Institute on Public Safety and Social Justice

Yesterday I took one of the first big steps towards becoming "part of" at Adler. I attended a talk by Elena Quintana, the Executive Director for the Institute on Public Safety and Social Justice. Adler has two Institutes for Social Change -- one is the IPSSJ and the other is the Institute on Social Exclusion. Both institutes provide opportunities for learning and discussion, participate in community research and dialogue, and promote Adler's vision for creating socially responsible clinicians and practitioners.

The emphasis on social justice and working in the community strongly attracted me to Adler. It was one of the primary reasons I chose this particular school. It seems fate, coincidence, or God that of the dozen schools in the country with an art therapy program, the one leading the way towards social justice and community-based psychology was one of the two in Chicago where I lived.

The talk yesterday was awesome. The topic was Adverse Childhood Experiences and how do we continue to work towards diminishing their occurrences and long-term effects. In the week since I've been coming to Adler events -- orientation, my first days of class, the talk yesterday - I am already become open to a whole different field of psychology, the area of trauma. Trauma takes place in so many different ways from childhood through adulthood. It can be as "simple" as moving for a parent's job relocation in kindergarten to experiencing your parents' divorce in high school to the more severe experiences of sexual assault or rape or chronic illness. I am not sure exactly what areas I'm interested in yet, but the idea of resiliency and how can we be a positive force/vehicle for change as clinicians, is a huge draw for me. I am really looking forward to diving in to this idea more and talking it out with the different experts on campus.

The talk yesterday showed me again how differently I'm showing up to grad school than I would've even a year ago. I'm not afraid to introduce myself and ask questions. Yesterday I met all three staff members of the IPSSJ just because I was unafraid to ask questions. I am so excited to get to know them better and hopefully become involved in some of their projects.

Today is my long class day - Community Psychology this morning (SO excited for this class!) and History/Theory of Art Therapy. This means I need to pack my lunch so I have something healthy to eat during the hour break between classes!

Love,
Briana