College of Social Sciences
Faculty, Saybrook University
This sketch captures the ideas that resonated for me as I listened to colleagues share their ideas about student-centered learning — something that has been at the core of Saybrook’s educational philosophy since its founding. It was comforting to know that Saybrook belongs to a family of higher education institutions that share this humanistic principle.
Up until the 21st century, people sat side-by-side or back-to-back as telemarketers, typists, word processors, file clerks, and more. Give or take a family photo, cubicles were designed to be a carbon copy of the next person’s work space where workers would complete the same (oftentimes) monotonous jobs. Even in some outdoor work, such as toll workers, one booth worker collected the same dollar bill as the next one. The only difference in their days were the cars that drove by.
Around the ‘80s, Corporate America’s advancement in technology and communication began to blossom. Cloud-computing software took on the duties of printouts in file cabinets. Email, texting, and social media took tasks away from the mailroom. Desktop computers with the Commodore 64 metamorphosed into notebooks, laptops, and tablets. And online faxing cleared real estate in the supply rooms away from 4- to 5-foot fax machines.
Technology has not only helped with convenience, timely responses, and real-time results. Along the way, it has also opened up opportunities to expand today’s work opportunities and outcomes—creating room for entrepreneurs, co-workers, clients, and customers to brainstorm and create with partners scattered throughout the world.
“What’s happening is that leaders are mobilizing their teams and virtual networks,” says Ahmad Mansur, a Saybrook presidential fellow and managing partner of Consilient EdVentures. “Instead of requiring a team to be located in a certain place, leaders may gather their teams from City A and City B into co-working spaces such as WeWork or The HUB.”
Today’s business meetings are a free-for-all, operating in more collective spaces such as coffee shops, delis, libraries, home offices, and more.
Creating a virtual world for business decisions and leadership
“One thing that’s really neat is companies are joining with other companies and other networks to solve different types of business challenges,” Mansur says. “There are virtual spaces such as InnoCentive that allow companies to huddle together for problem-solving tasks, and they have access to use an entire global platform of professionals to get that problem solved. This is more of a crowdsourcing model to allow multiple stakeholders to be part of the experience.”
However, even with a broader network, global leaders are tasked with creating satisfying and consistent working relationships locally, nationally, and beyond.
“One of the things that I research and teach to business professionals is how to develop quality leadership and management quality skills, and be able to work in what we call a distributed organization,” says Charles Piazza, Saybrook’s director of the College of Social Sciences (CSS) Leadership and Management program. “Global business leaders can use these techniques to establish and lead organizational networks that support knowledge sharing and innovative, sustainable solution building for today’s complex business environments, no matter where they’re located.”
A little under two years ago, he was asked to design and help launch the M.A. in Management with a specialization in Global Workforce Collaboration and the Ph.D. in Organizational Systems at Saybrook. For 17 years and counting, he has helped to expand leadership competencies for business professionals navigating in a virtual world.
“For me, being in a physical space and a virtual place is no different. If I’m going to have a team, I have to consciously work at facilitating that team to build relationships and to communicate just like I would in a regular, co-located work environment. We have to create a mindset that you and I are actually colleagues in the same place—even if it’s virtual. From my research, without this mindset being built into your organizational culture, people will stumble.
“Then you need to have various types of collaborative processes. You need to have good technological infrastructure, bandwidth, and the right tools to work effectively. You also need to be able to build working relationships. Something as simple as saying, ‘Hi, how are you doing?’ should be as common as planning meetings, in order to build a healthy working rapport.”
Chasing millennials, creating an open work environment
Leaders are recognizing that when work can be accomplished from anywhere, traditional work environments would be better positioned as inviting, comfortable spaces. This is evident in a casual browse at job postings in today’s economy. It is by no mistake that tidbits about yoga retreats, dog friendly offices, game rooms, couches, and free beer are added onto job postings. Casual Fridays are old news.
Kathia Laszlo, a Saybrook faculty member in the Organizational Systems program, has a strong stance about why physical offices have decided to change the feel of their offices.
“Some companies are going to the extreme with their amenities,” Laszlo says. “It’s gotten to the point where you went from assembly line work to never even having to leave the work environment at all. You can sleep on the company couches. There are snacks and meals provided. Get a massage, practice Tai Chi, or hang out in the playroom during your breaks. But even with everything at their disposal, some workers are still disconnected. In order to have productive work, employees need to be healthy.”
Companies such as Cisco have done away with assigned desks altogether to use the office as an open space for collaboration. Now the trend is an open-office layout, but the change in architecture still hasn’t tricked employees into forgetting where they are: work.
“It’s not like this is a retreat,” Laszlo says. “You are supposed to be contributing value to the company, and what you get in return is beyond your paycheck. You need to feel connected, engaged, and productive.”
For many workers today, the job is to ‘create’ as opposed to ‘do.’
According to Forbes, open-office workers still aren’t satisfied with these amenities. While the layout may have broken down barriers between teams, approximately 40 percent were dissatisfied with sound privacy and tended to have superficial conversations to avoid disturbing other co-workers who were closer and more visible to them. Accessibility may have created a more welcoming environment, but some would still argue the pendulum may be swinging too far.
The future of the workplace
According to Laszlo, companies have already come to terms with the fact that good health insurance and stability just isn’t enough to stay invested in the jobs of the future. Neither are “these kind of theme park experiences to attract the new generation.” Businesses are taking on more of an employee-centric scope, chasing talent as much as talent is looking out for new employment opportunities, including independent contracting.
“Employers are increasingly utilizing platforms to grab talent from all over the world,” Mansur says in reference to contract work from companies such as Upwork, Fiverr, and PeoplePerHour. “Before, there was a need to have workers come into the office. When you look at the future of work right now, millennials by 2020 will make up 50 percent of the workforce. And then by 2025, they’re going to end up being 75 percent of the workforce. Their concept of work is completely different.
“Deloitte did a survey on millennials and found that they don’t like cubicles; they don’t like to commute; and they don’t like to use legacy technologies, or enterprise resource planning technologies such as PeopleSoft or SAP. Companies are now moving more toward the technologies that their employees are using, such as Facebook, Google apps, and Microsoft apps for work functions.”
For many workers today, the job is to ‘create’ as opposed to ‘do.’
For many workers today, the job is to “create” as opposed to “do.” Job functions for a creative class revolve around the creation process, inventing new ways of doing and being in the world. Two examples of creative workplaces where the duties may be different everyday include “makerspaces” and “hackerspaces,” which help build everything from software to coding to 3D printing in a project development culture.
This shift in employee outcomes also necessitates leaders and management systems that understand how to inspire productivity, loyalty, and results from their employees. It is LinkedIn that Mansur thinks companies should really take a long look at—a company where employees are given the tools and encouragement to create a personalized “learning plan and employee experiences.”
“One of the first questions that they ask you is how can they co-create a worker experience where by the time an employee leaves the company after a certain time period, that employee’s talents and goals have been met,” he says. “More companies should operate this way to help employees develop their skills and assist them to get into ideal roles that may or may not be within that company. Of course by doing this, the assumption may be that all workers won’t work for LinkedIn forever. However, by default, LinkedIn has branded itself as a company that develops talent, which helps them continue to recruit and retain more talent.”
