UPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY – Dr. Steve Stein

I presented to the Wisconsin College Advisers Association a few years ago on what makes a University valuable to students. An informal meta analysis of studies revealed that students who “feel” valued and “accepted,” tend to stay involved. I often talk about “inspiring” students rather than just teaching content. “Finding meaning” is the developmental challenge for young adults and maybe for all of us. Our international opportunities, the work done in Haiti are wonderful examples of these endeavors.

I have presented faculty workshops focused on “Relationship Based Teaching” and advocated by Parker Palmer and other educators. This pushes us to attend to one of the most important elements of learning; meaningful relationships. We are inspired by not only what we learn, but HOW we learn.

I love UIU because not only are we in the business of teaching, we are in the business of inspiring! Are you ready to be inspired?

Have a wonderful holiday season.

For those who are interested, Dr. Carola Pfortner and I will give a 30 minute talk about our work in Nicaragua this past summer. The presentation will be on December 1, 2011 at 6:30pm in Fayette. We are looking forward talking about developing an internship this summer for a select few students who speak Spanish and want to help us develop much needed community mental health services for adolescents and their families. This should be an outstanding experience!

As mentioned in my previous blog, CMR is interested in having us develop a community mental health center for adolescents in Nicaragua. Much of the underpinning of the program would be based on the treatment philosophy of NorthStar Day Treatment. I wonder if there are undergraduate students in psychology or human services at UIU who would be willing to join us in this adventure? It will be important to know Spanish. I believe this can be a very rich educational experience with credits earned for internship. Perhaps I can teach an undergraduate course in psychology if there are enough students who join us. Are you interested? Let me know.

Living in a Third World country, even as one as beautiful as Nicaragua, has its advantages and disadvantages. One of the “disadvantages” is the inability to find a WI-FI connection when you want. Right now, I am writing my thoughts down hoping to send this to my blog when I finally make a connection. Was my inability to make a connection to the cyber world a complete disadvantage? Not really. I felt strangely liberated from the constant barrage of news, email requests and other technological distractions that besiege me. I was able to make contact with my adult children by phone that offered some comfort that I am still connected to my world in the United States, but for the most part, I allowed myself to immerse in a culture that is warm and welcoming.

We drove from Estelí to Juigalpai to present our workshop. The drive reminded me that punctuality is quite impossible when roads are unpaved for long stretches of time and the drive will be interrupted by the crossing of cows and bulls at unscheduled times. The picture below was taken from my stopped car.

I am quite convinced that a delayed trip to Fayette from Madison would have created considerable angst. Somehow, I surrended to the idea that I had no control over my environment and when I did, I felt I was able to temporarily surrender to a culture that is perhaps less obsessed with time and performance and more focused on the moment. Isn’t that what I always tell my worried clients who see me in psychotherapy? Be in the moment; it is all that we have. I will be referring to this concept later on in my blog.

The workshop was presented to paid and volunteer consultants who work for “Community Based Resources.” This is an international non-profit organization funded by churches to provide services for the mentally and developmentally disabled. We highlighted the most recent brain research and its implications in providing family and community based services to children in order to maximize development in emotionally safe relationships. The most salient feature of our program focused on how fear thwarts learning and brain development while empathy and compassion create the opposite. The implications are self-evident when working with “acting out” children and adolescents. In spite of the 100-degree temperature and high humidity in a room with approximately 35 people, the workshop was very well received. Katharina probably had the most difficult task translating every word spoken by Carola and me. Our PowerPoint, which was translated to Spanish, helped. Below is a picture of me helping a small group of students towards the end of our presentation.

This workshop was so well received by both participants and the program director that a request was passed on to Katharina to repeat it with the parents in the community area. I was very proud.

One major faux pas was committed by me when I was comparing the brain with the “automobile’ and the invisible person inside us as the “driver.” I was clumsily attempting to give examples how the “driver” is responsible for their behavior regardless of the condition of their “automobile.” I was quickly reminded that no one in the audience has an automobile. In fact, cars are a luxury for the very few.

At the end, we raffled two Upper Iowa University shirts. Isn’t it wonderful to see Upper Iowa represented in the Nicaraguan area?

Afterwards, we were invited to visit Aldeas Infantiles SOS, Nicaragua in the same city. This is an amazing project that takes children from ages 0-12 who are neglected, abused or abandoned by their parents. For many of these children, it is a respite from a troubled family who might need some time to heal from emotional wounds that have afflicted them. It is well staffed with loving people and very clean. I walked into the infant room and a small boy named, Alberto, immediately crawled to me, grabbed the bottom of my pants and lifted himself so I can hold him. Every time I tried to leave, he would do the same thing. Here I am with my new friend looking over some behavioral charts with Katharina.

