Div. 32 Candidate Statements for 2014

Donna Rockwell

As the world finds itself suffering from human disconnection, Humanistic Psychology offers a way of being that is healing. True client behavior change is achieved not through psychological orientation but through the quality and depth of the therapeutic relationship, a posture modeled by my mentor and teacher, Clark Moustakas. I am dedicated to this vision.

For almost three years, I have served Division 32 as board member-at-large, newsletter co-editor, APA program co-chair in 2012 (and 2015), and helped spearhead our highly effective DSM-5 outreach work. As a former journalist for CNN and NBC, my contacts and understanding of how to publicize causes helped the division’s petition campaign win national and international press attention.

As Division 32 president, I will continue advancing new projects like our Global Summit on Diagnostic Alternatives, highlighting humane approaches to mental health. My presidential theme would include mindfulness—on which my research is based—reclaiming it as a humanistic approach to psychotherapy and a valuable asset in the training of clinical psychologists. Additionally, I will use my Huffington Post blog and social media platforms to promote issues important to the Society, including those of past presidents like Louis Hoffman on multiculturalism, Brent Robbins on human dignity, and Krishna Kumar on contemporary Humanistic Psychology.

I was drawn to become an active member by the stirring nature of SHP elders who at conferences spoke on virtue, triumph, and authentic presence. I relish the opportunity to further their mission and enhance Division 32’s impact in the world.

Kirk Schneider

Dear Colleague,

I am deeply honored to have been selected as a candidate for President of Division 32.  I have been an active member of this Division for some 25 years and served it appreciatively as Member-At-Large in the mid-1990s.  During that period, I collaborated with Division 39 (Psychoanalysis) to block the so-called “Template for Developing Guidelines” which would have effectively eliminated humanistic and psychoanalytic practices from being considered legitimate by our profession.

Currently there is a dearth of humanistic and psychoanalytic faculty representation at APA approved training sites;  and fully 80% are dominated by faculty specializing in cognitive-behavioral therapy. This state of affairs makes it increasingly difficult for humanistically and psychodynamically oriented training programs to attain APA approval for their graduates.  But equally important, the present situation stands in direct contrast with the findings of mainstream psychotherapy outcome research which upholds humanistic-relational factors as most therapeutically salient. In this light, I would like to pursue an initiative dedicated to addressing this problem. 

A second initiative I would like to pursue is based on a legislative procedure I’ve been developing tentatively called the “experiential democracy project.”  This project is inspired by existential-humanistic principles of person-centered practice and would be applied to local or perhaps national deliberative bodies to enhance their capacities to arrive at substantive, morally attuned legislation.  For more information on this initiative, and the implications it might have for our humanistic community, please see my blog at the Psychologists for Social Responsibility website entitled “Applying Therapeutic Methods to Legislative Deliberations.” To sum, and beyond the aforementioned proposals, I greatly appreciate the opportunity to advance our humanistic cause--both at the level of our membership and society at large.

Nathaniel Granger, Jr. 

I am honored to have been selected as a candidate for the position of secretary of the APA Division 32 Society of Humanistic Psychology. My interests in humanistic psychology are predicated on the belief that humans, as individuals, are unique beings and should be recognized and treated as such by psychologists. With this in mind, it is my premise that every approach to understanding human behavior must be conceptualized phenomenologically to the extent of establishing relationships that will foster transcendence from the superficial barriers of cultural differences and diverse idiosyncrasies to an understanding of persons through their worldview.

It is, therefore, without reservation that I accept the nomination for secretary and hereby affirm to perform the duties associated with that role to the best of my abilities, giving due diligence to the Executive Board of the Society of Humanistic Psychology as I continue to support the vision and exemplify the values set forth within the Society of Humanistic Psychology. My particular interests relative to the future of humanistic psychology are in the areas of retention and diversity. Because of this, I have worked on the Division’s Retention Task Force, am a co-chair of the Diversity Task Force, and a co-chair of the Hospitality Suite. Additionally, I co-chair the Human Dignity Task Force with the president-elect and believe that the respect l have for humanity and the existential spirit I typify would add to the evolving richness of Division 32. Again, with humility and appreciation, I accept the nomination for secretary.

Richard Bargdill

There has been a great burst of excitement, youth and energy that we have witnessed within the Society during the last several years. During that short time, we have been able to help initiate the Division’s Facebook page and the Student Ambassadors Program. A Student Ambassador is a liaison between our division and graduate schools in Humanistic Psychology. Moreover, we have met so many wonderful people who are enjoying the great professional opportunities at the Division’s Annual Conferences and participating in the activities at the Division 32 Hospitality Suite at the APA conventions. It is a pleasure to see the activism that the Society has been re-engaged in. There is the extremely important DSM5 Open Letter/petition, and the position statement on LGBT issues and the stance on the PENS report. A number of members and students have told me through my positions of Secretary and Membership Chair that this activism has really made them proud of our division. These are exciting, important, vital times, indeed! In addition, we have been reaching out to a number of other divisions through the Foundation Divisions Coalition Project. As this years APA program chair, we were able to co-sponsor APA Convention programming with about 10 different divisions. We should continue to reach out in new directions. I humbly request your vote for Member-at-Large to keep these initiatives moving forward.