Instead of the usual “opportunities for advancement” within the organization, companies such as LinkedIn are helping innovative leaders to advance their own destinies from start to finish. Instead of following the direction of a few higher-ups, the skillsets they are building help to customize their professional paths and create a partnership of peers. An additional way to develop these kinds of skills is through post-secondary education, including distance learning schools.
“Everyone needs some type of post-secondary training or skill,” Mansur says. “But there’s a difference between saying ‘you must go to college’ solely for financial gain versus going to develop some skills that give you value within this economy. I tell people to use the power of networking platforms to give recognition to their skills.”
And with this larger platform and network, leaders in the global economy are also tasked with having a broader mindset. According to Piazza, that includes “cultural sensitivity, being socially minded global corporate citizens, and acting in a responsible manner that is in the best interest of the people of the world, not just one company or country.”
The group felt a mix of emotions stepping into Traglufthalle Asylum Shelter in Berlin, Germany on the first night. Would it mirror the coverage they’d heard from the media? Would they be able to connect with refugees despite a language barrier? How could atrocities of this magnitude, forcing millions of people to flee their homes for the unknown, still happen in today’s world?
Saybrook President Nathan Long, Dean of Social Sciences Kent Becker, and three students traveled to Berlin as part of the first-ever, cross-institutional, cross-disciplinary course “Immigration in Context: Examination of Germany” in December 2016. After spending eight weeks online discussing immigration through the lenses of law, psychology, health care, advocacy, and human development, the group converged halfway across the world to see the real-life implications of immigration policy as evidenced in Berlin.
“There was little way to prepare yourself for that level of immersion, but that’s part of the power and purpose of a program like this,” Dr. Kent Becker says. “I told the students early on that our goal was ‘compassionate presence’—not to go into the refugee shelter and do, but go in and just be.”
Over the course of five sessions, Saybrook students guided shelter residents to share their personal stories through photography—an advocacy tool for self-expression and discovery called PhotoVoice that Dr. Becker has utilized in communities nationally and across the globe.
In the photos below, Dr. Becker and Saybrook doctoral student R. Paul Johnson, share their Berlin experience using the same PhotoVoice method.
Dr. Kent Becker: This is the refugee shelter of Berliner Stadtmission. As part of the course, faculty and students facilitated a PhotoVoice project with residents who wanted to share their stories through their images and their words. As a group, they shared a powerful range of experiences about their journeys, fears, family, and hopes for the future.
It was particularly poignant and challenging that while we were in Berlin getting to know these phenomenal residents, visiting historical sites, and enjoying the city at the height of Christmas season, a young man plowed into one of the largest Christmas Markets with a truck, killing 12 people.
It was a reminder that, sadly, too many people do not come home at the end of their day. Our time with the newcomers from the shelter was a strong reminder of this fact. Across time, and today, too many people are victimized, traumatized, and marginalized.
Dr. Kent Becker: Personally, these experiences and the on-the-ground connections are what made this course so rich and meaningful. This was an important experience where we could learn together and speak candidly about our views on immigration and the refugee crisis. While we may not have always agreed, we were able to share something special collectively and individually, personally, and professionally.
Ideally other groups in their own homes, even those who don’t share the same connection as our group through education, would be willing to peacefully have the kinds of conversations we had. Whether from the east or west coast, Republican or Democrat, citizens or immigrants, or from a spectrum of races, our communities should agree to have a shared sense of responsibility and a commitment to learn more about each other.
R. Paul Johnson: One of the supplemental activities we did as a group was to visit the Oranienburg Concentration Camp just outside of Berlin. When we got there, the weather mirrored my mood: discomfort. It wasn’t just that the weather was cold, misty, and wet. I focused on the outside wall of the memorial camp and guard tower, thinking of the countless people that had been imprisoned there during frigid winters and threadbare dress. The same bare, old trees that looked down on me had seen these victims, and recognized their fear and helplessness. Anger and fear set in while I watched our reflections go past the same windows and the same paths that they were on, knowing we would be safe on the other side while others had not had the same fate.
Dr. Kent Becker: These “snapshots” capture the security and safety we felt with each other, and the community we built across affiliates, disciplines, etc. We shared meals, family, and community stories, educational experiences, painful feelings, hopes, and fears. I believe this was demonstrated and tangible after the truck attack. Individually and as a group, we were all determined to find each other, see each other, and know that we were all safe. We congregated in the hotel lounge, texted each other and our loved ones, and breathed a collective sigh of relief as each member of our community came “home.”
R. Paul Johnson: We needed a place to escape the heaviness of all we’d learned. That salvation came from our time at the WeihnachtsZauber Gendarmenmarkt (Christmas Market). Even though the weather was still gloomy and damp, our group was joyous and full of laughter. But still, I stood amongst the masses pondering on whether any of us were thinking about those who came before us, those who suffered at the hands of war-mongering dictators.
My experience in Berlin has caused me to pause at nearly every step and ask myself how I can make a difference, both as a psychologist and a human being. The trauma that the “newcomers” endured has multigenerational implications, and we need to have a better understanding of not only why this is but how we can help break this cycle. When our group’s discussion transitioned into the sadness and despair of the past, we pondered on ways to make sure something like this never happens again. Even though I am now at home, I will always remember the spirit of the Christmas Market.
Dr. Kent Becker: On our final night in the shelter, faculty, residents, and students shared their PhotoVoice projects. Throughout the process and each session, I had been so nervous and excited. It was not until the last night, during the community display, that I allowed myself to slow down and witness what had unfolded. While the photos and stories were amazing and powerful, it was the relationships between students and residents that warmed my heart and brings a tear to my eye even today. Through the activity, people found those magical points of connection. They experienced the humanity of the “other.”
This experience and the PhotoVoice project reminded me that to you have to first show up in order to make a difference. We had some challenging moments throughout the process, which included some doubt about whether the project would work. I was reminded that we do not have to have all the answers and that we can lean on each other for support. The important thing is that we must keep showing up–even on the tough days. For me, this project was what community is all about. We added, albeit small, to the positive side of life. As a group, we made a contribution.
[arve url=”https://youtu.be/U-s0IAy4jwg”/]
Parents are natural protectors. When tested, their territorial instincts usually kick in. On May 17, 2013, Calvin Davis and Carlet Harris were put to the test when police followed their then-15-year-old son Montae riding his grandmother’s adult tricycle around her neighborhood in Washington, D.C. One officer openly complained that the confrontation happened because of a lack of respect from the community. From the family’s perspective though, the situation that unfolded was undoubtedly a case of racial profiling. But without Carlet’s sister capturing the turmoil on her smartphone—footage that became the basis for the film “Think of Calvin”—this situation would have been an unresolved case of he said/she said.
Saybrook Presidential Fellow Kelly Amis—who founded Loudspeaker Films and is a family friend of Calvin and Carlet—refused to let this story go untold. Utilizing her background as a documentarian and social justice advocate, she spent nearly three years researching the case and editing the film to ensure it would tell the story clearly and factually, while also providing a close, personal look at how racial profiling affected an entire family.
