Rise Up! Spirituality, Faith & Social Justice
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RISE UP! RISE UP! SPIRITUALITY, FAITH & SOCIAL JUSTICE SPIRITUALITY, FAITH & SOCIAL JUSTICE Friday, November 9, 2018 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. One Wells Avenue Newton, MA 02459 617-327-6777 www.williamjames.edu/cmgmh [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS William James College…………………………………………………………………..3 Conference Overview & Objectives………………….....................................4 Program................................................................................................5-6 Keynote Address……………………………………………………………………………7 Panels & Workshops…………………………………………………….….………..7-10 Closing Address….…………………………………………………………………..……11 The Universal Voice…………………..…………………………………………………11 Biographies of Presenters..................................................................12-16 Biographies of Performers……………………………………………..…………16-18 Art Exhibit…..…………………………………………………………..….…………19-20 Conference Planning Committee...........................................................21 Conference Sponsors……………………………………………………………………22 Special Thanks & Acknowledgments………………...…………………………..22 Rise Up! Spirituality, Faith and Social Justice 2 | Page William James College William James College (WJC) educates students for careers that meet the growing demand for access to quality, culturally competent psychological services for individuals, groups, communities and organizations. WJC offers 15 degree programs, with a focus on serving vulnerable populations, including children and families of adversity, Latinos and veterans. William James College is committed to meeting the needs of underserved populations and training culturally sensitive providers as well as leaders on the forefront of creating long- lasting social change. WJC’s Center for Multicultural & Global Mental Health (CMGMH) aims to be a preeminent academic, clinical training and research center in promoting social justice and addressing mental health disparities among historically marginalized groups in the U.S. and abroad. The primary mission of CMGMH is to recruit, train, educate and prepare a cadre of professionals to serve culturally diverse individuals and communities locally and around the globe. CMGMH’s initiatives are part of WJC’s institution-wide diversity Dr. Nicholas Covino goals. “William James College has set out on an important path to President, diversify our school and the psychology workforce as a whole,” William James College President Covino stated. “CMGMH is a critical piece in the work that we do here by educating the public as well as facilitating various initiatives and events related to diversity.” WJC’s diversity efforts are wide-ranging. “What I am most proud of in terms of diversity at WJC are the steps forward that we have taken that are less obvious and eye-catching,” said Dr. Covino. “They serve as the building blocks that will move us forward in embracing and supporting diversity among the student body and staff. For example, we hired consultants who are experts in multicultural mental health workforce education who have helped the Diversity Committee to shape our strategic plan, which has been presented to the Board of Trustees. We have created clear goals to increase diversity at William James College which will include increasing our self- identified minority student population to 25%.” By promoting open dialogue about these crucial issues, WJC strives to attract a student body that reflects and engages with the communities it serves. The core of WJC’s approach is to provide students with hands-on experience and the clinical skills they need to be effective, pragmatic and compassionate professionals providing high quality services to their clients and solving complex problems in an increasingly diverse world. Rise Up! Spirituality, Faith and Social Justice 3 | Page CONFERENCE OVEVIEW Spirituality “is the heart of empathy and care, the pulse of compassion, the vital flow of practice wisdom and the driving force of action for service” (Canda and Furman, 1999, p. xv). Spirituality is a unique place where many turn to in search for hope, personal meaning and a sense of purpose. During challenging and uncertain times, people often rely on their faith to make sense of life’s adversities and experiences, to believe in something greater than themselves, even if it is not always present or tangible, and to remain optimistic and hopeful about the future. In a world marked increasingly by insensitivity and intolerance, Hodge (2012) has asserted that faith and spirituality can serve as the motivational energy that animates the pursuit of a more socially just society and propel us toward social action and advocacy. This Conference aimed to engage agents of social change who are grappling with contemporary social issues that affect vulnerable and oppressed groups in the U.S. It sought to promote greater awareness of the need for more socially conscious and spiritually sensitive mental health providers who can pursue a social justice agenda that includes a concern for others, a willingness to advocate for the holistic needs of historically marginalized people and the commitment to ensure equity and human rights for all in society. CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES The conference’s primary objectives were to: 1. Promote a greater understanding of the interconnections between faith, spirituality, social justice, and social action and advocacy. 