NASP Reflection and Support

[Tara Raines]

Good morning, 

Please see below from my friend and colleague Dr. Anton Berzins.

Tara

Dear colleagues,

Black History Month. NASP’s annual convention in Denver. Valentine’s Day. 

All opportunities to gather. All providing moments to reflect, to share and to express appreciation. All celebrations of key people, key events and key findings.

While it’s evident that we have made tremendous strides forward, as a school psychology organization and as a nation, in honoring Black people, as well as in highlighting the contributions of culturally and linguistically diverse populations, our work is far from done.

Look no further than our NASP executive director Kathleen Minke’s recent public announcement. It shares the unfair and uncalled for treatment of our NASP president Dr. Celeste Malone and her closest colleagues at the Denver Hyatt Regency hotel. This is yet another and all too common example that racism continues to disrupt Black joy, prejudice continues to interrupt Black excellence, and injustice continues to diminish the harm. 

We all share the unique privilege and responsibility of moving our field, our school psychology organizations, our universities, our school districts, our places of employment/service, and in turn, our society forward. 

Personally, I am blessed to be the son of two immigrants, my father Vaironis is from Latvia and my mother Judy is from Trinidad and Tobago, my mixed-race ancestry has been a source of pride. In addition, my wife Laura is from Taiwan. Thus, when my co-founder Dr. Tara Raines, and I created our cultural immersion programs in Ecuador, we focused on confronting biases, addressing inequalities, reducing disproportionately in special education, increasing the rate of bilingual clinicians, and promoting cultural competence among mental health professionals. The themes of cultural humility and cultural appreciation abound in our work. 

Please note that Dr. Thomas Oakland, NASP Lifetime Award recipient amongst many honors, served as our mentor, consultant and confidant. We wish to continue Tom’s legacy. He was fond of reminding us, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained!”

As such, if our organization can assist you, your graduate students, or colleagues in any shape, manner or form, then please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. 

Whether it is offering studying/living/traveling abroad opportunities in Ecuador or creating partnerships with your school psychology departments in the US to create your own, once again, we are ready, willing and able to move the needle forward. There is a lot of work to be done.

With love, gratitude and respect,

Anton

Anton Robert Berzins, Psy.D., N.C.S.P.

Co-founder and Director 

Ecuador Professional Preparation Program

www.EcuadorPPP.com

(516) 312-3859 

  I'm using Inbox When Ready to protect my focus.

[Raymond DiGiuseppe]

Let’s thank Anton for his continued great work in this area.

 

Ray

Ray DiGiuseppe, PhD, ABPP

Chair, Institutional Review Board

&

Professor of Psychology

St. John’s College of Arts & Sciences

St. John’s University

Office 113 MAR

Phone 718-990-1955

WEBEX ROOM: https://sju.webex.com/webappng/sites/sju/dashboard/pmr/digiuser

 

Past President 2014, The Society for the advancement of Psychotherapy (Division 29 of the American Psychological Association). http://societyforpsychotherapy.org/

Past President 2006-2007 Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. http://www.abct.org/

Co-editor of the Journal of Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behavior Therapies.

www.springer.com/psychology/journal/10942

 

From: cd...@googlegroups.com <cd...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Tara Raines
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2023 12:36 PM
To: CD...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [cd...@googlegroups.com] NASP Reflection and Support

 

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