What will it take to improve relations between certain communities and law enforcement? Does this type of incident permanently scar the innocence of children? And, as citizens and bystanders, what roles can we play in changing the tide?
We sat for down for a dialogue with Calvin, Carlet, and Kelly to discuss the impact of the film on the family, the community, and society at large.
Saybrook: Thank you all so much for speaking with us today. Calvin, watching this film, the way you interacted with the police officers was so telling to us. We can imagine that you’ve probably had conversations with your sons about how to conduct themselves around police in order to stay safe. Can you explain what was going through your mind in that moment wanting to protect your son but also knowing that you had to stay within certain boundaries?
I lost count of how many times I’ve been stopped; that’s the norm.
Calvin: Growing up in D.C., there’s certain neighborhoods where the police just hang around for nothing, in my opinion. I lost count of how many times I’ve been stopped; that’s the norm. The police harass you. They pull you over. You just be quiet. If they’re nice enough or if you’re nice enough, hopefully they’ll let you go. If not …
Carlet: It’s either a ticket or being arrested.
Calvin: Yes, when you’re growing up as a minority, the interactions with the police are never positive, even though eight times out of 10 you haven’t done anything wrong. And the law always backs the police. So I just wanted to give the officer his space. I was trying to give him my side of the story and tell him what happened. But the officer wasn’t listening. It’s hard just thinking back on it now.
Kelly Amis: When the officer called for backup, you see all those cars show up and a paddy wagon.
Calvin: Yeah, there had to be about maybe 20 or 30 police officers. My mother-in-law’s backyard and the whole alley were full of police and police cars. I told one of the officers that I didn’t think we were getting off to a great start. The tone of our conversation was escalating. I asked if I could speak with the commanding officer. When the commanding officer got there, he never once said anything to me. His first words were to the officer that I was having words with. The first thing he said was: “Who do you want to lock up?” The officer that I was having the discussion with pointed to me: “Him, right there in the scrubs.”
Saybrook: So there was no benefit of the doubt?
Calvin: No.
Kelly: It’s just so unbelievable because I know Calvin. This experience and how it unfolds afterward too was really soul-crushing for him, as you can imagine. Also, a ton of people were outside. It’s a Friday night. And whenever I look at that video, I just see all those little kids, a lot of them on bikes, too. They’re just watching Calvin—the guy who works at Children’s Hospital and is still in his scrubs—being arrested in front of them. And he did nothing but talk.
Saybrook: The video footage taken that night was obviously such an important part of this story. As someone who wasn’t there, Kelly, what was your reaction when you saw the footage?
Kelly: My first reaction was that Calvin is the last person I would imagine being arrested, especially in the way that it happened. He is such a calm person, so it’s unbelievable. It’s important to know that I was actually already working with Calvin and his family on a different project when this incident took place, so when they told me what had happened, I immediately felt like his story needed to be told. And my second reaction was that we had to show this footage to Calvin’s public defender as evidence in the absurd case against him. [Spoiler alert: Calvin is charged with assault on a police officer.] I had to force my way into his lawyer’s office and say I wasn’t leaving until he watched this footage.
Calvin: She sure did!
Kelly: His lawyer wanted him to take the plea deal and do community service. Even with that video, the way the law is written regarding assault on a police officer, it could still be used. As Calvin explains in the film, the lawyer told him, “It’s going to be your word against a police officer’s word.”
Calvin: Yep.
Kelly: And they knew who the judge was, so they advised him to take the deal.
Calvin: Yep, and that was his exact words.
Saybrook: And as a filmmaker, Kelly, what responsibility did you feel in being able to share this incident in “Think of Calvin”?
Kelly: An incident like this is not going to make it into the news. The incidents we see are when somebody is actually killed. A black man is killed on video, and there’s no accountability for that. But for each one of those headline stories, there are thousands of stories like Calvin’s where someone wasn’t killed, but an entire family’s life was put in jeopardy. Calvin could have lost his job! So I felt a responsibility to share his story because there are encounters like this happening in communities throughout our country every day that don’t get any attention.
Saybrook: It’s systemic.
Kelly: It really is. And that is something that has to change. Donald Trump would like to increase the use of stop-and-frisk in America. He said it should be a “national policy” when he was campaigning. I hope we can get people to see this film to understand stop-and-frisk, which was about to happen to Montae, has a terrible impact on communities, on families, on individuals.
Saybrook: Calvin and Carlet, how has your family changed since this incident occurred?
Calvin: Like I said, growing up here, it’s never really a positive interaction with the police. As a black father, with a teenager and a soon-to-be teenager, C.J., you just raise them to do certain things when they get pulled over or stopped. This incident actually showed the boys what we were teaching them. Here it is in your face now, and you see exactly what we’re talking about.
Carlet: This incident has definitely impacted our lives. When C.J., our 10-year-old, sees a police car behind us or even if he just sees one nearby, he’s uneasy. He’ll announce that the police are behind us. As a mom, I’m thinking, “So what? We’re OK. We’re not doing anything illegal.” But kids pick up on everything. They’re sponges. He definitely remembers that night. With Montae, honestly, we’re struggling right now.
Calvin: He’s 19 now.
Carlet: And he’s so rebellious against a lot of stuff now. When we talk to him about certain things like this incident, his response is: “Well, it’s already going to happen because I’m black.” It definitely has affected him.
Saybrook: Almost like he’s lost hope. Or is numb.
The police will protect their own. That’s the same thing Calvin and I were doing. We were protecting our own.
Carlet: Yes. That’s honestly what it is. And we are fighting so hard to get him back on track. My boys are not going to grow up and be what society says they are. Honestly, I thought I was going to get arrested that night and not Calvin. The police will protect their own. That’s the same thing Calvin and I were doing. We were protecting our own. But when Calvin got arrested for protecting his kids, is that not out of control? But you just can’t give up. You just have to believe in yourself. It might be wishful thinking, but I feel like there is hope.
Saybrook: One of the film’s reviews says it has “hit a nerve.” What do you think is hitting a nerve?
Kelly: “Think of Calvin” did not get accepted into a lot of film festivals. But we won awards at the festivals that we got into. “Think of Calvin” won Best Short Documentary at the Napa Valley Film Festival this year. And we won second place for the Uptown Festival in Harlem earlier. Even though it’s a very low-budget film, the story is so compelling. And Calvin and Carlet really let us understand the whole situation and were courageous to share their story.
Saybrook: And did you feel like it didn’t get accepted to some because that community wasn’t interested in having that conversation?
Kelly: I think that this incident is so clearly about race. The officers involved are white. The way they talk to everyone in the family is so disrespectful that you can’t really find a gray area around it. Or, I can’t. So I think for other white people, perhaps, or people with more resources who live in areas where this would never happen to them, they can’t fathom being treated this way. And that’s where it hits a nerve because as long as the media focuses on these cases where someone is killed, had a weapon, or is doing something illegal, they can find some gray area. But when it becomes so clearly a race issue like this, it hits a nerve that makes people realize the depth of injustice in America.