Susan Gordon, PhD

I am honored to be nominated for a second term as Member-at-Large.

After graduating from Saybrook University, I became a Core Adjunct Professor of Psychology at National University and have worked at Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines for over 20 years. I was research assistant to Eugene Taylor, PhD for 10 years and continue to be inspired by his legacy. I am on the editorial review boards of The Humanistic Psychologist and PsycCRITIQUES, editor and contributing author of Neurophenomenology and Its Applications to Psychology (Springer, 2013), and co-author (with Brent Robbins) of a chapter in the newly revised Handbook of Humanistic Psychology.

I have served Division 32 as Chair of the Awards Committee (2009-present), Member-at-Large (2011-2014), and Chair of the Bylaws Revision Committee (2013-present). I am proud of what our Society has accomplished and grateful for those who have mentored me. We are currently in the middle of the By-Laws revision, a process that I was assigned and have been leading since January 2013. In addition to my Board involvement, I am equally committed to making sure that we have a voice in the DSM-V reform and to furthering excellence in humanistic research and scholarship.

I appreciate Division 32 as a place that gives voice to many perspectives, and that as Member-at-Large; I have the responsibility of serving as an advocate for our membership. If re-elected, I pledge to continue this advocacy while working to bring to completion the work I have begun on the Bylaws Committee and Awards Committee.

James Morley

I understand that as a member-at-large I would represent the diverse interests of the division membership as a whole. – not just my interests.   I served as Division 32 program chair in 1998 and am motivated to deepen my commitment to the division because of the threat that STEM poses for the future of our humanistic movement and the very meaning of psychology itself. 

As an undergraduate it was the writings of Maslow and Rogers that inspired me to pursue psychology as a vocation. I completed my doctorate at Duquesne University in 1988, and taught psychology in Connecticut, India and the UK before returning to my native New York Area in 2002.  I am currently Professor of Clinical Psychology at Ramapo College of New Jersey where I have actively served in governance as faculty president and teach and conduct research from the standpoint of Phenomenological Psychology.  I also teach the History of Social Thought with an emphasis on anarchist political and spiritual movements. My publications and research interests are the foundations of psychology as a science, qualitative methodology, and the application of continental thought to topics such as imagination, psychopathology and South Asian contemplative traditions. I am a registered yoga teacher in the tradition of Krishnamacharia, co-director of the Ramapo Yoga Studies program, and faculty rep for the Institute for Contemplative Studies and Mindful Living at Ramapo. I serve as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of phenomenological Psychology. Sample pubs.

Brent Potter

"I am honored to be nominated for member-at-large of the Society of Humanistic Psychology. I am proud of the service work I have provided, with the help of many friends in the SHP, organizing the successful conferences over the last few years. I look forward to being of service to the 2015 conference as well.

Rather than providing a list of my personal and professional accomplishments (see my LinkedIn, if you’re interested), I’d like to simply say that the countless hours I have dedicated to chairing the conference are the result of the connection I feel participating in the SHP. Said differently, the SHP is the organization that is passionate about the same things that I hold as core values: community, service, honoring all perspectives, effecting positive change within the field and beyond.

Many, if not most, of you know me or have had some interaction with me either through the conference, trying to find an internship / practicum, discussing employment in the field, publishing opportunities or simply to chat on Facebook or over the phone. I enjoy interacting with all of you and my closest friendships have been made in the SHP. If you don’t know me, then email me or find me on Facebook. I am happy to answer your questions or simply to connect.

Know that, if elected, I will bring my passion for humanistic psychology to the position of member-at-large. I am dedicated to listening to you and representing your interests to the executive board." 

Jennifer Selig

When Martin Luther King, Jr. was asked whether he would accept the nomination to lead the Montgomery Improvement Association and the subsequent bus boycott, he humbly replied, "Well, if you think I can render some service, I will."

When I am asked to step into leadership roles, I often echo of his words. When asked to come to Pacifica Graduate Institute in 2005 to teach in the PhD program in Depth Psychology, I replied, “Well, if you think I can render some service, I will.” When asked in 2007 to chair that program, I replied, “Well, if you think I can render some service, I will.” When asked in 2009 to create and lead a new PhD program in Jungian and Archetypal Studies, I replied, “Well, if you think I can render some service, I will.”

I come before you as a professor with a doctorate in the field of depth psychology. However, flip a coin and heads, I’m a deep humanistic psychologist, and tails, I’m a humanistic depth psychologist. My values are humanistic; my scholarship is humanistic; and since I’ve been involved in the Humanistic Psychology conferences since 2012, I feel my “academic home” is with this division. I am personally most concerned with diversity, with community, with connection, with justice, and always with love.  I am not a licensed therapist, but consider myself a “cultural therapist” with wide reaching arms and a humble heart. If you think I can render some service to Division 32, I will.