After a long day in the sweltering heat, we met with Ms. Rosalina Flores Obando who was very interested in our NorthStar Adolescent Day Treatment program. For those who are less familiar with this program, NorthStar was established 21 years ago under my supervision and co-ownership 21 years ago. The treatment philosophy is based on some basic premises; (1) adolescents often express their inner turmoil with “acting out” behaviors and (2) a vast majority of us are “hard-wired” to be understood and accepted. With very skilled therapists, we attempt to create an environment that encourages authentic communication and understanding. Dr. Pfortner’s recent research of our population demonstrated an 85% improvement rate in overall psychological functioning at discharge and 3, 5 and 8 years after the adolescent graduated from the program. Since this was not the main thesis of her research, there were many confounding variables that probably inflated the success rate. Albeit, one wonders that if these variables were better controlled, would we achieve similar results? What would the results be in a different culture? We proposed the possibility of inviting undergraduate students to help develop community mental health initiatives under my supervision. Is there interest? I will follow-up this question in my next blog submission. One of the major concerns has been the alarming increase of adolescent suicide. Numbers are difficult to obtain, but I will try.

We have spent a good portion of the day getting ready to present to educational consultants in Juigalpa. This should prove to be very interesting since our presentation will be translated to Spanish. Our major learning objective is to demonstrate that children learn best when they feel supported and accepted. I think it will be a good presentation and I plan to video tape some of it for your viewing.

Did I say 1,400 feet? I was wrong; the “Linda Ojos Finca” (http://www.finca-lindos-ojos.com/Start-E.html) is 1400 meters high which is over 4,200 feet.  Still part of Estili, a very rocky road takes you to this paradise in the Nicaragua National Forest.  The pictures I uploaded can only capture a bit of the glorious scenery and ambience we experienced.  What makes this such a delight is the very conscious sustainability efforts.  Solar panels create electricity for the entire farm.  Food is all organic including fresh milk from their cow.

On Wednesday we will be offering a workshops to teachers on “Understanding Children’s Behavioral Problems.”  This should prove to be a very interesting week.

The view from the dining area

We had a long day of plane travel and landed in Managua in the evening. A three hour car ride took us to to our hosts’ house in Esteli. Conversations with Katharine oriented us to our busy week. This morning, we are headed to their “finca” (farm) approximately 1,400 feet in the mountains. I will say more about their attempts to create a green and sustainable environment in this area. Pictures will follow.

I recently accepted an invitation to research and review community mental health and developmental disabilities programs in the indigenous areas of Nicaragua next week. I am very excited about this opportunity and hope to parlay this initial visit into future classroom opportunities for our undergraduate students at Upper Iowa University who are majoring in psychology and/or human services. I have also communicated this interest with my colleague at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, Rothermal Bascom Professor of Human Ecology, Shepherd Zeldin  (http://www.sohe.wisc.edu/is/ShepherdZeldin.html).  His research interests include the utilization of community resources in helping children and families all around the world. Not surprisingly, our conversations explored mutual interests and future collaborations and research opportunities. Dr. Carola Pförtner, a Ph.D. graduate from the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Counseling Psychology and full-time faculty member of Madison College, will partner with me on this exploratory research visit.

Why Nicaragua? While I was fortunate to visit many countries and hope to teach in the near future at Upper Iowa University’s Hong Kong Center, South America has always captured my imagination. Unique and ancient cultures were decimated and divided by European interests in the 1400s. In spite of the slaughter and enslavement of advanced civilizations, remnants of the past are visible in the many surviving ruins and spirit and customs of a proud people. Nicaragua is also the home of Katharina Pförtner, the sister of Carola. Katharina has devoted the past 20 years advocating and serving the individuals and families of the developmentally disabled. A German native who worked as a special education teacher, she presently trains teachers, health care providers and social workers at “Community Based Rehabilitation,” a non-profit organization providing services to the indigenous countries around the world. Katharina’s professional knowledge and leadership in the field is matched with her devotion that is intense and contagious (http://www.cbm.org/Katharina_Pfoertner-254648.php).

You are invited to join me on this travel log. We will be leaving from Chicago this Saturday July 30th and returning August 7th. I will attempt to write and upload videos and pictures at the end of the day. I go with an open mind and an open heart. But before we depart, allow me to share a little about myself.

I was raised in The Bronx in a neighborhood that was somewhat culturally diverse. In retrospect, we had very limited financial resources, but I never felt “poor.” My family worked hard to make ends meet at “dead end” jobs, but I always believed in a better future if I worked hard and applied myself. The “’hood” was very important to me. Neighbors had tacit permission to correct our behaviors if we were too noisy while playing “stickball” in the street. “Stickball” in the streets? With buses and cars driving by us? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stickball

Please do not think I was “brainy;” I was not. I took underachievement to new levels until my junior year in High School when I began to realize that higher education allowed me choices. Freedom has always been important to me.

I studied at City College of New York in Harlem and received my B.S. and M.S. in psychology. Community service allowed me to find my professional “calling” that academic courses could not. My interest in people and their communities has remained my passion when I had an early epiphany while studying Freud in my “Abnormal Psychology” class. I realized that human beings, as social animals, are hard wired to love and be loved. Anything that gets in the way of that will create psychological, emotional and physical problems. I decided to keep this “revelation” to myself fearing that this notion would be ridiculed, but I hold firm to this idea. I revised my theories about the definition of “love” and my study of the brain recognizes that sometimes this organ has a “mind of its own,” but I stay committed to this idea. Recent brain research and other studies lend credence to what this precocious 19 year old thought 41 years ago! After receiving my Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin in 1977, I became a licensed psychologist and therapist.

