by Stephanie King, Psy.D.

Happy New Year!

I want to begin 2020 with a few important announcements. Last month at our annual holiday party we recognized two of our wonderful colleagues. First, Audrey Dunn was the winner of our Community Service Award. She has worked in community mental health for over 35 years and was described by her previous intern Alexis Briano (who nominated her) as, “unfailingly dedicated to long-term, depth-oriented psychoanalytic psychotherapy.” At Francisco Middle School, Audrey Dunn individually supervises all of her interns, as well as providing group supervision to discuss larger analytic concepts. Briano described the program as being so meaningful and special that interns often come back year after year, even after their hours are complete. Thank you again, Audrey, for your dedication to community mental health!

Second, we awarded Tara Bredesen our Annual Student and Early Career Clinician Writing Award. Bredesen’s paper, “Slipping into self disclosure: A mixed-race negotiation with sameness and difference,” is a serious and important piece of work about some of the ways self-identity enters our practice. Peter Silen, Editor of fort da, described Bredesen’s paper as, “speaking both poignantly about her own heritage and identity, and thoughtfully about how her experience as a mixed-race clinician informs her clinical work.” Silen added that, “Her paper features a clinical vignette that raises questions about how treatment is affected when the clinician carries the dual role of oppressed and oppressor, and opens up a more far-reaching discussion about the complexities of how disclosure of race and identity functions within the treatment.” Tara, we are proud to have you in our community and look forward to hearing more from you!

Last, but certainly not least, we have a new President Elect for 2020! I am thrilled to announce that Dr. Todd Rising has been appointed President Elect. Todd is ambitious, engaged, and dedicated to NCSPP. Not only will he be in the important position of President Elect, where he’ll be learning the ropes of leadership within the organization, he is ALSO the Intensive Study Group Chairperson. If you have been following along you know that the 2020 President seat will remain “open” this year. Instead of having a single person in the position of President, NCSPP will be operating under the collective leadership of the Executive Committee. The members of the Executive Committee who will be working together to guide the organization are: myself, Stephanie King as Past President, Molly Russo as Programming Division Chair, Candice Turner as Outreach and Membership Division Chair, Tanisha Stewart as Treasurer, Willow Banks as Secretary, and Todd Rising as President Elect. I look forward to all that this year will teach us about leadership and collaboration!