The Student Development Committee provides a unique student voice in the Society, and promotes the interests of students in programs and activities sponsored by the Society.
Read about the candidates for Student Development Committee Chair and then vote at the bottom of the page for this important position in the Society.
Term to begin January 1, 2017
Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
Benjamin N. Johnson
Candidate Statement
Mr Benjamin N. Johnson
My name is Benjamin Johnson and I am a third-year clinical psychology doctoral student at Penn State. Ever since my undergraduate honors project on virtual interventions for insecure attachment, I have been enthralled by the art and science of psychotherapy. My research and clinical work revolve around borderline personality disorder (BPD). I am interested in understanding the heterogeneity of BPD and subtypes of the disorder in order to facilitate treatment outcome. Working with clients suffering with BPD has shown me just how needed psychotherapy research is. I want to bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and front-line psychotherapy to significantly improve clients’ well-being.
I would be honored to bring my interest and experience with psychotherapy and psychotherapy research to the position of Student Development Committee chair. As chair, I would add to the current opportunities afforded students by:
- Facilitating discussion about students’ training needs,
- Translating these needs into resources on the Society website, and
- Fostering integration within and across the domains of research and practice.
I want to further the mission of Division 29 by encouraging young researchers and clinicians to make their ideas known, become involved in APA, and share their voice with the psychotherapy community.
Nicholas Morrison
Candidate Statement
Mr. Nicholas Morrison
As a fifth-year doctoral student in the University of Massachusetts Amherst Psychotherapy Research Lab, I am honored to be considered for the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy’s position of Student Development Committee Chair. Having maintained active involvement in the Society for Psychotherapy Research and the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration, I am eager and excited at the possibility of advocating for fellow graduate students at Division 29.
If elected, I would continue to uphold the standards of excellence exhibited by this organization by addressing the extant responsibilities of the Student Development Committee. Moreover, I am interested in facilitating initiatives related to bridging the gaps between areas related to research and practice, especially as training programs continue to push for an emphasis on one or the other. Additionally, I am interested in advocating for students who hope to engage in career-related objectives outside of traditional research and practice, including those interested in policy formation, administration, and other areas in which students have likely received less intensive training. I hope that by fostering dialogues in these areas not often adequately addressed in training programs that the next generation of psychologists can more adequately discuss these important issues.