Kenneth F. Garni, Director, Psychologist

As I begin my 40th -and last- year at Suffolk University and my 36th as Director of the Counseling Center, I reflect in amazement over the changes and the growth in the Center and at the University since I began working here in 1969.  I am also struck by how quickly the time has passed.  It seems like only yesterday that I applied for my first (and only) job as a campus psychologist.  Even before I was able to figure out the intricacies of that job, I became the Director and spent the next 36 years trying to stay on top of an entirely new set of challenges.  I finally feel that I have most of that worked out...and now it is time to retire and to begin dealing with a whole new set of adventures ahead, most especially those associated with being a grandfather!

Although the responsibilities of a counseling center director have taken on a whole new, and more complicated, meaning over the past decade, I still marvel at how my job continues to energize me and how much I look forward to coming to the office every day.  The good and productive days far outweigh the difficult and perplexing ones.  The perfect antidote to the responsibilities that I have carried is being able to recount, and to re-live, the numerous accomplishments and positive changes that have occurred over the past forty years.  I have been blessed to have a career marked by associations with competent and caring colleagues, outstanding trainees, students who both appreciated and valued the care they received, and University administrators who supported and encouraged our work.

I leave the Counseling Center knowing that wonderful things have been accomplished in the past and secure in the knowledge that more of the same will follow.  The Counseling Center has the leadership, clinical acumen and experience, commitment and dedication to helping students and colleagues alike, and as esprit de corps that will stand it in good stead as it faces the challenges of the decades ahead.  It has never been in a better place to do so.  Modesty aside, Suffolk University has one of the best and strongest counseling centers in the country.  It will continue to provide excellent and comprehensive counseling services to members of the Suffolk University community, of that I am sure.

I am grateful for the memories.  They will remain a source of immeasurable pride for years to come.

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Paul R. Korn, Psychologist

As I am completing my thirty-fourth year with the Suffolk University Counseling Center, I am well aware of the yin and yang of my work. There is so much that is familiar -- comforting and predictable -- and there is so much that is new, exciting and challenging. And I like it that way. At times, I can rely on the familiar; and, at other times I can seek the unexplored. These are sentences written by someone whose life is bracketed by Abbot and Costello’s "Who’s on First?" and the Wii video games.

The University Counseling Center, my colleagues, and the students here have been both my work site and the foundation for my own learning, development, and maturation. That’s not to say that I don’t have a life outside my job. It just seems important to start by saying that I am happy and nurtured by what I do as a psychologist at our school.

The Smiling Juggler is a metaphor for how I live my life. I’m not one of those intense performers, gritting his teeth to keep an astounding number of odd objects in the air, demonstrating both prowess and determination. Nope. Juggling is for fun, for focus, and for rhythmic meditation, paying attention to how I feel and moving with comfort and balance, while I remain curious and interested in getting things done. 

If I have learned nothing else over the years, it’s the lesson from Baba Ram Dass that therapists and teachers can be helpful only as much as they’ve helped themselves. Ram Dass also warned (to paraphrase): Half of what I say is brilliant and half of what I say is B.S., and I don’t know the difference; so be very careful.

My work as a professor of psychological services and a staff psychologist at the UCC is my first and only full-time job, after holding multiple part-time positions through and directly after graduate school at the University of Connecticut. I was an undergraduate on the banks of the Genesee at the University of Rochester. I’ve been pulsing to the education rhythm of the year since nursery school.

What I am currently doing will let the reader know something about my interests and my latest juggling act. The clinical clients I have worked with over the past years range in age from 18 to 52. They include: a first year law student, a Latina, who is the first of her family to get an advanced degree and is suffering from the pressure to succeed; a freshman struggling with questions about the impact of reporting her abuse as a child; an African American who has ADHD and is also battling health problems and depression; a Muslim student, dealing with a raft of phobias as well as financial problems; and a student who is struggling with sexual identity and worries about what is normal.

As we complete another school year, I am looking forward to September. I am eager to develop a working supervisory relationship with one of the three graduate interns arriving in August. I am continually updating the training seminar that I teach, helping our interns develop skills in outreach, training, and consultation, including more focus on co-leading workshops and learning hands-on consultation skills. I am continuing my work with a committee of people from throughout the university to create a series of training sessions for the Safe Zone program which provides information and education about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students. I am working with my colleague at the Center, Lynda Field, in the fifth year of the Suffolk Samaritan Awards Program, which will grant up to $1000.00 to three applicants who develop community-based activities that address student depression. This award program is part of the ADAPT program, Action for Depression Awareness, Prevention, and Treatment, which we have been running for the past seven years.

I will continue my 20-year involvement with the Society Organized Against Racism in Higher Education (SOAR), a regional network of professionals and students, which, among other programs, is offering regular meetings to students from member campuses to discuss racism, discrimination and anti-bias activities. I am serving on one of the college committees to develop improved criteria for courses that fulfill the undergraduate diversity requirement.

