020 and has since begun pursuing an M.D. at Ross University School of Medicine. She is eager to share what she has learned at Saybrook and has already spearheaded the organization of a new community to influence nutritional understanding among her class of future physicians.

“I dream of helping future physicians realize the importance of nutrition in their practice. Right now, it’s still just a dream, but I am committed to making it a reality, no matter how long it takes.”

Dr. Arielle Dance

19 October 2020

T12 Titans

No comments

Dr. Arielle Dance
Ph.D. Mind-Body Medicine, 2017

“My degree from Saybrook is kind of unconventional, and what I am doing is unconventional. But it is important that we continue to talk about these issues so we can bring the pain that so many people are experiencing to the surface, and then work to help them heal.”

Innovator Healer

Arielle Dance, Ph.D., is using her education to challenge taboos around women’s health and mindfulness in the workplace.

Mind-Body Medicine alumna Arielle Dance, Ph.D., has long been an advocate for women’s health: as a doula, as a doctor for the American Cancer Society (ACS), and through her research into techniques for easing painful symptoms of endometriosis, a disease she was diagnosed with at 15 years old. Through it all, she’s striven to break down the stigmas that surround unconventional treatments and preventative care.

After earning her master’s degree in women’s health, Dr. Dance chose to continue her education at Saybrook University because it was the only graduate school she found willing to support her unconventional research interests. Throughout her time at Saybrook, Dr. Dance studied how specific relaxation techniques including meditation, deep breathing, and guided imagery could positively affect different aspects of women’s health—specifically endometriosis, which often results in infertility.

In 2015, she was awarded the Herbert Spiegel Scientific Poster Award for her research poster titled “The Utilization of Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, and HypnoBirthing for Childbirth and Labor.”

Today, she finds that her research continues to attract a diverse range of women seeking to learn more about her nontraditional methods of treatment.

“Besides my full-time job, I am balancing roles as a doula and unofficial consultant,” Dr. Dance says. “Because of my final dissertation on endometriosis, I have found a lot of people reaching out to me specifically related to their pain and how they can cope with their pain and infertility…. It’s been a unique group of women all in different phases.”

Dance has also used her education to help transform the culture in her day-to-day work at the ACS, where she manages a team of employees. She has begun integrating techniques she learned during her time at Saybrook to increase mindfulness in the workplace, routinely beginning staff meetings with meditation and using aromatherapy and dim lighting in her office to help her begin each day.

Dance remains firmly committed to bringing awareness to the issues she is passionate about by speaking up.

“My degree from Saybrook is kind of unconventional,” she says. “And what I am doing is unconventional. My original research is still kind of stigmatized because it is very much about every female topic possible, and every taboo topic that a woman could talk to a male-identified person about. But it is important that we continue to talk about these issues so we can bring the pain that so many people are experiencing to the surface, and then work to help them heal.”

Mindfulness Moments

3 October 2020

Mike Lepore

No comments

Saybrook University is proud to provide access to our Mindfulness Moments podcast episodes. Anyone anywhere in the world can discover and learn to enjoy the gift of mindfulness. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, our Mind-Body Medicine faculty banded together to provide these recorded sessions, which are available below, as a source of centering and solace in these extraordinary times.

“Mind-body practices provide much needed restoration and sources of health. These practices, such as guided meditation and imagery, have been demonstrated in multiple research studies to contribute to improved immunity, as well as better quality of life. Applying content from the curriculum and research, our Mind-Body Medicine faculty continue to lead brief daily meditations. Taking a few minutes from the stress of daily responsibilities through a structured mindfulness practice can support wellness and a stronger immune system and help restore balance.”

—Luann Fortune, Ph.D., Specialization Coordinator, College of Integrative Medicine and Health Sciences

Join the Saybrook community from January 13 through April 27, 2025, for our weekly 15-minute Mindfulness Moments series every Monday at 9:15 AM PST. On select dates, we will host special 1-hour workshops on mind-body practices starting at 9:00 AM PT.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Select Dates for 1-Hour Workshops:

The Role of Storytelling in Scholarly Writing with Dr Jei Pearcey, PhD on February 17, 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM PT
Mindfulness Practices with your Four-Legged Friends with the Saybrook SACRED Team on March 17, 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM PT
Mindful Yoga: On and Off the Mat with Dr. Jenny DeDecker on April 14, 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM PT

Zoom Meeting Access:*
Join via Zoom
Meeting ID: 965 5577 8825
Password: 182085

To access previous Mindfulness Moment recordings, please visit the Unbound: Saybrook Insights podcast or the Saybrook Self-Care YouTube channel.