Saybrook: That’s a great point. There are going to be a lot of people who watch “Think of Calvin” and say, “This can’t be day-to-day.” We know it is. But it shouldn’t be.
Calvin: That’s true.
Saybrook: So what do you hope people gain from the film?
Calvin: Like Kelly said, when they show these videos on the news, there’s always someone getting killed, which only alludes to one side of the story. If more stories like this got out where we can have both sides of the story where the other person doesn’t end up dead, then hopefully everyone would have a different mindset of the day-to-day scene.
Carlet: I most certainly hope that what comes out of this is we get a bigger platform here. It needs to be shown more and to people higher up, such as Congress members.
Calvin: To Trump, who wants to extend the stop-and-frisk law. He needed to see this video.
Carlet: The elected city officials who are supposed to be here for you. These people need to show up at a screening. I also hope that it sheds light and reevaluates some stereotypes. I work in an emergency room. Calvin works at a Children’s Hospital. He’s someone who saves children’s lives, but you may not know that just by seeing him walking down the street.
Saybrook: Calvin, after you completed your community service, was your record wiped clean or were there any repercussions after being a part of the film?
Calvin: After the community service was done, no, it actually doesn’t come off of your record. It was dropped to a misdemeanor. You can try to get it expunged, but because of the type of charge it was, specifically assault on a police officer, that cannot be expunged.
Carlet: It also affects background checks. We went on to become foster parents to two little boys, and Calvin’s misdemeanor came up during the process by the lady who took our fingerprints. We were upfront and honest with her.
Saybrook: For those who want to get involved, how would you suggest they do so?
Kelly: Every message we send, especially to black males, is that they don’t deserve justice. They are dangerous. There’s something inherently bad about them. And that’s also why the film is titled “Think of Calvin.” It means, if you question racial profiling and the reality of it here, I want you to think of Calvin Davis. I also want you to think of his son Calvin Jr., C.J., because this child wants to believe the police are here to protect him. He’s this good, happy kid in this great family, and then the messages sent that night were terrifying. Watching and sharing “Think of Calvin” online is powerful. But what’s even better is when people organize a screening and bring together diverse members of your community to discuss it. Have a real conversation. If you can bring representatives of the police and elected officials into that conversation, you could go a long way in improving community relations and hopefully bridging the divide we have right now.
Learn more about how to host a screening of “Think of Calvin” by contacting Loudspeaker Films here. You can also support the family here.
And discover how Saybrook’s Transformative Social Change: Social Impact Media program can mold your social advocacy skills through media today.
Over the course of several decades, the legend of a humanistic psychology institute, turned graduate research center, turned university, is a plot rich with interesting characters and various twists and turns.
What began as a small group of academic rebels seeking to change the face of higher education has now morphed into a small university finding its way once again in a sea of political and academic change. One thing has remained constant though—the university’s administration, faculty, staff, and students are intent on adhering to Saybrook University’s founding mission of promoting a more just, humane, and sustainable world.
Saybrook’s rebellious, progressive lineage is a product of the countercultural movement of the 1960s and is a child of three major revolutions—in psychology, research, and education (1).
I contend that we are now on the verge of a fourth revolution—eclipsing the classroom to bring Saybrook’s humanistic ideals and methods of teaching and learning forward in ways that will not only fundamentally transform the lives of our students, but also the clients they serve, the organizations of which they are a part, and the communities in which they live.
In this sense, we are UNBOUND.
A few of Saybrook University’s founders took a revolutionary idea and brought it to life
Those who embrace humanistic approaches leverage these unique traits to live an optimal life.
The Humanistic Psychology Institute (HPI) was thus conceived. Initially housed at Sonoma State University, the Institute’s first director, Dr. Eleanor Criswell, helped institutionalize and bring to life the vision of her notable colleagues. In 1971, HPI began to educate students that this third way, or force, was needed in the advancement of psychology to more deeply understand what it means to be human and to improve the human condition
Humanistic Psychology and the Institute, which began promoting its principles through scholarship and practice, ultimately embodied several main concepts, including:
1. Human existence is central to understanding the human condition: The vast nature of everyone’s full human experience is related to each person’s unique purposes and functions. Everyone, therefore, has human choice and agency in their own path to fulfilling their potential, drawing on their truly distinctive existence.
2. Our commonality is that of possessing unique traits: Human beings are—as far as we know—unique in our capacity for self-awareness and to establish in-depth relationships. Those who embrace humanistic approaches leverage these unique traits to live an optimal life.
3. Human beings are best studied in our natural context: While studying behavior in the laboratory can be useful to control for certain variables, understanding human psychology in natural contexts helps us better understand the fullness of the human experience. The humanistic practitioner will often use research and therapeutic techniques that are real-world. Furthermore, qualitative research is often used and may include phenomenology or exploring the human experience. The point of view of the subject is honored and articulated.
4. Human beings must be viewed in the fullness or wholeness of our humanity: A person’s full humanity cannot be reduced to an illness, a relationship, or a set of behaviors in exclusion of everything else that makes one human. Humanistic-oriented practitioners recognize a person is more than just a combination of interrelated parts; she is a complex organism with significant potential. If a diagnosis is provided, it privileges the voice of the client.
A child of the revolutions in research and education
The 1960s and 1970s were known as a time of counter-cultural activity in America. During an unpopular war, as well as struggles for racial and gender equality, paradigms in research and education were also changing as reflections of the period. The academy in general, the discipline of psychology in particular, and HPI each were in the middle of this exciting, yet tumultuous period.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, behavioral and social scientists adhered to long-held standards of empirical, objective inquiry that incorporated scientific observations in the laboratory, employed various experimental models, and perpetuated the use of inferential statistics (quantitative approaches) as a means of analyzing data.
During the countercultural movement, however, a newer generation of academicians and social-behavioral scientists began questioning the very role of objectivity in the pursuit of science. Depending on one’s source, the beginning of the qualitative-quantitative debates emerged in the mid to late 60s and carried on for some time thereafter.
For the first time, psychological and sociological research began shedding an important light on human existence.
The crux of the debate was this: human beings could not be effectively studied without digging deep and understanding the lived experience of the subjects who were being researched. While there was certainly value in quantitative techniques, depth was needed to understand the totality of the human subject being studied.
In its application, qualitative research offered a broad palette of unique research approaches that dug deep into the “why”. For the first time, psychological and sociological research began shedding an important light on human existence. In the wake of this new, more subjective research, women’s and minorities’ voices began coming to the fore in ways that had been largely non-existent in social-behavioral science scholarship. The revolution occurring in research at the time offered a counter-approach to the prevailing narrative that the only viable way to understand the natural world was solely through empirical data.
Given the humanistic approach, qualitative research gained significant traction as part of HPI’s prevailing approach to researching the human condition. Qualitative methods enabled researchers to probe the depths of the human mind from a micro-perspective, embracing the unique traits of each person. Over time, HPI (which soon changed its name Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center) became one of a handful of leaders nationally promoting and advancing qualitative approaches in humanistic research.
