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At a glance:
First graduating class for the Graduate School of Counseling Psychology, Rosalie shares how it all began.
In 1965, under the direction of Dr. Ken Blaker, Dr. William Yabroff, and Dr. June Chapin, a very small number of students were exposed to several schools of psychology: Behavior Modification, Jungian Theories, and the Humanist School of Communication. Among this group of eager pioneers was Rosalie Mechanic.
"As an example of the leadership skills we were given, many of the graduates went on to become innovators," she said. "I developed the first Counseling Program for the Saratoga School District at Redwood Jr. High; was the Director of the Bill Wilson Counseling Center in Santa Clara, a program that I assisted Dr. Blaker in developing; was an Assistant Professor at Cal Poly SLO; and had a very long and personally gratifying career in private practice."
According to Mechanic, at SCU she and her classmates learned that counseling requires:
- Believing in your vision and having a commitment to each individual's needs
- Being passionate about what you are doing
- Having effective leadership
- Recognizing that there's no one way to resolve a problem, and that oftentimes en eclectic approach may be helpful
- Developing the trust of the teaching staff, your students and their parents
- Having discipline and a talent for developing your preferred target group
- Believing in your students, so that you will have a positive impact and help to inspire them to achieve their goals
Mechanic and her classmates have long since graduated, yet the values she spoke of are still essential to the School of Education and Counseling Psychology.
To this day, Mechanic maintains close ties to Santa Clara University and the Counseling Psychology program. What a gem!