Listen to an episode

Click on any previously recorded episode below to begin playback. New episodes are updated bi-weekly.

4 social work practice models

29 September 2020

T12 Titans

No comments

In the field of social work, practice models guide patient care and an individual’s approach to treatment. These models act as a way of moving abstract theories of social work into the real world and applying them to concrete situations.

A social worker does not subscribe to a single practice model, but instead usually integrates them depending on the patient and issue at hand. Social workers may also choose to combine practice models into their own unique modes of practice.

Of the various models available to social workers, four distinct types are discussed below.

4 different types of social work practice models

1. Narrative therapy

Narrative therapy is often employed to provide objectivity to a client and the current issues they’re facing. In a narrative therapy model, clients are urged to separate themselves and their self-worth from their problems, as to not conflate the two.

This is done through third-person storytelling, from both the social worker and the client. By explaining the situation at hand as a story, clients can achieve a more objective perspective and potentially gain clarity into the direct causes of the issue. Through this process, the social worker may be able to develop “alternative stories” that show clients how the problem could have been avoided or what can be done to fix it.

2. Crisis intervention model

The crisis intervention model of social work is typically used when a client is experiencing a severe or critical issue. This could include crisis situations such as suicidal ideation or other harm (self-inflicted or otherwise).

In this model, a social worker follows a series of seven steps.

Stage 1: Perform a biopsychosocial and danger assessment
Stage 2: Quickly establish a rapport and relationship with the client
Stage 3: Identify what has caused the crisis and the major problems involved
Stage 4: Listen: encourage and allow the client to express emotion and vent
Stage 5: Offer alternative options to the crisis, collaborate on coping solutions
Stage 6: Enact a clear follow-up action plan
Stage 7: Plan and perform follow-ups

3. Task-centered practice

In a task-centered practice model, social workers assist clients through a series of clear steps. These are assignment-like tasks related to therapy or mental health goals that are completed on a schedule and evaluated. In this model, social workers will empower their clients to work through their challenges independently.

Task-centered practice acts as a means of goal setting but with the planned-out implementation of these goals. This is a future-thinking method that allows clients to think less about past issues and instead focus on future improvement and concrete steps to achieve this.

4. Integrative social work

Integrative social work is a model that approaches the field from a holistic, systemic perspective. This includes physical, emotional, community, and spiritual well-being when providing support to clients.

The integrative social work model believes that if you do not recognize all of the above dimensions in your practice, it will undermine the whole. Many times, this is referred to as a “person-centered” approach to health—the social worker sees a person as “person in environment” and tends to the individual well-being and resilience of that individual over the course of their lifespan. It also works to emphasize the conditions within a community that either support or undercut an individual’s well-being.

By deploying one or a combination of these practice models, social workers have found unique and personalized treatments to support both individuals and communities across the globe.

At Saybrook University, our Integrative Social Work department prepares students to create transformational change in organizations and communities, ultimately working toward a more just, humane, and sustainable world. By achieving a Ph.D. in Integrative Social Work, students receive an education that focuses on both the time-honored traditions of social work with the values of social justice and social transformation.

Visit our program page to learn more about Saybrook’s Ph.D. in Integrative Social Work or fill out the form below to request more information.

Curious about job opportunities in the field of social work? Learn more about these five career paths for a Ph.D. in social work.

The power of meditation

24 September 2020

T12 Titans

No comments

Many think that meditation is simply closing your eyes, clearing your thoughts, and breathing for about five minutes. Many do not know about the plethora of options when it comes to meditation.

Maybe being home more during the pandemic has offered you the opportunity to welcome meditation into your life. Or maybe you are looking into meditation to help you deal with new anxiety that has arisen. Either way, meditation is free, easy to start, and has many benefits.

“Mindfulness and meditation—tools for wellness and self-care—can provide calm and restoration,” says Luann Fortune, Ph.D., a Mind-Body Medicine faculty member at Saybrook University. “Research shows that related practices contribute to improved immunity and mental well-being, as well as better quality of life. Evidence also has shown such practices can connect us as a community to support health and healing.”

