Dear All,
I’m writing to welcome all of you back— and welcome all of our wonderful new trainees— to Fall at Columbia Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research! Just this past week our students began their classes and started the process of becoming part of the Center. I hope you feel, as I do, that given all of the bad news, injustice, and chaos in the world, the Center is a community where we teach and learn and enjoy each other’s company. Some of my best friends are at the Center and I can’t imagine life without being a part of the place. I hope you agree and that our trainees will find that unique sense of enjoyment of each other’s company, albeit remotely for now, that so many of us enjoy.
I’m also writing with some brief updates about priorities for the year and things that have been accomplished this summer —
- Diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice remain at the very top of the list of priorities for this academic year. Stay tuned for a series of fantastic speakers this academic year where trainees and faculty can learn together and address necessary and often difficult issues. We’re in the process of hiring a consultant to help us identify and assess our shortcomings in this area and make recommendations for how we can improve together. Drawing on the great curriculum from the Anti-Racist Educator week-long training I was fortunate to attend this summer, I’m launching a new monthly newsletter, that will include some brief insights into key topics related to diversity.
- I’m delighted that Meriamne Singer and Mark Sorenson have agreed to lead our new Community Assistance Committee, which will reach out to our members who might be needing our help during a difficult point in their practices or lives; the pandemic has made us aware of the need for this kind of warm and helpful outreach.
- Dr. Yael Holoshitz has practically overnight completely revamped our longstanding program for Creedmoor psychiatric residents to bring it in line with the way we teach psychodynamics to our Columbia residents; I thank her and the many of you who participate in teaching these students for revitalizing this important Center initiative!
Each of these initiatives highlights the way we hope to reinforce the bonds within our community as we face continued challenges related to the ongoing pandemic and crises in the world at large. I hope facing these harsh realities helps us to realign our sense of what really matters. For me, being part of a vibrant, rich, and diverse community is at the top of that list.
I look forward to seeing all of you at our New Trainee Welcome on 9/27 at 8 pm on Zoom, and meanwhile, I thank you all for your generosity with your time and talents that helps make our Center a place we want to be.
Warmly,
Susan
Susan C. Vaughan, MD
Director
|
|
|
|
