The Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology
Preparing professionals to serve the public sector
Archived article from Sep 24, 1999
By Stacey B. Hersh
Twenty-five years ago, the notion of creating a professional school to train psychologists for public practice was practically unheard of. In fact, when the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) was established in 1974, it was the first such school in New Jersey and only the fourth in the nation to offer a doctor of psychology (Psy.D.) degree program focused on preparing professionals to serve the public sector.
"At the time, psychologists were being trained in clinical Ph.D. programs for careers in research, despite the fact that 70 percent spent their lives actually practicing psychology," said Donald Peterson, GSAPP's first dean. "GSAPP became a model for the practice of psychology that has been widely emulated and continues to set national standards of excellence others still strive to attain."
GSAPP will mark a quarter century of achievements on Oct. 9 during its 25th-anniversary celebration and alumni reunion at the Somerset Doubletree Hotel in Somerset, N.J.
"Our mission has broadened over the years, with the addition of organizational psychology to our original clinical and school psychology programs," said Sandra Harris, the current dean of GSAPP, "but our core philosophy has not changed: to prepare people in terms of skills and convey a value system that stresses the importance of public service."
This commitment is evident in the dozens of outreach services provided to schools, family businesses, organizations, communities and families through the Center for Applied Psychology, known as GSAPP's "teaching hospital," and other affiliated university centers, clinics and programs. Under direct faculty supervision, students work closely with clients on issues such as adoption, anxiety, autism, eating disorders, learning disabilities, workplace stress and school violence.
Increased diversity is another major area of pride for the school, particularly for Associate Dean Ruth Schulman, who implemented the first minority orientation and recruitment program in 1985.
"Our goal from the start has been to create a diverse community in which everyone feels welcome, and I think we are succeeding," said Schulman. "Currently 28 percent of our students are ethnic minorities and people of color -- one of the highest ratios among doctoral psychology programs in the United States."
GSAPP's diversity programming includes: the Committee on Diversity, which established a mediation system to handle bias incidents and sponsors schoolwide lectures and workshops on racial, ethnic, gender and sexual-orientation issues; the Dean's Multicultural Advisory Council, which explores current and future school initiatives; Hispanic and African-American student organizations; courses that address mental-health topics related to minorities, women, gays and lesbians; and practicum placements in settings that reach out to underserved populations.
What has been GSAPP's greatest accomplishment over the past two and a half decades? "It has to be our students. They are our end product, and we have graduated an extraordinarily accomplished group of people," remarked Harris.
GSAPP graduates, now totaling 613, include presidents of national and local professional organizations and renowned authors.
"But it's not just the leaders," noted Harris. "It's the people who work quietly, day after day, providing exemplary services to those in need that make us proud to have been a part of their professional training."
What do the next 25 years hold for GSAPP? "I want to maintain quality, but at the same time continue to adjust to meet changing social needs and address pressing social problems like homelessness, an aging population and violence in our society," said Harris.
"I think the biggest challenges we face are finding new ways to prepare students to move into exciting, emerging fields such as neuropsychology, to use the latest scientifically based treatments, and to sustain quality patient care while working within an increasingly restrictive mental-health-care environment."
GSAPP offers treatment, testing and counseling services to the public through the Center for Applied Psychology, the Psychological Clinic, the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, the Natural Setting Therapeutic Management Project and other affiliated university facilities. For more information on these programs or about the 25th-anniversary celebration, call Sylvia Krieger at ext. 5-2016.
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