2. Identify the roles of faith community sanctuary movements as a driving force toward community activism. 3. Highlight how mental health providers and faith-based communities can work together to integrate faith, spirituality and social advocacy. 4. Discuss strategies that can be used by the collective to create meaningful and lasting social change, particularly with and on behalf of historically marginalized people. 5. Describe how mental health providers can become more engaged in practice and social justice-related activities. Rise Up! Spirituality, Faith and Social Justice 4 | Page CONFERENCE PROGRAM Spirituality, Faith & Social Justice Friday, November 9, 2018 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. William James College One Wells Avenue, Newton, MA 02459 8:30 a.m. – REGISTRATION 8:45 a.m. – WELCOMING SONG (Woodland Tradition) Performed by Leah Hopkins & Jonathan Perry, The Kingfisher Singers 9:00 - 9:15 a.m. – WELCOMING REMARKS Gemima St. Louis, Ph.D., Co-Director, Center for Multicultural & Global Mental Health, William James College Nicholas Covino, PsyD, President, William James College Crystal Collier, Chief of Staff, Massachusetts Department of Mental Health 9:15 - 10:15 a.m. – KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Resisting Neo-Colonialism with Native American Healing Ceremonies – Rockey Robbins, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Oklahoma 10:15 - 10:25 a.m. – MORNING BREAK 10:25 – 10:30 a.m. – Spoken Word — Performed by Adetutu Ajibose 10:30 - 12:00 p.m. – MORNING PANEL: FAITH-BASED COMMUNITIES & SOCIAL ADVOCACY The Strengths of Christian Marginalized Communities and Their Role in Social Justice Advocacy – Nicholas Rowe, Ph.D., Dean of Student Engagement, Gordon College Abiding in the Community: A Faith Based Response to a Neighborhood in Pain – Colleen Sharka, LMHC; and Debra Johnson, The Cory Johnson Program for Post-Traumatic Healing, Roxbury Presbyterian Church Social Impact Center In the Echo of the Shattering: A Commandment Thunders in Witness and Warning – Rabbi Victor Hillel Reinstein, Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue Rise Up! Spirituality, Faith and Social Justice 5 | Page 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. – NETWORKING LUNCH (Provided) Live Performance – Sohenga Depestre, Doctoral Student, Clinical Psychology Program, William James College The Art of Hope: An Exhibit by Artsbridge 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. – CONCURRENT WORKSHOPS: MINDFULNESS, MEDITATION & RELAXATION PRACTICES How Mindfulness and Compassion Practice Can Help Tap Into Inner, Community and Ancestral Strength – Richa Gawande, Ph.D., Research and Programs Manager, Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, Cambridge Health Alliance Mandala Rock Painting – April Clayton, Doctoral Student, Clinical Psychology Program, William James College Tai Chi for Better Body Awareness and Relaxation – Nelson Wong, MAOM, Licensed Acupuncturist, Newton Centre 2:00 – 2:15 p.m. – AFTERNOON BREAK 2:15 – 2:30 p.m. – Faith-Based Musical Performance Damon Pryor, Jonathan Newell Roberts, and Stephen Allsop 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. – AFTERNOON PANEL: SPIRITUALITY, SOCIAL JUSTICE & ACTIVISM Yorùbá Spiritual Practice and Restorative Justice – Yvette ‘Lepolata Aduke’ Modestin, LMHC, Founder and Executive Director, Encuentro Diaspora Afro; and Tony Menelik Van Der Meer, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Africana Studies Department, University of Massachusetts Boston Responding to the Plight of the Rohingyan Refugees: Working from a Muslim Perspective – Shamaila Khan, Ph.D., Co-Director, Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology; and Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Medicine 4:00 – 4:45 p.m. – CLOSING ADDRESS: Reconciling the Horizontal and Vertical Planes: Advising Clinicians on Spirituality – Imam Taymullah Abdur-Rahman, Founder, Young Merchants Club; Former Chaplain, Massachusetts Department of Corrections, Harvard University and Northeastern University 4:45 p.m. – The Universal Voice – Meridith Apfelbaum, MS, Assistant Dean of Students, William James College; & Sohenga Depestre, Doctoral Student, Clinical Psychology Program, William James College Rise Up! Spirituality, Faith and Social Justice 6 | Page KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Resisting Neo-Colonialism with Native American Healing Ceremonies Rockey Robbins, Ph.D. In his Keynote Address,