EMPATHIC TIMES SUMMER EDITION MAY 9, 2012

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1 EMPATHIC TIMES SUMMER EDITION MAY 9, 2012 The Official Newsletter of JMU Counseling Programs We don t just report the news. We FEEL it. Previous editions available online at SIXTEEN COUNSELING STUDENTS GRADUATE Our commencement ceremony was a joyful and special occasion this year, with 16 counseling students completing their training. Madeleine Dupre was the first student to be awarded the Ph.D. degree in our new doctorate program in Counseling and Supervision. Mark DeNoble, Lisa Ellison, and Lauren Zaph received their M.A. and Ed.S. degrees in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. We had a bumper crop of School Counseling graduates, including Lindsey Bateman, Mark Dickerson, Anna Fure Schnetzler, Tim Luikart, John Murnane, Vanessa Olson, Courtney Portell, Elizabeth Ridley, Sara Schreffler, Jorli Swingen, Gini Trotter, and Shaun Windbus. In keeping with our tradition, we held a special candle lighting ritual for graduates before the formal commencement. With their relatives and friends looking on, the graduates joined faculty members in a final circle ceremony. Our best wishes to all our graduates! We re proud of you! To see photos of the Graduation 2012 ceremony, you can go to: COUNSELING STUDENTS AND FACULTY WIN AWARDS At the Department of Graduate Psychology Spring Celebration, several of our students and faculty were honored for their exceptional accomplishments over the past year. Madeleine Dupre received the Graduate Student Award for Outstanding Scholarship. John Clarke and Jennifer Hatter were given the Graduate Student Award for Outstanding Teaching. Lisa Ellison received the Most Distinguished Graduate Student Award and the James Madison University All Together One Award. Michele Kielty Briggs was given the Graduate Psychology Faculty Award for Distinguished Teaching. Three special Counseling Programs Awards also were given. Vanessa Olson received the William Hall Award for Contributions to the Learning Community. Sharon Lockaby was honored with the Helen Moore Award for the Pursuit of Counseling Excellence. 1

2 And Elizabeth Ridley was given the Carl Swanson Award for Service to the Counseling Profession. In April, the Central Valley Counselors Association recognized Lisa Ellison with the Support Member Award, honored Michele Kielty Briggs with the Administrative/Counselor Educator Support Person Award, Tim Luikart with the Student Member Award, and alumna Jenn Kurbel with the Emerging Leader Award. Congratulations, award recipients! We have photos of both the Spring Celebration and CVCA Awards meeting at: SUMMER INSTITUTE OFFERS EXCITING TRAINING EVENTS Our Sixteenth Annual Summer Institute in Counseling will take place from Wednesday, June 13, to Friday, July 13. The theme of this year s institute, cosponsored by the Virginia Counselors Association, is Holistic Healing: The Mind/Body Connection in Change. The Summer Institute has expanded to feature 13 workshops and courses on such topics as motivational interviewing, human sexuality and development; equine assisted therapy, mindfulness, attentive ethics, rural helathcare, hypnosis, mindful multiculturalism, clinical mental health counseling, crisis intervention, play therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy. JMU is an NBCC-approved provider of continuing education units or you may take some of the offerings for graduate course credit. We have detailed information posted on our Counseling Programs web site: 2%20Flyer.pdf. You can register online for workshops by going to: We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. SUMMER SEMESTER COMPS TO TAKE PLACE IN JUNE This summer semester comprehensive examination materials are due the Thursday before your oral examination. Lennie has ed information and suggestions for succeeding at comps, so this, in combination with the comps information session mentioned below, should provide all you need to know to prepare for comps. The oral exams will take place between Monday, June 4, and Wednesday, June 20, to accommodate the schedules of both students and faculty members. Good luck! COMPS INFORMATION SESSION OFFERED We will host a comprehensive exam information session on Wednesday, May 9, at 12:00 in Johnston 211. If you plan to take comps during the Summer 2012 semester, join us to learn more about what you can expect. The comprehensive examination now includes important components that sample counseling knowledge, skills and practices: multiple-choice test (for CMHC students this summer. SC students take this as an exit examination.) practicum documentation of activities recorded tape segment of counseling work accompanying transcript and written analysis oral examination follow-up session 2

3 Clinical Mental Health Counseling students also submit a proposal for the Ed.S. Research Project and a completed committee approval form. ED.S. PROJECT AND DISSERTATION DEADLINE SET If you are completing your Ed.S. research or Ph.D. dissertation this summer semester, then you must submit your final report to The Graduate School by Friday, July 6. For a thesis and dissertation manual that includes format instructions and a helpful checklist, you can go to: Remember to make an appointment with The Graduate School s Director of Student Support to review the format of your draft prior to submitting the final copy. Your review may be conducted in person at The Graduate School office or by . VAPT ANNUAL WORKSHOP RETURNS The Virginia Association for Play Therapy (VAPT) will hold its annual Come Play With Us Workshop at JMU s Festival Conference Center on Monday and Tuesday, June 18 and 19. Under the guidance of Anne Stewart, president of VAPT, the workshop will feature nationally recognized author and therapist Dr. Bonnie Badenoch, who will present Becoming a Brain-Wise Therapist: Using Play Therapy and Expressive Arts Across the Lifespan. For more information regarding the VAPT summer conference, go to The workshop, which is designed for beginning, intermediate, and advanced therapists, integrates the discoveries of neuroscience with the art of play therapy. If you have questions regarding registration and accommodations, you can contact Anne at or [email protected]. COUNSELING PROGRAMS WELCOME OUR NEWEST STUDENTS We are happy to introduce you to the newest members of the Counseling Programs learning community! Our new doctorate Counseling and Supervision students are: Grace Kolman and Daria White. New Clinical Mental Health Counseling students include: Niki Crump, Cassandra Jones, Rachael Johnson, Laurie Weese, Kerri Tracy, Hannah Trible, and Jamie Grove. The new School Counseling students include: Kelsey King, Ann Tolley Hynes, Elizabeth Cranford, Savita Saini, Angie Strite, Victoria Bice, Jason Capps, Sarah Armstrong, and Brittany Gibson. Welcome, all! We re excited that we will be working with you! 3