Breaking down barriers—education as liberation
As an institute of Sonoma State University, HPI began to see its efforts bear significant fruit. Inasmuch that the Institute was promoting new ways of research, so too were the leading faculty pondering ways to expand the reach of the institute, creating student access that would enable Humanistic Psychology to expand beyond the constraints of the academy.
We were not alone.
Across the country, the higher education sector was exploring new delivery models, creating opportunities for people to obtain credentials that could improve their lives and the lives of their communities. For too long, education had been the purview of the privileged and the few. Twenty years post-GI Bill, the opportunity to further democratize higher education now held great promise.
Over the next few years, HPI was working its way to becoming a freestanding graduate institute in the heart of San Francisco. Unlike traditional higher education, coursework was not delivered in classrooms, but at a distance. However, unlike other distance education schools, students could work with preeminent scholars in the field, including the likes of Rollo May and Carl Rogers. Such an approach enabled students at the time—such as Richard Tarnas, the revered author of Passion of the Western Mind—to write important works. Passion of the Western Mind, for example, is now found in history and philosophy departments across the country. Students like Dr. Tarnas enjoyed the intellectual freedom HPI offered, while being able to connect with leading scholars of the day.
By phone and mail, coupled with an annual gathering in the Bay Area, students and faculty met to review their work, engage in intellectual struggle, and find new ways of thinking and being in a world that no longer was constrained by convention.
In a word, HPI had become unbound by the traditional education model: brick-and-mortar classrooms that mandated a face-to-face academic delivery as the only means to obtain a graduate-level education.
From HPI to Saybrook University
Beginning in the 1975-76 academic year, HPI officially opened its doors as an independent entity, with Dr. Donald Polkinghorne serving as its first president. Then, in 1981, with an approximate enrollment of 150 students, HPI changed its name in recognition of the place where it was founded (Old Saybrook, Connecticut), to Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center. By 1984, Saybrook obtained regional accreditation from the WASC Senior College and University Commission. Over the years, Saybrook pressed on through good and challenging years, holding firmly to its humanistic mission.
We were not alone.
By 2007, Saybrook’s seventh president, Dr. Lorne Buchman, set forth on a vision to expand the Saybrook Institute into a full-fledged university, with a key distinction: the reimagined institution would expand its offerings into other disciplines including, but not limited to: education, counseling, ecology, and organizational systems and leadership.
Each of these disciplines would weave in the core principles of humanistic philosophy, expanding upon the concept so that what was traditionally viewed as a scholarly practice could be applied beyond the therapist’s office and into organizations and communities at large. Such a new approach had the potential of advancing individual and social transformation across many sectors. With a compelling vision at the ready, Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center was renamed to Saybrook University in 2009.
By 2015, the Saybrook University Board of Trustees announced a renewed vision (Saybrook 2020), edifying Saybrook’s place in the world and enhancing its ability to deliver a truly progressive, unbound graduate education contributing to a more just, humane, and sustainable world.
A new revolution: The humanistic paradigm as multidisciplinary
Saybrook and her students, faculty, and staff have sojourned nearly 50 years with the goal of spreading the values of humanistic psychology., and organizational systems and leadership.
Today, we are helping lead a new revolution. Leveraging our legacy of distance education and outstanding academics, our focus now is on taking the humanistic values that informed the field of psychology and making these not a third way or “force”, but instead promoting these values as the force for positive, social transformational change through exceptional online virtual teaching-learning communities and cutting-edge research.
These ideals of humanistic psychology aptly apply to the work being done today by psychologists, social workers, integrative health practitioners, teachers, artists, and non-profit and business leaders.
By expanding the promise of humanistic thinking into various fields of study, we expand the opportunity to change the world one individual, one organization, and one community at a time.
(1) Dr. Robert Flax, August 2015. This historical context was provided to me by long-time faculty member and Saybrook Alumnus, Dr. Flax, in really unpacking the larger history of Saybrook University.
(2) See also The Path of a Reluctant Metaphysician. The Body Mind Healing Center by Michael Mayer, published by Body Mind Healing Center, June 2012.
Eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors are not simply nutritional nor psychological in nature. They’re both, says Jeannemarie Beiseigel, Ph.D., R.D., Department Chair of Integrative and Functional Nutrition at Saybrook. We examine how mindfulness, self-forgiveness, and an honest conversation with medical professionals can help individuals avoid the latest condition—orthorexia nervosa—when making healthy choices becomes an unhealthy obsession.
A healthy diet is about living, and you can’t ‘live’ when there are extreme conditions set around what can and cannot be eaten.
Some people go to restaurants or grocery stores and happily grab whatever looks scrumptious. Grocery list or not, they’re ready to cook and try it all. Sample portions and free appetizers? Those are the bonuses equal to the fun cousin at a family reunion. For others though, that same restaurant or grocery store excursion is not nearly so fun.
Should you eat regular tomatoes or organic? How long will you have to run to burn off eating that whole-grain bread? Guacamole is full of avocado, but does that mean you can’t eat anything else that day considering a whole avocado is half of the recommended daily fat intake? Are lightly salted chips still too salty for your blood pressure? Red wine may be heart healthy, but is it worth the risk of gulping down those extra carbohydrates?
With the increasing fad of “eating clean,” social stigmas and peer pressure create even more worries about responsible eating habits. People are bombarded with “nutrition” tips that paint foods as either “good” or “bad” based on their ingredients or nutritional content from the Atkins Diet, the Zone Diet, the South Beach Diet, a Weight Watchers membership, no-carb or high-protein diets, vegetarian or vegan diets, or even making the big leap to raw food diets.
Eating healthy becomes a game of perfection, whether it is about numbers or ingredients or purity of food, it leads to an obsessive mentality around food.
But there is a fine line between leading a balanced, healthy lifestyle, and letting the need to make healthy choices dominate your life in unhealthy ways. So how do we take meaningful steps toward a healthier lifestyle and practice self-care, while avoiding the pitfalls of being too judgmental when something goes awry?
Most people are familiar with common feeding and eating disorders—binge-eating, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa—all included within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). However, orthorexia nervosa, which is not currently classified as a diagnosable eating disorder, is steadily taking control of the lives of many, even without their knowledge.
What orthorexia nervosa is and why it’s not in the DSM-5
“The overarching category definition of eating disorders each have their own diagnostic criteria, such as the number of times one binges or a percentage below ideal body weight,” Beiseigel says. “Orthorexia nervosa is a newer term and it’s not that easy to define. Researchers have not agreed upon a valid method of identifying and diagnosing it. As a result, there are estimates of incidence that vary multi-fold. It will likely become an official, diagnosable eating disorder at some point, but that will require more consensus on diagnostic criteria.”
Oddly enough, the term “ortho” means “right” or “correct,” but orthorexia nervosa is the exact opposite of the correct way to practice integrative and functional nutrition. According to Steven Bratman, M.D., M.P.H., who coined the term in 1997, a self-test to diagnose orthorexia nervosa includes:
While someone who shows signs of orthorexia nervosa may initially see themselves as harmlessly trying to live a healthier lifestyle, what they’re missing is two essential factors: self-forgiveness and mindfulness about what they’re eating.
