Might 5, 2022
Amanda Zelechoski, professor of Psychology, brings a wealth of expertise aimed toward taking PNW’s rising psychology coaching applications and group outreach to the subsequent degree.
Zelechoski, who beforehand taught at Valparaiso College for 10 years, got here to PNW’s Department of Psychology in fall 2021 to satisfy a long-term purpose: placing a dent within the regarding scarcity of psychological well being evaluation sources and coaching alternatives in Northwest Indiana.
“There are only a few clinicians within the area who can do scientific assessments and psychological testing, which tends to be a ability primarily beneath the purview of psychologists,” says Zelechoski. “What appealed to me about PNW was the robust partnerships already established with the encompassing group. Psychology was a major self-discipline lacking right here when it comes to coaching college students on the graduate degree, placing them on a path towards licensure, and lowering the psychological well being service hole.”
Making psychological well being care accessible
Zelechoski’s analysis and instructing background facilities round little one and adolescent psychology and trauma. She is a licensed scientific and forensic psychologist and legal professional. She strives to make psychological well being providers and analysis accessible for underserved populations.
“In science, we frequently do a foul job at outreach,” Zelechoski says. “We publish articles in journals which are sometimes behind paywalls and full of educational jargon. It’s on us to do higher. If we’re not giving psychology away, then who’re we doing the analysis for? Quite a lot of my analysis is about youngsters who’ve skilled trauma, and these are populations and areas that don’t at all times have entry to this analysis or the capability to translate and implement it.”
One among Zelechoski’s most up-to-date analysis partnerships took off through the begin of the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with fellow researcher Lindsay Malloy, affiliate professor of Psychology at Ontario Tech College, she co-founded Pandemic Parenting, a free digital useful resource hub and nonprofit group. Zelechoski and Malloy every carried out analysis in regards to the pandemic’s results on dad and mom and youngsters in 2020. Though the analysis is ongoing, the 2 made their preliminary findings accessible to assist dad and mom and caregivers as quickly as doable with webinars, blogs, social media, and podcasts. A type of audio sources, Roadmap to Resilience, is a collaboration between Pandemic Parenting and the College of Connecticut Faculty of Medication.
“If you’re a toddler trauma researcher, you don’t sometimes know a disaster is coming,” says Zelechoski. “The pandemic was a singular scenario the place we knew one thing was going to occur. It appeared like a recipe for catastrophe, realizing that youngsters would principally be caught at residence with extraordinarily pressured dad and mom and so they received’t have entry to varsities and different group organizations that sometimes present them with assist. I anticipated little one maltreatment charges hovering.
“If I used to be fearful about this as a working guardian, with the layers of privilege I’ve, what was it going to seem like for weak households who don’t have entry to the sources and assist they want? That’s why we’ve been working arduous to rapidly translate and disseminate psychological well being analysis and sources for over two years now.”
New educational horizons
Zelechoski’s plan to bolster PNW’s psychological well being coaching alternatives is two-fold: set up a group evaluation clinic and develop and pursue approval for a brand new Physician of Psychology (Psy.D.) diploma.
Zelechoski foresees nice synergy between Psychology’s new initiatives and PNW’s present applications in Counseling, Couple and Family Therapy, and Social Work, in addition to constructing upon the well-established Community Counseling Center and Couple and Family Therapy Center to supply the group with psychological testing and analysis providers.
“Psychologists have specialised coaching in evaluation and analysis and might help shoppers and therapists by offering particular and complete diagnoses and suggestions for scientific providers, together with at our complementary in-house therapy clinics at PNW, as acceptable,” says Zelechoski.
Zelechoski is working with Kimberly Brunt, scientific assistant professor of Psychology, and Alicia January, affiliate professor of Psychology, on creating the proposal for a doctoral diploma in scientific psychology, with hopes of enrolling college students by fall 2023, pending required approvals.
The diploma can be a health care provider of psychology, also called a Psy.D., which is extra clinically-focused and meant for these with the first purpose of scientific apply, slightly than a Ph.D. (physician of philosophy) which is usually extra research-focused. The Psy.D. could have a grasp’s diploma program embedded into the educational plan. This system can also be designed to create a community and pipeline for undergraduates to work together with grasp’s- and doctoral-level college students in analysis and scientific coaching contexts, she says.
“Our focus at PNW is to create robust practitioners grounded within the psychological science,” says Zelechoski. “A few of our areas of energy and emphasis can be little one and adolescent, trauma, and forensic psychology. We’ve executed intensive market analyses of the scientific specialty areas most wanted on this group and most possible to supply in collaboration with our group companions. I can’t watch for the group to immediately profit from the prime quality, complete, and inexpensive doctoral degree coaching we’ll be offering at PNW within the years forward.”