After years of working with families and individuals, I established NorthStar Day Treatment program in 1990. Soon after, Ben Farbman, ACSW and valued adjunct faculty member at UIU, assumed administrative responsibilities. This is a program for psychologically disordered teenagers who are either adjudicated and/or at risk for residential treatment. The underpinnings of treatment is based on the belief that all human beings want to be “understood” and that the behaviors that we observe in our troubled teens are the manifestation and communication of hurt, upset, fear or anger. A program was developed that attempted to help teens communicate their authentic “selves” in a more pro-social way. The program rewards authenticity and communication. Unlike many other programs, we do not reward “good” behaviors; for many adolescents, that approach seemed rather short sighted and limited. Another underpinning of treatment is the involvement of families, schools, social workers and other health care providers.

Research completed by Carola demonstrated an 80% success rate when we contacted “alumni” who completed their treatment 3 to 8 years later. This is an astounding success rate that makes all who are associated with this mission very proud. NorthStar has also offered students from UIU to participate in their psychology and human service undergraduate internships. Most have furthered their education by pursuing graduate work in their respective fields.

Look forward to further installments at this address. I welcome and appreciate your thoughts, questions and comments.

Many of our brave men and women soldiers who are fighting our wars in the Middle East are returning home with psychological wounds that are sometimes more disabling than physical wounds.  We owe an enormous debt to our soldiers and the Veteran’s Administration that has been aggressive in diagnosing, treating and preventing “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.”   This has not always been the case.

In 1973, this masters level, long haired, bearded and very idealistic psychotherapist was developing his craft at a community mental health clinic at the tender age of 23 while pursuing his Ph.D. in psychology.  Many of my initial clients were our returning veterans from the Vietnam War.  Not only were they wrongly blamed and shunned by our society, many of them came home with unimaginable psychological wounds and traumas from what they endured and witnessed.  Most coped by keeping their traumatic stories to themselves; but rarely with any success.  Many more succumbed to suicides than were killed in the war.   Indirectly, they became my major teachers about the interactions between the mind, the unconscious, the conscious and the brain.  They also taught and reinforced some basic tenets that I have adopted about the human being and our ability to heal.

When the horrors of 9/11 happened, did you notice the large number of mental health counselors who made themselves available to the survivors of the demise of the World Trade Center?  We now know that when human beings get to share their traumas with other human beings, they decrease the chances of suffering from future mental health problems.  Why is that?  The answer to that question underlies my basic premise about who we are.

I believe that our brains are “hard wired” to share and connect with other human beings.  When we share our humanity with some one who empathizes with our struggles, healing occurs.  Brain research supports this notion.  Being accepted for who we are and what we feel is a major healing salve.  What happens when we keep the experiences to ourselves as a way of avoiding the feelings of our primal pain?  It seems like our unconscious gives expression of our pain in disguised or semi-disguised forms.  Repression, as a defense mechanism, has only limited value and success.  Our “truth” wants expression.  This “truth” will give expression in nightmares while we sleep or during our awake time, which we call “flashbacks.”  We also might find ourselves entering into situations or relationships that tend to reenact the horrors that we witnessed.  This might explain why a child who lives in an alcoholic and abusive family with no opportunity to “work through” the primal pain, will find him or herself, as an adult, choosing a mate who is an alcoholic and dysfunctional.  Most of this is unconscious to us.

Intuitively, I decided to become a empathetic witness to the Vietnam veterans who suffered from PTSD.  I learned that while experiencing the horror of death and destruction in Vietnam, their unconscious worked “overtime” repressing the feelings, affect and sometimes the entire memory of the events.  I noticed that an unconscious deal was being made in the deepest part of their psyche; the unconscious part declared to the person, “I will help numb you to the events that is going on around you in order for you to survive.  In return, you must give expression to what is happening.  If you do not, the torture will present itself in ‘flashbacks’ and other symptoms.”

I learned to be a witness of what our proud vets went through.  What I learned from the Vietnam veterans made me a better therapist for people who suffered from childhood sexual, physical and emotional abuse.  My professional journey also gave me the opportunity to work with people who suffered from “Dissociative Identity Disorder” a.k.a. “Multiple Personality Disorder,” which is a more intense form of PTSD.

In 1988, I presented a paper in Amsterdam that suggested that therapy with people who suffered from PTSD is similar to “debriefing” that occurs immediately after the traumatic event; the difference was in the timing.

If you decide to become a counselor or therapist, I think you will learn that our ability to listen and witness without judgment or prejudice is the most important skill that we can offer our future clients.

What do you know about trauma?  What questions do you have that would enhance your understanding of trauma and PTSD?