Memorandum to Educators and Student Trainees: ACTION NEEDED!!!!

As many of you are aware, SB 632 (Emmerson) was introduced to help alleviate some of the unintended consequences of SB 363 (2011).    SB 363 was designed to allow students to gain hours outside of practicum for up to 90 days if that period was preceded by and immediately followed by a practicum.   Unfortunately, SB 363 failed to specify that it would be effective with students who begin their studies after August 1, 2012.   The unintended consequence is that, effective January 1, 2012, all clinical hours for CURRENT STUDENTS/TRAINEES must be gained while enrolled in practicum (minus the 90 day exception period).

SB 632 was introduced as urgency legislation in January, 2012 to correct this situation and clarify that SB 363 was to apply to students beginning programs after August 1, 2012.  To date, the legislation has experienced full support, passing out of Committees and the Senate floor on consent (no opposition or discussion).

We recently learned that AFSCME (a powerful public service employee union affiliated with the AFL-CIO) is opposing the bill so CAMFT is urging educators and students/trainees to write to the California Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee (where SB 632 will be heard) and voice your support of this bill and explain how this bill is necessary to protect your students and their hours.

Below you will find a sample letter that you can tailor with your own information.  Please send it via:

• Email:  assemblymember.hayashi@assembly.ca.gov
• Fax:  916.319.3306
• Mail: Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee
  State Capitol, Room 3013
  Sacramento, California 95814

The Committee will meet in June, so we are hopeful that letters can be sent prior to May 25, 2012 to ensure timely receipt.   We thank you for your help on this matter and advocating to protect the hours that current students/trainees are gaining.

Sample Letter for your convinience.

1. Are you accredited?

-        Ryokan College is a California State Approved school and we are overseen by the California Bureau of Private Post-Secondary Education. We are not regionally accredited.  This may or may not make a difference depending on your career plans.  Most of our alumni start a private practice or work in a clinic and plan to stay in California.

2. Can I get licensed as a Psychologist in other states besides California?

-        Most states do not accept degrees from unaccredited, California State Approved Schools for licensure. You would need to check the licensing board in your state of interest to ensure reciprocity.  Some of our doctoral alumni who have moved to other states have become licensed Marriage Family Therapists or Mental Health Counselors instead.

3. What kinds of financial aid do you accept or offer?

-        We do not qualify for Federal Financial Aid but we do have several payment plans to offer our students. Our tuition is remarkably low, so most students are able to work out a plan within their budget and not spend the next 20 years paying off a student loan.

4. How much do the programs cost?

-        You can find all the pricing and financing information on page 88 and 89 of the Ryokan College Catalog

5. Why are the programs so inexpensive?

-        Ryokan is a non-profit college. We strive to offer the best education at the most affordable prices and have been doing so since 1978. We don’t have a large campus to pay for nor do we have to support a huge staff of administrators and tenured faculty.  We’re small and do quite well to provide excellent results for our students and alumni.

6. How long are the programs?

-        Ryokan College offers expedited educational programs to allow you to finish your degree quickly. Our programs range from one to three years. You can check the Ryokan College Catalog for more information on individual programs.

7. When are classes held and can I pick my own schedule?

-        We offer classes in the evenings to fit even the busiest of schedules. Our programs work on a cohort system, so you will meet your classmates online at a specified time one or two evenings a week.

8. When do the schedules come out?

-        We schedule classes in 6 month increments, so that you can plan your life. The schedules come out in April and October.

9. When do programs start and what is the enrollment deadline?

-        Graduate programs start in January and July of each year. Enrollment should be completed by November 1^st or May 1^st, accordingly, so you have enough time to order textbooks.  Bachelor of Arts programs start every 4 months (Sept, Jan, Apr, Jul).

10. Do you have on campus and online classes?

-        We currently offer only online classes. Our classes are live and interactive and we use a state of the art learning platform to enhance our student’s learning potential. We will be happy to show you around an online class if you want to learn more.

11. What is the online program like?

-        We are not a typical “correspondence” course like some online colleges. We offer live and interactive classes online. Our programs promote collaboration between students and professors through the use of live classes and message boards. One or two evenings a week, you are seated in front of your computer or connecting by telephone, talking to your classmates and instructors, looking at Power Points as the different topics are discussed.  It’s the closest thing to a real classroom you can get.

12. Who are the professors at Ryokan College?

-        Our professors are practicing clinicians in the field of psychology. Our faculty will not teach old theories or out of date material; they provide a current view of the field due to their involvement in their own practices, in clinics, or through other endeavors.