Dr. Fortune has been instrumental in the start and continuation of Saybrook’s Mindful Moments, a program offered since March 2020. She has presented many different types of meditation, including progressive muscle relaxation, guided meditation, guided imagery, abhyanga (self-massage), and loving kindness meditation.

To help others find peace during this stressful and chaotic year, Dr. Fortune offers further tips and explorations on how to practice meditation—and what kind might be best for you.

What is meditation?

According to The New York Times, meditation is a way to train the mind.

The origins of meditation can be traced back to as early as 5000 BCE, to ancient Egypt and China and tied to the religious practices of Judaism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism. Spread along the Silk Road, it moved throughout Asia. Before the 20th century, meditation spread from Asia into the west. In the past few decades, doctors and scientists started studying meditation for its medical and other health benefits.

Dr. Herbert Benson, a Harvard Medical School professor, found that people who meditated used 17% less oxygen, had lower heart rates, and produced increased brain waves found to help with sleep. Years later, he said the following about his research: “All I’ve done is to put a biological explanation on techniques that people have been utilizing for thousands of years.”

Who can practice meditation?

Meditation is available to all, requiring only a few minutes of quiet, an openness to try, and a willingness to let go. The mind is powerful—meditation is called a practice because its practitioners always have room to grow and try again. When you begin meditation, it is important to refrain from judgment of yourself and your process.

Before you meditate, find a quiet spot. You can either sit down in a chair or on the floor. You can even lay down if that is more comfortable to you. As you begin your practice, be patient. If your mind wanders, take a moment to pause and reflect and bring your attention back to center. And remember, the more you do it, the easier meditation becomes. With some commitment, you will be able to focus more deeply each time you practice meditation.

How do I start incorporating it into my daily routine?

Meditation draws from a vast array of traditions, histories, and methods. Selecting the “best” method depends on personal preference and background. Most practices are cultivated to bring emotional calm and mental clarity and involve setting aside time each day, from a few minutes to an hour for intentional practice.

Here are a few of the more common forms with an example of each.

Guided Meditation is the collection of techniques and practices that focus one’s thoughts on a particular object or invite suspension of thoughts, so it is often associated with our mental life. In guided meditation, a leader provides verbal prompts or instructions to direct the individual or group through the practice.

FlipBox title

FlipBox Title

FlipBox Title

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) was developed to help people suffering from tension and stress and can provide many benefits. The practice, which can be considered muscle-body based, focuses on relaxing specific muscles in a directed protocol, tightening specific muscle groups and then releasing. Research shows that PMR can help reduce anxiety and reverse stress as well as help release tight muscles. In a recent study by Liu and colleagues (2020), PMR was found to improve anxiety levels and sleep in COVID-19 patients.

Guided Imagery, also called guided visualization, involves directing thoughts and sensations to engage positive mental images and sensory recall, meaning conjuring smells, tastes, sounds, and textures as well as visual images. Because it is multi-sensorial, it draws on our creative selves. Strong research supports many benefits, from invoking calm, improving performance, and healing trauma. Guided imagery can be conducted in individual or group settings. Multiple quality audio recordings are available that provide guided imagery, which makes it a suitable form for use in clinical settings where access may be restricted.

FlipBox Title

Abhyanga (Self-Massage) is one active form of mindfulness practice that draws on the ancient (ayurvedic) practice of self-massage. It is meant to be practiced daily to stimulate the immune system and promote circulation and body-mind awareness. It can also bring calm and vitality. It is especially helpful during times of sheltering and isolation.

Loving Kindness Meditation, a gentle guided meditation, is widely used to support emotional and mind-body wellness as well as prevent compassion fatigue and build mindful leadership. Based on supporting research, it has gained prominence in clinical settings, particularly to prevent burnout for health care workers. It involves sending out thoughts and intentions for unconditional love toward oneself, outward to others, and to bring peace and healing. It is sometimes considered a “heart-based” form, drawing on feelings and thoughts of pure love.

FlipBox Title

Learn what meditation practice is best for you

The examples provided are appropriate for mindfulness experts as well as those who are new to meditation and mindfulness practices. You can explore more practices as well by listening to Saybrook’s Mindful Moments. Faculty from the Mind-Body Medicine program provide these live guided sessions during the week and are open to the public. They are recorded and available at Saybrook’s website or through Spotify.

