AMHF Attends 51st Annual Meeting of New England Psychological Association

by William Van Ornum, Ph.D. on October 30, 2011 2:00 pm

Lindsay Blevins

AMHF attended the 51st Annual Meeting of the New England Psychological Association (NEPA), held October 28-29 at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. After a wonderful dinner, hosted by Drs. Robin Crabtree and Susan Franzosa, deans at Fairfield, participants heard child-development expert Dr. James Garbarino speak of “Children and the Dark Side of Human Experience: Confronting Global Realities and Rethinking Child Development.”

A major symposium on Saturday, presented by five speakers, funded by a grant from the Maine Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, discussed “Development of Strength-based Youth mentoring: Historical and Theoretical Perspectives, Empirical Results, and Policy Implications.” They noted how contemporary mentoring has come to embody work toward “strengths” and “assets” in a resiliency model.

A later symposium featured a look at “Graduate Education and Training in Professional Psychology: Forensic Psychology to School Psychology,” presented by Drs. Tony Crespi, Denise Framboise, and Bronna Romanoff. Graduate education represents an important decision point for aspiring students, a choice made even more complex today because of the diverse options, competitive job market, and fluctuating economy.

I was especially proud of Marist student Lindsay Blevins, who, in the spirit of William James, presented “Inspiring versus Non-inspiring Religious Images in College Students.”

It was a great conference and we look forward to attending next year.