This year, I am teaching for the umpteenth semester a psychology course, "Introduction to Counseling Skills," a skills-based course that is always a pure joy. I will also be teaching another fulfilling course in the spring, "Leadership Skills for a Diverse Society."

Finally, I am just finished reading The Son of the Circus, by John Irving and am ready to begin on Unbowed: One Woman’s Story, by 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wangari Maathai.  I have planted our annual vegetable garden at our home in Gloucester. I am adjusting to the distance I feel from my sons who are growing up and away from me; I am loving the 6 AM walks on the beach with my beautiful black dog, Sheba; and I am working, playing, and dancing with my wife, Sue, who is an independent organization consultant and professional writer.

And all the time, what’s important is keeping my balance and not dropping any balls as I juggle, but choosing which ones to put down temporarily, as I continue on my merry way.

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Wilma Busse, Psychologist

I received my training in Clinical and Counseling Psychology, as well as in Higher Education Administration, at Western Michigan University. I attended Marquette University as an undergraduate, where I pursued a double major in psychology and sociology. Prior to working at Suffolk University, I worked as a psychologist in Michigan, Maryland and at the University of California, San Diego. While living in San Diego, I obtained certification in Gestalt Therapy from Miriam and Irving Polster. I am a licensed psychologist in MD, CA, and MA. In addition to my academic and clinical work, I serve as the training director for our doctoral interns. I really enjoy meeting and learning from each intern class, as well as, facilitating in their growth as professional individuals. I have learned a lot from my work with interns and I hope to continue to do so in the years to come.

Several years ago I designed and taught a course entitled, "Psychology of Genocide," focusing on the Nazi Holocaust and how individuals and groups become marginalized and/or become perpetrators. This class grew out of my personal experience and work with an organization called One By One, Inc. A major function of the organization is to offer Dialogue Groups in which descendants of the Holocaust and Third Reich are brought together in an attempt to open dialogue. 

On the lighter side, I enjoy bird watching, nature walks and traveling. I feel I have learned many lessons as a result of my travels to Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Poland, Germany and, most recently, Africa. No matter the language, I love to engage in the universal language of laughter and to hear the laughter of others.

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Lynda Field, Psychologist

Lynda D. Field, Ph.D. received her Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Denver. She subsequently completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Field went on to become a staff psychologist specializing in the field of child, adolescent, and family forensic psychology which also granted her an academic appointment as Instructor of Psychology in the Harvard Medical School. From 1993 until her departure in the summer of 1998 she supervised Postdoctoral Fellows, taught, provided consultation, offered expert testimony, and conducted psychological evaluations in the context of civil, criminal, and juvenile legal matters. Dr. Field developed expertise in psychological testing, the assessment and treatment of individuals who were suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, anxiety, and other serious mental health problems. Dr. Field also brings to her work experience and training in the area of learning disability evaluations. As a Puerto Rican psychologist she is committed to multicultural approaches to understanding human development. Although Dr. Field is not fully bilingual, she comprehends and speaks Spanish. In the past she has conducted research in order to better understand the factors that impact upon the academic achievement of Latino adolescents and the self-concept of biracial adolescents. In her free time, Dr. Field enjoys outdoor activities, spending time with her family and good friends, and trying out new recipes.

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Kathryn Jackson, Psychologist

As a licensed psychologist, I bring to the Counseling Center experience working with individuals, couples and families. Areas of clinical interest include enhancing self-esteem, relationship development, family dynamics, racism’s impact on group and self-identity, career exploration and personality style, and the therapeutic use of poetry, memoir and other creative modalities. I especially value the mutual learning that is inherent in working with "psychologists in training" and look forward to having the opportunity to supervise interns.

In the past I developed and led a graduate ALANA group whose members have continued to meet and expand their circle by reaching out to students from other colleges and universities. I am hopeful that I might be able to share experiences garnered from running this group with students and colleagues at Suffolk.

Educated in the public schools of Brooklyn, New York, I attended and graduated from Goddard College in Vermont where I focused my senior study on the Harlem Renaissance and African American writers of the 1960s. I then went to Reed College in Portland, Oregon where I obtained an M.A.T. in English. After acquiring further work and life experiences, I entered the doctoral program in Counseling Psychology at Temple University, graduating in 1992. Advanced training in family therapy has helped to widen my therapeutic lens by taking into greater account the social context of client concerns.

Nowadays for sustenance, I take yoga and Alexander technique lessons, read and write--more often nonfiction and poetry--and relish sharing stories of laughter and struggle with family and friends.

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Kinga A. Pastuszak, Psychologist

I find myself being especially contemplative about beginning my role as a staff psychologist with the Suffolk University Counseling Center.  I look forward to offering my clinical strengths in ways that will supplement the diverse yet complimentary clinical perspectives that so clearly have made the counseling center a tremendous resource for the University.  I am also looking forward to continued professional and personal growth through dynamic interactions with staff and students alike.