Taking a few minutes from the stress of daily responsibilities through a structured mindfulness practice can support wellness and a stronger immune system and help restore balance in these challenging times.

If you’d like to learn more about the academic programs available at Saybrook University, fill out the form below to request more information.

A Community Beyond Policing

24 September 2020

T12 Titans

No comments

We have all heard the tale of Sisyphus—forced by Zeus to push a boulder up a hill for all eternity. Whenever he would seem to make progress, it would roll back down. He was forever tortured, never making any substantial progress or seeing the fruits of his labor fulfilled.

The systemic inequities and racism that surround us can seem a lot like this torturous process—especially with the continual rise of police violence against Black men. In 2019, police in the United States fatally shot 1,099 people. So far in 2020, 1,021 people have been killed. By comparison, in 2019, 36 fatalities were reported in Canada; 21 in Australia; and three in the United Kingdom. Even when adjusting for population size, the United States’ numbers are far higher. Many would agree that this is more than what is acceptable for a first-world democracy, but more bothersome still is the fact that a Black man is twice as likely to be shot than a white male by police.

The problem is not new, but like Sisyphus, the progress put in place has not stopped the violent treatment against, and murders of, members of minority groups.

Ginger Charles, Ph.D., Saybrook alumna and former police officer explains. “There is no one size fits all approach to fix these problems—some departments need complete dismantling, while some need moderate education and reform,” she says. “Nothing will be successful, however, until we break down the language. A student of policing needs to learn the history—it is a systemic racist organization, but we can change it. Defenses automatically arise individually with, ‘That’s not me. I’m not racist—just one bad cop,’ and systemic racism doesn’t mean that you are racist, just that you are part of an organization with a racist history. But until you acknowledge you are a part of it, we can’t change it.”

Dr. Charles traces the history of policing—from Jim Crow to slave patrols—arguing that until law enforcement can acknowledge and become educated about historical implications of this type of racism, it is difficult to move out of these systems. “It permeates the culture, and then that culture—unless it’s addressed—never changes. So it’s never been addressed because people will not acknowledge it to this day.”

“When you look at the fact that we have oversight committees with doctors, massage therapists, hairdressers—where we have these boards they have to pass, where there are complaints that can be filed—why are we not doing more of that for law enforcement?” Dr. Charles asks. “This is a career where you are authorized to take somebody’s life, yet we don’t do that.”

It is no surprise then that many leaders and activists are ready to try something different, a new way to push the boulder up the hill—completely reforming the process to be less violent and more community based. Calls to defund and dismantle police departments have become the rallying cry for many, and some communities—like Minneapolis—have moved forward with these steps.

Dismantling the defunding controversy

Minneapolis’ City Council, after years of accusations of improper and racist policing—brought to light nationally with George Floyd’s murder—recently voted to dismantle its police force and replace it with a department of community safety and violence prevention to better address issues that police officers have traditionally dealt with. To begin, the new charter seeks to change the large financial support the police department receives. The city is looking to cut $200 million from the police’s $1.3 billion overall annual budget.

“The definition of defunding the police is controversial in and of itself. We are not looking to take away the police but reallocate resources to help them and others better address the public health challenges we currently and have historically faced,” says Marianne Jankowski, DHSc., department chair of the Division of Health Services at The Chicago School.

Working with other professional fields is not a new concept—but it has recently received a renewed sense of urgency.

“Mental health professionals and social workers have always collaborated with one another in a multidisciplinary team setting, tackling different problems and issues that communities face,” says Trent Nguyen, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Integrative Social Work at Saybrook University. “With this cooperation and collaboration between the two, different perspectives and skills are utilized to examine the root causes of the phenomenon, for the betterment of society in the long term.”

Addressing problems within the law enforcement community is not an overnight project with a simple, one-off answer. Additionally, some of the driving forces behind finding a new, innovative way to address issues that law enforcement officers often encounter will have to include public health officials, mental health practitioners, and social workers. It requires community support and collaboration from a variety of sectors—which inevitably requires funding.

“The defunding of police departments would increase funding support for a variety of experienced community-based nonprofit organizations that offer trained mental health professionals, community safety advocates, gang intervention specialists, case management, and other resources to address the various disparities impacting underserved communities,” says Mary Starks, Ph.D., MSW, program director of the Bachelor of Social Work program at Pacific Oaks College.