Making mindfulness and self-forgiveness a mandatory invite to the dinner party
“Eating healthy becomes a game of perfection, whether it is about numbers or ingredients or purity of food, it leads to an obsessive mentality around food,” Beiseigel says. “I think all weight management and health plans should teach people self-forgiveness and allowable indulgence. A healthy diet is about living, and you can’t ‘live’ when there are extreme conditions set around what can and cannot be eaten.”
Something as simple as a high-five lowers cortisone, releases dopamine, alleviates stress, and gives a person a natural “high,” according to The Washington Post. Incorporating those high-five days into a nutritional journal could be the motivator to keep your life going in the right direction. And there are other ways, according to Beiseigel, to help stay on the healthy eating wagon—including accepting those days when you may want to jump right off.
Play devil’s advocate with food advice. “I like to play the devil’s advocate with my students,” Beiseigel says. “If they want to argue that X food/ingredient is bad for you, I’ll argue the reverse. I want them to go back and do the research, and come to me with a good argument based on evidence and sound theory. Just as I wouldn’t want a medical doctor to give me nutritional advice based on the latest headlines, I want the same for my students. I want them to be able to read, evaluate, and apply the research to practice and guide them as individuals. Avoid jumping on the latest bandwagon of ‘nutrition science.’ Explain the shades of grey that accompany the many theories out there to guide the client as an individual.”
Avoid getting fixated on nutrition labels. “Weight Watchers is one example of a nutritional program that does a good job with their position that you can have anything, but you have to make it work within your appropriate points,” Beiseigel says. “Obviously, there are ‘better’ and ‘worse’ things to choose and the bulk of food should come from the ‘better’ items. There is still, however, the potential for people to fixate on their points. I don’t want anyone ‘forgetting’ how to read a nutrition label. But don’t fixate on any one number on that label. Put it into context of a whole diet. For example, spinach is a healthy food—it’s low in sodium, high in many essential nutrients, and low in calories. However, that doesn’t mean you should eat it in every meal and every day.”
Spoil yourself within reason. “If it’s the Fourth of July and you want a hot dog, eat the hot dog,” Beiseigel says. “One hot dog, even with all of its nitrites, nitrates, GMO-fed pork, etcetera, will not leave you with any lasting damage or extra pounds. Nor will the chili or the high-fructose corn syrup ketchup you put on top. But if you go home and start practicing for the hot dog eating contest by eating nothing but these and other such highly processed products, now we have an issue. Orthorexia nervosa will leave people stressed out and feeling guilty after eating just one hot dog to the point of not being able to enjoy it—even if that footlong is rare. Choose healthy food most of the time (90 percent) and make allowances for the stress-free, indulgent items without worrying about lasting consequences.”
Recognize the difference between cultural choices and disruptive lifestyles. Some restaurants and chefs have happily embraced healthy eating options. Websites and menus are commonly adding the nutrition information about their food choices. However, for other restaurants, there is no killjoy for wait staff and chefs quite like the vegan, vegetarian, or healthy eating enthusiast who wants to know every ingredient in each menu item before ordering.
But just as clothing shoppers can flip over an apparel tag to find out what a shirt or pair of pants is made of, consumers also have the right to know what they’re eating for a variety of reasons.
“For people with food allergies, not knowing these details can become a life-altering situation,” Beiseigel says. “A vegan or vegetarian who reads every food label because of personal ethical beliefs—but who is not otherwise overly restrictive—is questioning from a rational standpoint. A Muslim who avoids all pork products and asks to ensure religious compliance is not exhibiting an eating disorder. However, if avoidance of X, Y, or Z is due to reasons other than religious/ethical beliefs and is just a starting point that builds to then add in other food restrictions that aren’t very well-founded or disruptive to an individual’s social life, that’s when loved ones should be concerned.”
Tackling health perks and problems with health professionals
Beiseigel does admit that there is an ongoing conundrum between promoting positive food messages that don’t lead to food fears.
“I haven’t figured out how to do that for the masses, so I start with the individual in front of me,” she says.
And one of those steps with that individual is a more honest conversation for everyday patients and their primary care physicians and other doctors. She agrees that treating the causes before they become symptoms of a larger issue may be the best way to help healthy eaters.
“Many doctors and nurses don’t address nutritional issues at all, and yet there are huge nutritional implications for the treatment of many of their patients,” Beiseigel says. “It would be incredibly helpful to patients to get recommendations for dietitians and nutritionists at the first sign of dietary concerns. Or, doctors could choose to partner with dietitians and nutritionists as consultants.
“The same can be said for all practitioners. No one can be an expert in all fields, and we have to stay within our scope and refer to complementary practices. Managing eating disorders takes a multi-disciplinary approach, including medical doctors, nutritionists, and psychologists.”
Managing eating disorders takes a multi-disciplinary approach, including medical doctors, nutritionists, and psychologists.
“Someone with advanced education in both Mind-Body Medicine specializing in Integrative & Functional Nutrition understands how to spot and address nutrient imbalances and overly restrictive eating behaviors,” Beiseigel says. “They can educate clients about a healthy diet from an evidence-based perspective, and hopefully ease and prevent ‘food fears’ that overcome the thoughts and lives of those with orthorexia nervosa. They also are skilled in mind-body medicine modalities, which start with self-care.”
In the self-care process, everyday consumers must also be able to take in health advice without creating “huge nutritional gaps in their diets.”
“Self-care helps relieve chronic stress and manages obsessive thoughts and practices that are at the core of orthorexia nervosa,” Beiseigel says. “It teaches self-forgiveness, which breaks the chronic stress that can come along with eating for some. Mind-body medicine practitioners are trained in the practice of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), which is a recognized modality for treating eating disorders. CBT helps individuals overcome negative thoughts about food and eating. Using CBT, along with education about a truly healthy, balanced diet that does not perpetuate food fears or overly restrictive behaviors, is the ultimate goal.”
Alumna, M.A. Leadership & Organizational Development
Organizational Management Consultant
Nina’s professional work requires the ultimate in brain balance—creativity and logic. She uses her Saybrook education as a consultant to inspire businesses and organizations to adapt, excel, and thrive, especially during times of change. Her singular point of view inspired her to create “The Waterline of Human Life at Work,” an original illustration exploring her assessment of the complex internal variables that influence larger business outputs. Thanks to her training at Saybrook, which combined theories of leadership and organizational development with those of humanistic psychology, she is making a unique difference. In addition to her professional work, Nina is a talented illustrator, wife, mother, and nature lover.
Michelle Stevens thought she lived a normal childhood. But once she moved 3,000 miles away from her abusive stepfather, traumatic memories started coming back to her. With nowhere else to turn, she used psychology and trauma books to learn more about herself and to help others who may have experienced the same—and eventually earned a doctorate in clinical psychology from Saybrook so she could help other survivors of abuse.
