New York Institute for Psychotherapy Training in Infancy, Childhood and Adolescense

Transitions: Training and Beyond

We at NYIPT are proud of the impact our training has had on the careers of our graduates, and ultimately how this umbrella has reached out to help countless numbers of children and families. In this article by NYIPT graduate Susan Caputo, these effects are obvious.

Four years ago I entered the NYIPT program, embarking on a journey to learn and develop skills providing play and individual therapy for children and adolescents. I was happy to be able to learn from child clinicians who have had years of training and experience, This experience has changed my life in ways that I could not even begin to imagine. The teachers, supervisors and candidates of NYIPT all shared my passion, and the people in the program began to feel like an extended family.

At the time I had developed a strong connection with Dr. Rita Seiden, the Executive Director at the Park Slope Center for Mental Health (PSCMH). In August 2002, Rita and I met with Dr. Phyllis Cohen, and formed an affiliation with NYIPT that merged our goals. It is hard to imagine that my need to develop and learn to be a child therapist, would lead to some major changes in an agency that I loved.

In my first year of training, it became apparent that the need for child clinicians and services for children and families was astronomical. Three of my classmates also began their clinical work at the Park Slope agency and over that first year the child caseload of 5 children grew to approximately 50 children. PSCMH was an agency that had previously served the mental health needs of adults and the elderly! I began to realize that being a child clinician would not be enough. My vision to help children had become a large-scale goal.

Dr. Seiden had confidence in me and encouraged me to expand the PSCMH Child Program. She enabled me to build the program by supervising the child therapists and adhering to the government regulatory requirements for working with children. Her faith in me began my 2^nd transition from training into development. At times I wondered if I could fulfill my dream but I was not unique. My dream was inspired by the dedication of Dr. Cohen and the faculty of NYIPT. My own dedication and awareness of the need for mental health services for children and families, was also facilitated and encouraged by my NYIPT supervisor, Karen Cadwalader.

When I started my second year of the training program, a new group of candidates began their clinical work at the agency. I have been fortunate to work with

the entire graduating class of 2006 (Debra Harris, Marilyn Ippolito, Susan Stark and Royanne Weiss), and to have seen their growth and development. Each of these candidates also has this “passion” inside and the vision to help children. Every year since, the candidates who have come to do their clinical work at PSCMH have shared the same goals.

While developing my clinical skills, I learned how important supervision and personal therapy were in developing and growing as a therapist and supervisor. Prior to completing the program, I made the transition into a small private practice where I now work with adults and children. The training I received at NYIPT helped me feel confident and prepared to take this step. Learning and being supervised by child therapists who are also in private practice as well as maintaining roots with clinics and other agencies has helped me realize that I could also have both. My first child client in private practice was four-years-old. I realized how far I had come by my confidence and willingness to work with a child so young. I no longer felt terrified or unsure of how to help.

When I finished the NYIPT program in 2005, the Park Slope Center for Mental Health was providing mental health services to over 150 children. The transition from completion of training to the present has been amazing, overwhelming and unimaginable. In August 2005, the Board of Directors at Park Slope Center promoted me to Acting Director of the PSCMH. Taking on the overall responsibility of the agency has been a scary transition for me, but the support I have continued to receive from my therapy and supervision, and my connection with NYIPT has helped ground me. I have been given an opportunity to nurture and develop my vision to branch out further and help a larger number of children and families.

In the short time that I had worked with adults, I came to understand that many of their issues related to childhood trauma, abuse, neglect, financial hardship, broken families and more. I began to wonder how different their lives would have been had they received the kind of help that the clinicians and supervisors at

NYIPT provide. Children can benefit from therapy, and when indicated, the earlier they receive it, the better. Children can be nurtured, listened to, helped to express their feelings, heal their “wounds,” and ultimately build better lives for themselves.

As Acting Director one of my first projects was a “quality assurance” program being developed by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to improve services for children and families. We are currently exploring and developing interventions to improve the initial screening and ongoing therapy appointments for children and their caretakers. I remember how in my first class at NYIPT, Dr. Cohen addressed the importance of engaging the child’s parent/caregiver in the therapeutic process and the “quality assurance” project is also addressing this need. I am hopeful that one day my vision to help children will be enhanced by the cooperation of the clinicians, the agency, the training program, the families and the regulatory agencies such as the Office of Mental Health all working together for the benefit of the children.

Taking on the overall responsibility of the agency led to another difficult transition for me because it was no longer possible for me to continue to head the Child Program. My transition was made easier by the knowledge, that another candidate, Debra Harris, had the same passion and love for working with children that I did. Debra’s ability to help children continues to be nurtured by her NYIPT supervisors, teachers and personal therapy, and passing on the responsibility of the child program to a “new” graduate of NYIPT has brought the agency and NYIPT full circle.

Today at PSCMH we are embarking on many new projects. In October, seven clinicians began a one-year training program in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that was offered by the Office of Mental Health to work with depressed and traumatized children. Also in the fall of 2006, PSCMH answered a call from the Office of Mental Health to submit proposals for a program to identify the mental health needs of children and adolescents in the public school system. We have applied to do ongoing assessments, and make referrals for therapy when indicated. This project is a huge preventive measure to help identify children in need, and to provide services at earlier stages. And finally, we are in the process of building a family therapy program at PSCMH to address the needs of families. We have

identified as one of our missions to help families stay together. Through play, individual and family therapy we, hope to rebuild healthier families. We now have clinicians attending the Minuchin Family Training Institute, and we hope all these measures will help us to meet the increased needs of the children and families that are referred to PSCMH every day.

The more we work with children, the more I believe that the children we help today, are the adults we will see leading productive and healthy lives in the future. We cannot let these children be unrecognized or their needs go unnoticed. My transition has gone from social work student, to adult therapist, to candidate in training , to child therapist, to Agency Director, and my continuing to tread in the vision to help children has been one of the most fulfilling and challenging experiences of my life.

In Erikson’s last stage of development, a person looks back and reviews their life. Knowing that I have played a role in helping children, will allow me to look back with a sense of meaning and fulfillment.