Psy SR

• Psychologists for Social Responsibility – Dr. Robert Keisner is the faculty coordinator for this project. PsySR hosts a number of events throughout the academic year, including V-Day on campus. All of these are open to any faculty or student member of LIU.

This following description is from the current student president, Karolina Pekala:

• Last year, our touchstone event was V-Day, celebrating one billion women rising to end violence against women and girls. Our entire clinical psychology doctoral program spent Valentine’s Day engaged in documentaries, discussion groups, and readings from “A Memory A Monologue A Rant And Prayer,” in which faculty, students, and undergraduates took turns reading pieces that spoke to them. Discussion groups included diverse topics such Men’s Trauma, Celebrity and Media Influence, Sexual Assault in the military, and women expressing trauma through art. We signed pledges vowing to help women, held a march across campus, and ended the day with music and a powerful performance of Indian dance, which exemplified women rising up. Together, our students felt empowered and connected in our objective to end violence against women. We celebrated again when we learned that the Violence Against Women Act was passed at the same time.

We were also touched by the devastation at Newtown, and we signed petitions addressing Congress and the President to act and pass stronger legislation regarding responsible gun ownership.

This past semester, Psychology Students for Social Responsibility have worked to raise awareness of special groups who are disadvantaged and underserved. In September, several student members presented at the National Association for Rights Protection and Activism conference on the experience of graduate students with activist and patient-centered attitudes working within a biomedical model. In October, we were present at the Psychologists for Social Responsibility conference, where we discussed barriers and successes in implemented social justice into our graduate program. We also attended a discussion by Dr. Shidlo, who gave us valuable information about the asylum process with LGBT individuals.

This follows last year's tradition, where past present Steven Reisner spoke about social activism and the Coalition for an Ethical Psychology, and current Secretary Sarah Kamens spoke about minimizing harm while working within the biomedical model. We have also had several patients harmed by the system, such as experiencing chemical and physical restraints, on how they found help within the system and how we as future clinicians can help advocate for our patients. Along with this theme, we will be holding a DSM-V panel in the spring, where professors of varying backgrounds will debate the implications along with student representatives. We have also had spirited roundtable discussions amongst our members and hope to have many more in the New Year.