13. What will be expected of me while I am in the program?

-        You will be expected to attend your scheduled classes, do the assigned reading, complete message board postings each week, and other assigned work determined by the instructor. Expect about 10 to 20 hours of work per week.

14. Can I work while in the program?

-        Of course! Our programs are designed for the busy professional, the working mom or dad, or to be completed while working on an internship.

15. What can I do with my degree from Ryokan College?

-        Lots! We have a great reputation in the field. Our alumni work in private practice, write, produce research, teach, and work in clinics around the United States and overseas. Want to know more? Check out our testimonials here!

15. Can you get me an internship or a job when I have graduated?

-        We can certainly help you look for a job or internship. We get frequent announcements from our alumni who are looking for interns or assistants. We cannot guarantee that you will get a position in a certain part of the city with a certain client population using a certain approach.  We can give you the contact information for every clinic and clinician in the State.

16. Why is personal therapy required for some programs?

-        All psychology programs require personal therapy. It’s important to know what it feels like to be on the client side.  We require that you do your own personal psychotherapy work during or within 3 years of starting the program to ensure that you are the best clinician you can be once you start working with clients. Your own therapy is a crucial part of understanding yourself and the psychology field.

17. I want to get licensed, what do I need to do?

-        First, determine which license would be right for you. Check out the differences between the various licenses here! If you still need assistance deciding, set up a meeting with someone from the college, who can walk you through the licensing process.

18. What are the admissions requirements?

-        Every program is a bit different, but basically we need an application, an autobiographical essay, official transcripts, and a pre-admissions interview. You can find all of that in the Ryokan College Catalog.

Recently, one of my clients shared a story about his morning that was very revealing of a dynamic I see far too often in practice.  He was heading to work late because of a doctor’s appointment, and freeway traffic was considerably lighter than during his typical rush hour commute.  He made it to work in less than half his usual time.

As I was about to comment on how nice that must have been for him, he added an addendum.  He pointed out that despite the fact that traffic was flowing freely, the traffic meter on the onramp was still merging cars onto the freeway one agonizing vehicle at a time.  When I asked him why that detail came to mind, he replied, “Well, how stupid is it that the signal was still on even though there was no traffic at that hour?”  Not surprisingly, his day had gone downhill from there.

Just as from the philosophically revealing question that asks if a glass is half-full or half-empty, a psychologist can tell a lot about a person based on whether he or she focuses on the half-hour of wide-open freeway… or the 60 seconds of waiting at the onramp.  More and more, we are learning that for those who constantly see the negative sides of things, life is considerably harder than for those who embrace positivity.

Dr. Martin Seligman, former head of the American Psychological Association, once noted that, “Human beings are naturally biased toward remembering the negative, attending to the negative, and expecting the worst.”  That said, he also noted that the subjective experiences people tend to value most highly are centered on the following: well-being, contentment, and satisfaction (in the past); hope and optimism (for the future); and flow of happiness (in the present).  Generally speaking, we tend to be negative, but we want to be positive.

There are seemingly limitless ways to achieve greater positivity.  Some examples include engaging in gratitude exercises, journaling about our most desirable qualities, performing daily acts of kindness, and setting and achieving goals; an online search for “positivity exercises” will reveal countless more.

Repeatedly, however, experience leads me to one core truth: it almost doesn’t matter which positivity exercise a person chooses, because positivity increases when we focus on positive things.  The real power of the exercise isn’t in the specifics of the exercise but rather in the attenuation of our minds onto positivity itself.

Another critical aspect of positivity is that it grows exponentially.  In much the same way that exercise not only burns calories as you are working out but also increases our resting metabolism so that we burn more calories even while doing nothing, so, too, does working on our positivity inspire an increase in the way we feel even when we may not be focused specifically on positivity itself.

I encourage all my clients to experience this dynamic for themselves.  I invariably find that if they spend some time each day focusing on the positive things of life, the emotional state that this focus creates inspires them to greater achievements in both their therapeutic processes and in their lives in general.  If I were to suggest one change that has the potential to impact the most lives in the most profound way, it would be this: Improve positivity!

Lance Miller, Psy.D., Ryokan Alum

-with John C. Thomas, M.A., Ryokan Alum

Career Development Theories and Techniques will be starting Wednesday, May 2nd!

Career Development Theories and Techniques is a 5 unit class and only $750 for the 8 week course!

If you have applied for the grandfathering path for the LPCC you may need this class! It has been my experience that most MFT and PsyD programs did not include a Career Counseling course, which is required for the LPCC license.

