The Washington School of Psychiatry

ABOUT US

• About the School
• Mission Statement
• Annual Report 2006–2007 (pdf)
• Staff
• Board of Directors
• Faculty/Clinical Staff Council
• Program Chairs
• Faculty

About the School

Founded in 1936 by a group led by Harry Stack Sullivan, the Washington School of Psychiatry has a proud history of interdisciplinary teaching and research, training in psychodynamic theory, psychoanalysis, the social and biological sciences, and the study of the contribution of culture to the development of the human mind. It is the largest provider of postgraduate psychotherapy training in the Washington metropolitan area.

The Washington School of Psychiatry was the first institution in Washington to provide post-graduate training to nonmedical psychotherapists. Today's students at the School are psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric social workers, psychiatric nurses, pastoral counselors and others seeking professional growth as they meet the increasingly complex mental health challenges in society. Many of the School's alumni/ae have carried its teachings far beyond the Washington area to practices throughout North America and abroad.

In addition to its regular training programs, the Washington School offers a number of conferences, institutes, workshops and lectures during the academic year. It sponsors and publishes research findings through its internationally renowned journal Psychiatry. In addition, the Eugene Meyer III Treatment Center and the Adele Lebowitz Center for Youth & Families, clinics of the Washington School, provide psychotherapy and outreach to the community and offer additional training opportunities to the students in the School's training programs.

The Washington School of Psychiatry is a nonprofit corporation supported by service fees, tuition and charitable contributions.

Mission Statement

The Washington School of Psychiatry is dedicated to the promotion of human welfare through the advancement of mental health. The School offers postgraduate professional education and training, fosters the spirit of inquiry, and offers a wide range of mental health services in the Washington metropolitan area.

The School also is an active center that provides public information, education, and advocacy for the best in mental health scholarship, training and treatment. It invites individuals and organizations from the mental health professions and from the community at large to join in this task.

Building on a foundation of psychodynamic psychotherapy, the Washington School draws in other theoretical and treatment orientations. It encourages dialogue and research that integrate emerging developments from psychological, biological and socio-cultural research while preserving the valuable body of knowledge that has been gathered in the 20th and 21st centuries.

In pursuit of its task, the School continues a tradition of open inquiry and inclusiveness which promotes respect for the uniqueness of every individual. The School strives to foster an environment in which the range of significant differences among individuals (e.g. race, gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, ability and disability, religion, social class) can be better understood, valued, and worked with in our teaching and therapeutic practice. We seek to challenge stereotypes and to develop cultural competence and sensitivity to racism and discrimination through self-reflection, ongoing self-evaluation, and open dialogue.

By honoring these commitments, the Washington School of Psychiatry works to shape an environment that will carry forward the vision of Harry Stack Sullivan and his colleagues.

Staff

Executive Director

Harry Gill, MD, PhD

Administrative Director

Debbie Schechtman, MBA

Director, Meyer Treatment Center

Jane Prelinger, MSW

Director, Adele Lebowitz Center for Youth & Families

Mimi Lerer Blasiak, MSW

Administrative Staff

Chiquitta Boyd, Administrative Assistant for Treatment Centers

Lisa Head, Administrative Assistant for School Programs/School Registrar

William Spruiell, Evening Receptionist

Board of Directors

• Barbara Wayne, PhD, Chair
• Rose-Marie G. Oster, PhD, Vice Chair
• Susan Roth, MSW, Treasurer
• Shoba Nayar, MSW, Secretary
• Michael J. Stiers, PhD, ex officio
• Carolyn Angelo, MSW
• Mauricio Cortina, MD, ex officio
• Pat Davis, MSW, ex officio
• Paula Donovan
• Lucius Durden
• JoAnne Gold, MA
• Mary Gardiner Jones, LLM
• Michael Maccoby, PhD
• Marie Murphy, MSW
• Gail Polsby, MSW
• Marvin Rosenberg, JD, LLM
• Debbie Schechtman, MBA, ex officio
• Nickol Scott-Conerly, PhD
• Bruce Sklarew, MD

Emeritus

• Joan Krash, PhD
• Gerald Perman, MD
• Stanley Sher
• Joseph Slavin, PhD

Friends of the Board

• John Benziger
• Pamela Brewer, MSW, PhD
• John Gordon
• Robert Hirsch
• Marla Spindel

Faculty/Clinical Staff Council

Pat Davis, MSW, Chair

Maryetta Andrews-Sachs, Vice Chair

Program Chairs

Advanced Psychotherapy Training Program

Virginia Hendrickson, MSW, Co-Chair

Betty Ann Kaplan, PhD, Co-Chair

Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Training Program

Benson Forman, PhD, Co-Chair

Jane Nielson, MSW, Co-Chair

Clinical Program on Psychotherapy Practice

Jane Prelinger, MSW, Chair

Central Concepts in Dynamic Psychotherapy

Lenore Shapiro, MSW, Chair

Infant/Young Child Mental Health Training Program

Georgia De Gangi, PhD, Co-Chair

Marc Nemiroff, PhD, Co-Chair

National Group Psychotherapy Institute

Maryetta Andrews-Sachs, MA CGP, Director

John Thomas, MSW, CGP, Dean

Intensive Short-Term Psychotherapy Training Program

Jon Frederickson, MSW, Co-Chair

Barbara Suter, PhD, Co-Chair

Psychotherapy Study Groups

Barbara Cristy, MSW

Center for the Study of Psychotherapies for the Aging

George Saiger, MD, Acting Director

Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes

Robert Ursano, MD, Editor

Alice Fladung, Managing Editor

Forum on Psychiatry and the Humanities

Marshall Alcorn, Chair

FACULTY