Going outside the field to further the field

APA?s Committee on Urban Initiatives provides a model for reaching out to partners beyond psychology.

By Rebecca A. Clay

When APA?s Committee on Urban Initiatives first approached the Private Industry Council (PIC) of the City of New York, Inc., the council was a little dumbfounded, remembers committee chair Janis Sanchez-Hucles, PhD.

'Their initial concern was, ?How can psychologists help us? All they do is `shrink people,?' says Sanchez-Hucles, a psychology professor at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. 'They started out thinking that all we do is handle mental health problems. Now they know we have a broad array of talents that are directly related to the current problems in urban environments.'

Since that original meeting in 1995, the committee and PIC have forged a unique collaboration that has helped PIC better achieve its goal of providing job training to the unemployed.

Buoyed by that success, the committee is now seeking additional partners as it works toward its own goal of using psychology to improve urban life. And it?s hoping that other groups of psychologists, such as divisions and state psychological associations, will follow the committee?s lead and reach out to new partners of their own.

Acting as a catalyst

'What APA and PIC have done in New York is phenomenal,' says PIC deputy director Mark Molisani. 'We?ve made tremendous progress in linking the two disciplines in a way that hasn?t intimidated anybody.'

The collaboration?s proudest accomplishment so far has been a February 1997 conference called 'Beyond theory: practical strategies for employment and training professionals.' Aimed at people on the frontlines of job training, the conference let psychologists share their ideas about ways to enhance job training. Participants learned new skills, such as using cognitive psychology to build cognitive skills (e.g., self-motivation) in job training, identifying learning disabilities and substance abuse problems and knowing when to make referrals to mental health professionals. They also learned techniques for handling burnout and other issues in their own lives.

The conference?which was attended by 500?was such a success that the job trainers wanted to learn more, says Molisani. The result was a four-part series of consultations called 'Inoculation against setback,' led by psychologist Richard H. Price, PhD. Price runs a program for displaced auto-workers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

'The general conference led to a specific application where psychology was brought in and made user-friendly,' says Molisani, adding that the council is also planning to develop new training manuals that will incorporate behavioral research. 'We didn?t want to give people the idea that they were going to become clinical psychologists, but we did want to expose them to some of the basic psychological principles.'

These are just the kind of results the committee likes to see, says Sanchez-Hucles.

'Our committee?s role is to be a catalyst,' she explains, noting that the committee?s current project is to link PIC up with a specialist in program evaluation who could help the council come up with a model for a variety of funding proposals. 'We don?t see ourselves as necessarily providing the services. We see ourselves as the brokers that bring together psychologists and other individuals who are committed to making the cities a better place for everyone.'

Spreading the word

Because the collaboration with New York?s Private Industry Council has been so productive, the committee now hopes to work with similar PICs around the country. In fact, one of the committee?s ongoing goals is to replicate the 'Beyond theory' conference in at least half a dozen major cities.

To make that dream a reality, the committee hopes to work with state associations to identify psychologists whose expertise matches the needs of each area?s PIC. Instead of flying psychologists in, having them speak and flying them out again, the committee hopes to foster long-term relationships that are ripe for further collaboration, says Sanchez-Hucles.

In the meantime, the committee is reaching out to other potential partners, such as the National Urban League, National Education Association and National PTA. It?s also encouraging other groups of psychologists to make their own connections with groups they may never have considered as possible partners. Psychological research and practice has a wealth of information and assistance to offer in wrestling with the problems of our cities. But to be of service, psychology must make its presence felt, the committee believes.

'These kind of collaborations allow psychologists to achieve a dual goal,' says Dorothy W. Cantor, PsyD, who launched the original task force that went on to became the Committee on Urban Initiatives. 'We can provide services people haven?t thought about asking us to provide before, and we can open the community?s eyes to what psychology can do for them. Both of these expand the marketplace for psychology.'

Rebecca A. Clay is a writer in Washington, D.C.

Additional information about the Feb. 6 Committee on Urban Initiatives/Private Industry Council conference for employment and training professionals can be obtained by calling (202) 336-6149.