After graduation and at a landmark age of 21, most college graduates are thinking: “Now what?” Michelle Stevens was already answering that question. With a new bachelor’s degree in writing, she was going to use her talent to become a TV writer for the soap opera “Days of Our Lives.” But instead of writing about scripted drama, she was slowly coming to grips with another realization—upheaval about her own childhood that she’d buried in the back of her memory.
“I had moved 3,000 miles away from my abuser and was living on my own,” says Michelle Stevens, Ph.D., the author of “Scared Selfless: My Journey from Abuse and Madness to Surviving and Thriving.” “I came out to California to be a TV writer but started to have these memories that threw me into a horrible crisis. You can imagine what it would be like to think you have a normal life and then find out you’ve been abused and don’t even remember it.”
When childhood memories become adulthood nightmares
From the time Stevens was 8 years old, her 33-year-old stepfather, Gary Lundquist, had allegedly made her into a sex slave. The third grader at Delaware Township School, where Lundquist taught fifth grade, was ordered to come to his after-school club with a few other carefully selected “gifted” children to do a range of things, such as multiple-choice tests, drama club acting, and talent show performances. Around the house, she received lessons in typing and table manners.
To a casual observer, the solo and group activities may have looked like innocent favoritism: always choosing Stevens to be the lead in school plays he directed or being one of the judges who awarded her with the first prize. Her mother started to notice what looked like a bond between the two with their weekend trips to the flea market and picked a fight with Lundquist that they were spending too much time together.
However, there were signs around their home that something else was going on: a harness, a rope, nails and hooks attached to ceiling beams, a stun gun, and a dog cage. Lessons in the basement transitioned to the bedroom for what Stevens referred to as a “lovers’ tryst,” but with a lover “who was just under four feet tall and weighed less than 60 pounds.”
When Stevens went to college, she escaped the trauma physically but not mentally. Developing dissociative amnesia, “a very common thing for anyone who has ever experienced trauma,” and dissociative identity disorder, memories she’d buried deep down started “coming back around out of nowhere.”
Turning bad memories into motivation
Instead of burying the memories, she chose to use them to find out more about herself, devouring books on trauma, child abuse, and psychology for approximately 15 years. Two books she highly recommends are “Trauma and Recovery” by Judith Herman and “Too Scared to Cry” by Lenore Terr.
She also opted to find a professional therapist while she was taking on this self-learning. Finding the right therapist for herself included “kiss[ing] a lot of therapist frogs before [she found] the right therapist prince.” Sometimes that was because she just wasn’t ready. Other times it was because the psychologists may have not been trained to talk to someone with this level of trauma. While she was learning so much about herself within these readings and visits, she decided to become the therapist that she’d been looking for and chose Saybrook University to earn her master’s and doctorate in psychology.
“I specifically decided on Saybrook because it was small and it was a humanistic school, which was important to me,” Stevens says. “The therapist that I finally ended up with, who was a wonderful therapist, is trained in humanistic psychology, so I became interested in studying that. I also knew that I wanted to do qualitative research, and that Saybrook would let me do that. I was interested in writing about my own experience and studying it.”
How ‘Scared Selfless’ came to be
Her memoir, “Scared Selfless,” was actually her dissertation while working on her Ph.D. at Saybrook. Unfortunately, she found that it is extremely difficult to find psychology programs that included a trauma psychology course. With this being an obstacle (that is still ongoing in the psychology field nationwide), she did her best to find a workaround.
“My dissertation was a method called autoethnography, which is a qualitative method,” she says. “If you are studying something that would be incredibly difficult to find a subject for, you can use yourself. In my case, I was part of a pretty organized child sex ring growing up. And it’s hard to really find people who you can study in depth for something like that.”
Writing the book wasn’t exactly therapeutic for her, but she does admit that it was helpful for her to learn more about herself. And “Scared Selfless” has also helped other readers to explore their own voices.
“Trauma has psychological consequences,” Stevens says. “People don’t realize it, but it does. Alcoholic parents. Parents on drugs. Being abandoned. Traumatic situations such as this may create all sorts of problems in a person’s adult life. But sometimes people will have no understanding of how the problems in their adult life are directly related to how they were raised. People email me every day saying, ‘Wow, I had no idea how much it affected me. Now I understand.’”
How strangers and loved ones reacted, or not
The most jarring responses to her book were the dozens of emails she received from Lundquist’s former students, who confessed that he’d also done similar things to them. She also received emails from Lundquist’s former colleagues who said they knew the abuse was going on but said nothing. Stevens could only say that it was very hard to read those messages.
Lundquist was sentenced to three years’ probation in 1985 for engaging in sexual conduct with two girls at the school where he taught. However, he died in 1997 without ever answering for the alleged abuse against Stevens. Stevens’ mother is still alive but “really suffers from denial,” according to Stevens. The two do have a relationship, but as far as the author knows, her mother has never read the dissertation or book.
While Stevens may not yet get that form of closure, being able to help others and potentially be the fire that psychology departments need to create trauma courses could be further inspiration for her. And there’s one more piece of advice she has for aspiring psychologists and current psychologists, with or without trauma as a concentration area.
“Teachers can sit in a classroom with other teachers, but psychologists don’t sit in on other people’s sessions,” Stevens says. “When I started doing practicums, I was amazed by how few of my colleagues went to therapy. I couldn’t believe it. To be a good therapist, find other good therapists. Deal with your own stuff and set yourself free before you work on others.”
Dr. Flavio Epstein, a heart failure/transplant psychologist, wasn’t quite sure what results would come from being a first-time attendee at the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) Annual Scientific Meeting & Workshop. He was pleasantly surprised to get clinical hypnosis experience, a warm welcome from other medical professionals, and new ideas to help heart transplant patients.
I was already in my fourth year of business school at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil when I came to the conclusion that I should have gone into psychology instead. In Brazil, it takes five years to earn a business degree, and I was almost at the finish line. But that didn’t stop me from attending a psychology-related conference with my mother and her friend, where I met Stanley Krippner, legendary professor from Saybrook University. While I don’t remember everything about the conference, what stood out were the talking points related to Humanistic Psychology and the significance of spirituality. That’s when I made the decision to pursue a psychology degree in California.
Pursuing the career I didn’t know I wanted
Saybrook was pretty small at the time, which was a bonus for me considering I’d never studied in the United States and was self-conscious about my writing and language skills. So after completing my business degree and a yearlong internship with the marketing department of American Express, I arrived at Saybrook in January 1990. I earned my master’s degree in Psychology in 1992 from Saybrook and went on to receive a Ph.D. in Psychology from Meridian University in Petaluma, Calif., in 2003. That was around the time I also developed an interest in working on a multi-disciplinary team with psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, and other health care providers in the field of transplantation.
How clinical hypnosis entered the equation
Some of my most recent work includes assisting a team with evaluating patients for left ventricular assist device implants and for heart transplants, and presenting at centers of excellence; working on a feasibility study that focuses on a cognitive behavioral therapy protocol adapted for post-heart transplant patients; and pursuing certification in the clinical hypnosis certification program from Saybrook to add to my toolbox of interventions to help address complex issues faced by heart failure, left ventricular assist device, and post-heart patients, with whom I work.