4 OUT OF THE DARKNESS WALK A HUGE SUCCESS On Sunday, April 22, the second annual Out of the Darkness Walk proved to be a huge success in spite of the rain and blustery weather. Supported by the Central Valley Counselors Association and hosted by JMU Chi Sigma Iota, the event raises funds for research and services sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. This year, over 300 people registered for the walk and the event raised over $15,000! More importantly, the walk provided relatives and friends a meaningful opportunity to share their memories of loved ones lost to suicide, offer support to one another, educate the public regarding this important issue, and honor the resilience of the human spirit. This wonderful achievement is a testimonial to the vision of Lisa Ellison, who planned, organized, and implemented the walk. Moreover, it would not have been possible without the active involvement of dozens of counseling students, faculty members, and practitioners. Congratulations, everybody, on an outstanding accomplishment! PSYC 800 ED.S. RESEARCH PREP COURSE OFFERED THIS FALL This fall, we will offer a special one-credit-hour, five-week PSYC 800 Ed.S. Research Project course to prepare you for succeeding in this capstone experience. In addition to enhancing your writing skills, the class will help you to learn the Graduate School format requirements, guidelines for proposals, sixth edition of APA Style, procedures for selecting a chair and committee, and other strategies for carrying out a successful project. During the course, you will develop a draft for a proposal that you can use for your comps and your Ed.S. Research Project. By the way, this one credit hour will count towards the 3 credit hours that are required in PSYC 800 for you to graduate in the CMHC Program with 60 hours, so you will not be paying extra for this. The short course will begin during the second week of the semester and meet once a week until the first week of October. We will arrange a 2 1/2 hour block of time that is workable for everybody who wishes to take the course. Our students have completed some wonderful Ed.S. Research Projects. The class is one way to make sure that your project will be a successful one, too and with less anguish and frustration! Contact Lennie at [email protected] as soon as possible with your student ID number because you will need an override to register for the course. APPLICATION FOR GRADUATION If you plan to complete your training by Friday, August 3, there is a simple procedure that you should follow. First, you must complete the Application for a Graduate/Doctoral Degree form, which you can access online at: Please note that the Graduate School will not accept forms completed in pen. You must first complete the form electronically and then print it. Make sure that you will be completing all the requirements and that you have no outstanding Incompletes by the end of this summer semester. Then, meet with your advisor, who will review and sign your application. 4

5 After that, see Carl Guerin, who will help you obtain the signatures from the program director and department head. Carl will make a copy of the form for our files and send the form to The Graduate School. The deadline is Friday, June 1, so don t wait until the last day to do it! CHI SIGMA IOTA INSTALLS NEW MEMBERS AND OFFICERS The JMU Alpha Sigma Chapter of Chi Sigma Iota, the international honor society for students, professional counselors, and counselor educators, held its Induction and Installation Ceremony on Sunday, April 15. The inductees are: Evenor Aleman, Afton Cappello, Jessica Hayden, Craig Lien, Anne Metz, Meredith Reed, Blair Staton, Brette Stephenson, Allison Stokes, and Eleanor Whitehurst. The ceremony also included the installation of new officers. Janice Mentzer will serve as the President, Meredith Reed will be the President-Elect, Blair Staton will serve at Secretary, Jessica Hayden will be Treasurer, Afton Cappello will be the Social Chair, Sharon Lockaby will be the Community Service Chair, and Allison Stokes will serve as Historian. Congratulations, all! Stay tuned for news about CSI events this upcoming academic year. To see photos of the CSI ceremony, you can go to: PROGRESS NOTES We have lots of birthdays this summer: May birthday people (and dates) include: Susie Moses (2), Grace Jimenez (6), Victoria Bice (8), Christy Norment (18), Afton Cappello (21), and Ed McKee (27). The June folks are: Emily Barnes (5), Heidi Bowman (13), Angie Strite (18), Ann Tolley Hynes (19), Allison Stokes (20), and Gini Trotter (28). July birthdays include: Eleanor Whitehurst (2), Lennie Echterling (17), and Jay Hayden (19). The August people are: Mueni Masambia (4), Cheri Greenfield (13), Jaime Claytor (15), Brette Stephenson (27), Courtney Allen (28), Brittany Gibson (28), and Beverly Walker (28). Be sure to pass along happy birthday wishes to these people. Please send corrections and additions to the Empathic Times Editorial Staff, aka Lennie, at [email protected]. 5