“I think that with the collaboration of community organizers and activists, community members, social workers, and public policy makers, we will better equip our police officers and our communities with the care needed. We cannot work in silos while addressing the needs of the community, whether it is responding to a crime or to someone’s mental health issues,” Dr. Starks continues.

Call 911

When someone hears about defunding the police, their first question might be: But who will come when I call? What about the times when society does need the protection of police officers?

“Extremists take the term ‘defunding’ and run with it to create panic for their own personal gain, making people think we are getting rid of law enforcement. Common sense should tell you that will not happen. No one system is isolated serving only its immediate role,” Dr. Jankowski says. “Public health, with law enforcement as a part of that larger group, is a collaborative approach to ensure our safety and security as well as addressing both health and social issues as identified in a given time. It will take the forces of many health care practitioners and law enforcement officers to unite and fight for solutions for the greater good.”

The next iteration of collaborative community care could involve social workers and public health officials to streamline prevention and early detection of issues, along with funding programs—like free mental health resources, after-school care, and skills training—that offer vulnerable populations ways to care for themselves.

Dr. Charles explains that in her research with communities of color, she asked a direct question of citizens: How would you want to be policed?

The answer? From a distance.

“In white neighborhoods, seeing police officers around, citizens feel safe and protected. But in Black neighborhoods, the opposite is true. The prevalence of patrols makes them feel less safe, which historically makes sense. Time and again, members of those communities asked, ‘Can you teach me to manage my neighborhood?’ but that’s not a quick hashtag,” Dr. Charles says.

In her conversations, citizens expressed that they wanted to learn how to manage their own community issues, to care for their own—without an outside force with a history of disproportionate violence against their community. “If you think about it from their perspective, if you’ve got somebody hovering over you, just on top of you, and an authoritarian state looking for something to go wrong or somebody to do something wrong, then that’s scary,” Dr. Charles says.

A new way of doing things could offer these vulnerable communities the tools they need to finally feel capable of protecting and policing themselves, without being scared of those doing the policing.

Enter social work and public health practitioners

The two professional fields of social work and public health have gained particular attention in discussions about reforming law enforcement systems.

Dr. Nguyen explains how social workers are especially equipped to deal with the complex problems that exist at many levels.

“Social workers can be seen as ‘jacks of all trades,’ meaning that we can work at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels,” he says. “This is a societal issue, and things have to take place at a macro level in order for real change to occur. When macro issues are resolved at the grand level, communities tend to experience the phenomenon less at the mezzo and micro levels. Social workers are trained to be crisis workers, therapists, advocates, social policy analysts, etc., so that they can utilize their skill sets to combat this societal phenomenon at all levels in society.”

Systemic issues touch many sectors of society, and as such, solutions to these issues are multilayered. From policy to practice, each helper serves an important role in keeping vulnerable populations safe and secure—free from police harm. Social workers and mental health practitioners work in schools, health care facilities, prevention programs, and places of employment that allow them to be some of the best public health advocates because they understand the issues from a human perspective. And other public health professionals are well-versed in understanding how to craft and implement policy on a broader scale to help address the various challenges our society faces.

“As a public health practitioner, it is important to advocate for access to equitable care as well as prevention and education programs through policy to support public mental health initiatives. Social workers also need to be advocates of policy,” Dr. Jankowski says. “Vulnerable populations should be allocated specific resources to minimize their vulnerability, but many see this as quite costly. However, as a public health and health care practitioner for many years, I can say that utilizing evidence-based approaches to policy development and ensuring the sustainability of the policy for the greater good of all populations should be first and foremost. After all, is there a price on human life?”

While a one-size-fits-all approach may not work to solve a centuries-long systemic issue that pervades the law enforcement arena, Dr. Charles agrees that focusing on the human aspect of all parties involved is a good place to start. “We have got to recognize in policing that these are human beings we’re dealing with, and we’re human beings. It may sound corny, but really when you think about it, we are in service of a community. Period. That’s why you have the badge. Somebody hands that to you from the community. You’re not militarized. You’re not a part of an army. And as bad as things get, your job is to go out there and try and educate and encourage people to be lawful and caring for one another.”

Learn more about Saybrook University

If you are interested in learning more about the community and academic programs at Saybrook University, fill out the form below to request more information. You can also apply today through our application portal.