I come to the Counseling Center as a licensed psychologist with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the George Washington University where I earned concentrations in child and adult psychodynamic psychotherapy.  I went on to complete an APA accedited  pre-doctoral fellowship at Tewksbury Hospital, Hathorne Mental Health Units, where I worked providing short- and long-term individual and group psychotherapy with an adult inpatient psychiatric population.  I pursued intensive training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy and psychodynamic group therapy during my post-doctoral fellowship at the Two Brattle Center in Harvard Square.  Since completing my fellowship, I have worked as a clinical affiliate at the Two Brattle Center and as a staff psychologist in the Women’s Treatment Program at McLean Hospital, where I remain on staff as an instructor in Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry of the Harvard Medical School.  Areas of clinical interest include mood disturbances, anxiety, relationship challenges and relational difficulties, as well as affective dysregulation leading to self-harm, maladaptive, or self-defeating behaviors.

I also enjoy maintaining a diverse private practice in Cambridge assisting adults, adolescents, and families with promoting adaptive change and mastery of problems through identifying and understanding difficulties and competencies in diverse aspect of daily living.

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Matt Kaler, 2008/09 Doctoral Intern

I’m a doctoral student in Counseling Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.  The last five years of graduate study in Minneapolis and Saint Paul have seen me teaching courses at the University of Minnesota, working with clients on career, academic, and personal concerns at college counseling centers, working with older adults in psychotherapy and assessments at the VA Medical Center, and screening National Guard Soldiers for mental health concerns as they return from Iraq.  I have always been a tremendously curious person, and so my areas of interest in working with clients, teaching, and conducting research have been and will remain varied - the aftermath of traumatic life events, vocational psychology, retirement adjustment, LGBT concerns and identity-development, the influences of society and culture on mental health, and psychological test interpretation are prominent among them.  With most clients I am drawn to working from a perspective informed by person-centered, cognitive-behavioral, and relational emphases - also drawing heavily on areas of psychological theory and research that are not commonly thought of as "clinical" per se.

As with so many people in our culture, keeping a balance between my many voluntary commitments can be difficult.  Nevertheless, when I get out of the office you’ll likely find me "making home" (mainly cooking, entertaining friends and family, and household projects), exercising (softball, running, or just playing outside), doing some sort of small-scale social justice work, or just goofing off.

I attended grade school in various parts of rural and suburban Wisconsin and Minnesota.  I then pursued my BA in Anthropology at Grinnell College in Iowa.  Having enrolled at the University of Minnesota for my graduate degree, I believe I am officially a Midwesterner.  So, I’m thrilled at the opportunity to see what Boston and the Suffolk University community have to offer for work and for play.

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Lynn Saladino, 2008/09 Doctoral Intern

In my three years as a mental health clinician, the most valuable element of my experience has been learning from the personal and professional journeys of my clients. I am very excited to continue this education as an intern at the Suffolk University Counseling Center. 

For my own journey, I was born and raised on Long Island, attended undergraduate school at Fairfield University in Connecticut, and moved to Florida to pursue my Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology at Nova Southeastern University. In the summer of 2007 I moved to Boston to take a placement at the Veteran’s Affairs Outpatient Clinic.  Through these experiences of change and relocation I have learned a great deal about myself; finding passion in my career, learning about good food and wine, practicing my mediocre Spanish, locating the most peaceful yoga studios, and fostering amazing friendships. I remain very close with my family and have the great benefit of their constant support and occasional visits.

My personal and professional passion lies in the area of holistic health. I believe each element of the mind, body, and spirit work together to formulate the overall experience of a person. When these things are not in balance, trouble arises and causes us distress. I do my best with every client (and with myself!) to assess which elements are currently strong or weak in an effort to reestablish a level of balance. Many times our past experiences, thought patterns, and relationships with others can impact this balance, but often other elements are equally important. With each client, I do my best to identify where they are personally and help find solutions that fit best for them. I look forward to working with the students at Suffolk University and anticipate a mutually rewarding year!

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Enedelia Sauceda, 2008/09 Doctoral Intern

I am a counseling psychology doctoral student at Oklahoma State University.  I’m originally from Texas and proudly identify as Chicana.  My background has undoubtedly influenced my education, my work and how I view those around me.  Everyone around me has a unique story and culture to share.  I use culture, education, equality, empowerment, and self-exploration to identify strengths and to promote active change in those I work with.  The "power to empower" and the collectivistic concept of "we" are consistent with my own culture and are integrated in my work with others.  Relational Cultural Theory (RCT) is the foundation for my clinical work and I strive to make healthy connections with others which are growth-fostering.

Aside from work, I value family, friends, passion, creativity, and laughter;  I’m not above showing my silly side every once in awhile.  You can find me having a laugh with my friends over dinner, watching a movie, dancing to good music, or converting one of my latest sketches into a painting.

 

(revised 7/15/08)

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