Please call or email ASAP for an application and enrollment into the class, which begins May 2, 2012. Even if you have not received your deficiency letter from the BBS, you may want to start taking your needed courses now.

Sarah Rednour

Director of Student Services

310.390.7560

sarah@ryokan.edu

Ryokan means “good, large heartedness” and here at Ryokan College we strive to live up to the meaning of our name every day. But recently, it has been our alumni and faculty who have really opened their hearts and donated to Ryokan College’s depleted scholarship fund. This fund helps to provide deserving students with the opportunity to pursue education in psychology and give back to their communities in various ways. Most of our students go on to work with underserved populations in clinics and non-profits.

Everyone at Ryokan College wants to give a big thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to our generous donors:

Miki H., Elena L., Kristina D., Greg K., Jan R., Ruth M., Isable H., Maris C., Lissette D., Sue G., Kathy F., Judith A., Robert S., Lettie B., Ann K., and Barbara B.

Without our wonderful donors, our scholarship fund would be dangerously low. So again, thank you from everyone here at Ryokan College.

P.S. There is still time to donate! Anything, small or large, helps. We are a non-profit college; donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law.

Ellen Kimmel, a licensed clinician for over 30 years, is offering a low cost supervision group for unlicensed MFTs in the West Los Angeles area.

• $25 weekly supervision
• Contact Ellen Kimmel at ellenvillas@hotmail.com if interested.

We are a new and growing outpatient practice, DAZ Foundation, located in West Los Angeles (Olympic near Sawtelle).  We offer court-ordered classes and private classes in parenting, co-parenting, high-conflict parenting, anger management, and domestic violence.  Our curriculum is evidence based and includes: nurturing parenting, ART anger regression therapy, the Deluth Model for Domestic Violence, and Children in the Middle. We are looking to train MFT students/interns in evidence-based practices and provide opportunities to facilitate groups, conduct individual, family, and couples therapy. Weekly group supervision and individual supervision provided by licensed clinician with over 30 years of experience. Small stipend available. If interested, send resume to ellenvillas@hotmail.com

Websites:  www.DAZFoundation.com, www.courtorderedclassesla.com, www.DAZDivorce.com.

 Online classes and degrees have begun to pop up at college campuses across the country; about 75% of higher education institutions are offering online programs, but are they equal in prestige to the programs that you would find in a traditional brick and mortar format? Traditionally, online classes have been presented in a correspondence style; the student reads the text book and takes tests online, with little interaction between the student, peers, and the professor. However, this is all changing and online programs are offering students experiences equal to those of an on campus program. Ryokan College offers a synchronous, interactive and collaborative online program using state-of-the-art technology.

There are many advantages to an online education:

• Lower costs
• The use and understanding of technology is key in the business community, soon everything will be online and technology skills will be critical in the field of psychology.
• Online instructors can teach from anywhere around the globe, exposing students to a wide range of information and knowledge.
• Online education facilitates team learning and collaboration.
• Online programs allow for greater flexibility in terms of scheduling and completion.

Ryokan College decided to move to an online format to meet the needs of our current and future students. Ryokan strives to provide the best education at the lowest price. The changing demands in the field of psychology require the acclimation to and use of technology.  Technology is the way of the future and our online program falls in line with these demands.

Ryokan College’s alumna, Cher Fischer has written an eco-mystery, Falling Into Green!

As an ecopsychologist, Dr. Esmeralda Green is skilled at solving the mysteries of the mind, especially if they collide with the laws of nature. But when a body is found below the crumbling cliffs near her Los Angeles home, she is pulled back in time to a tragedy that defies all understanding.

When a young girl is murdered at the same cliff that took the life of her best childhood friend, Ez suspects the two are connected — and, having always lived up to her ecological name, she has learned to trust her intuition and the cues that the natural world can offer. In fact, from her hybrid car to her organic diet, Ez is living a sustainable life in every way — except for the man she’s falling in love with, an attractive TV news reporter who drives, of all things, a Hummer.

After Ez discovers a key piece of evidence, she is swept into a maze of corporate corruption and family secrets whose depths seem to have no bounds. As she finds herself venturing into ever more treacherous territory, her intuition and psychological skills can take her only so far. With the memory of her childhood friend haunting her at every turn, Ez finds herself falling further and further into danger…

Both an eco-mystery and a love story, Cher Fischer‘s captivating debut novel offers an intimate look at the myriad ways in which nature defines us.

Visit Cher’s website for the latest Falling Into Green news and events.