Clinical hypnosis is an evidence-based psychological intervention that may help improve anxiety, depression, pain, nausea, and emotional distress, among other issues. I’m hoping that clinical hypnosis will help my patients manage the physical and psychological symptoms they struggle with, such as depression and anxiety, and improving their quality of life.
Attending the ASCH workshop
When I recently attended the advanced track of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) Annual Scientific Meeting & Workshop in Phoenix, Arizona, as a first-timer, I must admit I was apprehensive.
I was about to meet new colleagues from a number of health disciplines who were likely more seasoned hypnosis practitioners than me. To my delight, I could have not asked for a more welcoming professional crowd, such as the one I met at the ASCH conference.
I am a mid-career licensed psychologist, and clinical hypnosis student working under the mentorship of Dr. Willmarth, who was installed as president of ASCH at the same meeting. Professionals and students at the ASCH conference are eligible to participate as beginner, intermediate, or advanced, according to prior clinical hypnosis training programs.
In the advanced course I was in, taught by G. Elkins and other well-known hypnosis researchers and clinicians, I met a number of friendly professionals, eager to share knowledge and experiences with each other and myself from events focused on clinical hypnosis, integrative medicine conferences, and mind-body medicine. Working as a psychologist in transplantation, I attend a number of international multidisciplinary conferences every year. Honestly, none of them are as welcoming.
But just as I have earned my own accomplishments, I’m always seeking to be around those who are as goal-oriented as me—but in an atmosphere that is not isolating or overly competitive. The ASCH conference was exactly that. I bonded with group members in just a few hours after my flight from San Francisco. I took a tour of Dr. Milton Erickson’s family home the first evening, met Dr. Erickson’s wife’s companion and the companion’s close friend, shared an Uber ride to our hotel, made lunch plans with the group, and chatted amicably with many participants at the different workshops.
I think that I have found my professional home, which has been my quest for many years. I encourage more students and professionals to join ASCH for the invaluable bonding and resources.
And if you’re interested in treating the whole person—not just the symptoms—Saybrook’s College of Integrative Medicine has top-notch professors and the integrative approach that I (and you) may be looking for.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) reportedly affects approximately 7.7 million American adults, with members of the military as one of the high-risk groups. After experiencing severe trauma or life-threatening events, the mind and body will either go into mobilization mode (fight-or-flight) or immobilization. When the nervous system is unable to return to its normal state of balance, PTSD occurs. Depression, substance abuse, and anxiety disorders are often connected to instances of PTSD, particularly for veterans returning from war.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the reported cases of PTSD are jarring and continue to rise. A range of 12 to 30 percent of veterans were diagnosed with PTSD in a given year, including those from Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF), the Gulf War (Desert Storm), and the Vietnam War.
Susan Quaglietti, who is currently in the Ph.D. in Psychology: Creativity Studies Specialization program at Saybrook, has been a nurse since 1978 and identified a need to do something creative to help the mental state of veterans.
The 2016 film “Visions of Warriors”—showing at the Vail Film Festival on March 31 and April 1, and the 15th Oakland International Film Festival on April 5—features Quaglietti’s work to develop the Veteran Photo Recovery Project, which uses photography to help veterans cope with PTSD and other mental illness diagnoses.
We sat down with her to discuss her background, her most memorable moments with veterans in the program, and what drew her to Saybrook later in life.
Saybrook: How did you get introduced to the director/writer/producer of “Visions of Warriors,” Ming Lai?
Quaglietti: I asked the editor over at the Washington VA if they would post a story about the Veteran Photo Recovery Project, and they agreed to it. They interviewed me along with a few veterans. Ming actually saw that link, tried to contact me and ended up sending a letter.
Saybrook: What was your initial reaction to the idea of a feature documentary about the Veteran Photo Recovery Project?
Quaglietti: I couldn’t imagine who would want me on film! But I took it as a great opportunity. You just never know where life’s going to take you.
Saybrook: You have been a nurse for 40 years, but what is your connection to photography?
Quaglietti: In my 20s, I thought about majoring in art and eventually took a few photography classes in the late-2000s, but I never thought I could combine art and nursing together as a professional goal. However, after 30 years at the VA, I noticed the need to address mental health issues with veterans and coordinate this treatment with chronic care. As providers, we must include the impact of coping with substance abuse, PTSD, and other psychological challenges on the outcomes of overall health.
I ended up doing a post-graduate fellowship at the Menlo Park VA that focused on Psychosocial Rehabilitation for people with severe mental illness as I was working as a nurse practitioner in Cardiology. The fellowship, in part, inspired me to integrate medical care with the creative outlet of photography as a form of recovery. The Veteran Photo Recovery Project was born, and the rest is history!
Saybrook: What topics are included in the five workshops that make up the Veteran Photo Recovery Project?
Quaglietti: The five sessions cover focusing, framing, processing, viewing. The sixth session is a presentation to the community, including other members of the class, friends, family members, and hospital staff members.
It’s an opportunity for them to use photography to showcase their emotional journey and to get insights to continue to grow as a person during their recovery process.
Saybrook: What is the most memorable piece of art you’ve seen from a participant?
Quaglietti: I have three. The first one was from a female veteran with a history of PTSD who chose to display her six images in the shape of a cross.
During her presentation with three horizontal and three vertical photos, she commented that she had to cope with “the cross she had to bear,” but was eventually resurrected with recovery. With the intention of making the spirit of the photos rise from the ashes, the art actually helped her transform and ascend into a better place.
The second one is from a veteran who is highlighted in the film. He spent half of his life in jail. He divided his six pictures equally into “old life,” “transition,” and “new life.”
The last one was a Vietnam veteran who has severe PTSD. He used colors and images metaphorically and symbolically to show his PTSD experience, and the horrific things he witnessed while in combat in Vietnam. In one particular image, he used the roots of a tree but changed the color to bright blue to resemble the neural pathways of his brain. He was trying to show what his brain felt like having PTSD—cold, blue, and dark.
Saybrook: What do you hope people come away with after seeing “Visions of Warriors”?
Quaglietti: Change is possible if you’re open to it. Creativity isn’t just used with art, but you have to be creative in order to map your own life course. Art and photography can be an avenue to explore that.
Saybrook: And now you are pursuing your Ph.D. at Saybrook—what inspired you to enroll?
Quaglietti: I chose Saybrook for the program’s creativity specialization within the Psychology PhD program. And I, to this day, have not found any other university that offers something similar. Being creative can impact your psychological perspective. I really believe in interdisciplinary, integrated care.
As an advanced practice nurse, I’ve had to negotiate being a liaison for a lot of different disciplines: medicine, psychology, nutrition, pharmacy, and more.
I’ve had to represent and be a champion for veterans. So now I’m moving into understanding more of the psychological issues as a primary focus of my profession, knowing that I already have an excellent background in chronic illness. I’m completing the circle so that I have a broader scope of services I can offer patients. My goal is to be a bridge between the worlds of medicine and psychology for holistic patient care. Saybrook is helping me get there.
