THE Landmark Law Spotlights Grief
Just four days into this year, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law S3330/A5015, a bill mandating that grief education is now part of the health education curriculum in every New Jersey school district.
Statistics reported by the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (childrengrieve.org), indicate that nearly 5 million American children will experience the loss of a family member before reaching the age of 18. Children and adolescents who experience familial loss are at high risk for depression, anxiety, diminished academic performance and issues related to low self-esteem.
Designed for students in grades 8 to 12, the curriculum covers the physical, emotional and behavioral symptoms of grief and teaches techniques for coping with loss. Students will also have access to in-school mental health and crisis support, and therapy, on an individual or group basis.
In announcing this legislation, Murphy spoke of his own experiences of loss and his hope that grief education will help students develop resiliency as they face one of life’s greatest challenges.
The bill was a bipartisan effort; Senator Joseph Cryan, a sponsor of the bill, said, “The youth mental-health crisis is real, and it is troubling.Their exposure to stress, loss and trauma has increased in recent years, making them more vulnerable to the negative consequences that can impact their lives. Making them aware of the symptoms of trauma, informing them of available resources, offering coping techniques, and giving them the opportunity to express their grief can make a real difference in their health and well-being. In fact, it can save lives.”
See related story on page 3
Mental Health a Leading Career Sector
The need for qualified mental health professionals continues to grow—and there is no end in sight. According to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, there is unrelenting demand for skilled providers due to the exponential increase in mental illness
in these post-pandemic years. A growing prevalence in alcohol and drug abuse, gun violence, and suicide have coalesced into a national crisis, one widely acknowledged by both the government and the public alike.
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A MESSAGE FROM Executive Director Vicki G. Semel
Dear ACAP Alumni and Supporters,
As the content of this newsletter affirms, ACAP is uniquely positioned at an inflection point in the global mental health crisis. Despite the professional challenges we face, we are continually inspired by the resilience of the human spirit.
I hope you’ll enjoy reading profiles of our alumni who have taken their education into new realms, embracing new opportunities. These are remarkable individuals whose unwavering commitment to serving others is a shining example.
The word “remarkable” recalls our colleague, Dr. Frederick “Maurice” Lovell, who passed away on April 4 at the age of 94. His legacy of visionary leadership as our administrative director paved the way for the growing organization we are today. We will remember him with affection and gratitude.
It is not an overstatement to say that ACAP cannot exist without our alumni, donors, and philanthropic foundations, whose support allows us to fulfill our mission, by building new academic programs, enhancing technology in our virtual classroom, and providing scholarships for deserving students. Together, we engage in Tikkun Olam: We repair the world. Your generous gifts are vital to our ability to provide education and training, and to meet the needs of individuals and families who are suffering and reach out to us for help.
If you are a current donor, please continue to give to ACAP; if you are a new donor, I warmly welcome you into our caring community.
Thank you.
Best wishes,
Vicki Semel, PsyD Executive Director
MISSION AND VISION
ACAP promotes and prioritizes optimal mental health in communities through teaching, training, and treating, as we apply the transformative power of talk and listening therapies.
Through their training in the application of effective interventions and acquired clinical skills, ACAP and BGSP students and graduates work toward a future in which issues of mental health will be addressed with the deepest empathy, respect and compassion and resolved in ways that meet unique individual needs.
ACAP offers a Post Graduate Psychoanalytic Certificate. The Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis (BGSP) offers master’s degrees, in clinical mental health counseling, and in psychoanalysis, as well as a post-master’s certificate in clinical mental health counseling.
ACAP Meets Crisis on the Front Lines
September 11, COVID-19, October 7: For more than thirty years, professionals from ACAP have been working with survivors of these, and other, traumatic events. The Applied Division arose with the realization that clinical tools could be applied successfully in many other arenas, including community settings. Over time, trauma and resilience studies became integral components in ACAP’s coursework, including specific training for serving challenged or crisis-stricken populations.
Leveraging a robust professional network that spans the globe, ACAP offers, via remote video conference platforms, individual and group sessions for civilian populations mired in traumatic events. Training is also available for mental health professionals and clergy working within affected communities. ACAP’s unique clinical approach in a crisis environment: Focusing on supporting emotional defenses, creating a safe space for talking, working collaboratively in treatment, and providing resilience-building tools, has proven effective.
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A Hero in Our Midst
“Grief is the elephant in the room,” says Mary Robinson. She should know: A renowned expert in the field of grief therapy, Robinson has spent decades of her life working to bring grief out of the shadows and into the public eye.
The pivotal experience of Robinson’s life was the death of her father when she was 14 years old, a tragic milestone but one that ultimately led her to her life’s work: Helping those who are suffering from its aftermath. “Walk into any therapist’s office, Twelve-Step meeting, or prison, and you will hear many stories of grief and loss,” she says.
After her father died, Robinson’s grades plummeted, she quit her usual school activities and became withdrawn. “I wasn’t a bad kid, I was a sad kid,” she says. A safe space, in which she and her older brother could have expressed their emotions, would have been a great resource, she explains.“My mom had an outlet in other adults, but my brother and I had no one—we never got to tell our story. I would’ve given anything to have had someone to talk to,” she explains.
Robinson entered therapy at age 24, and was soon on a path to self-discovery, with a growing interest in learning about behavior, resilience, and grief. She became a hospice volunteer, expanding her knowledge of end-of-life issues and bereavement, and earned a certificate in thanatology.
“I do this work to make sure other kids don’t lose years of their life to unresolved grief,” she said. “The death of a parent is a trauma for a child. But it doesn’t have to leave a child traumatized if they get support.” Children of different ages experience grief differently, she says, adding, “Children re-grieve, and as they grow older, they miss their
parents in a whole other way. When a 5-year-old’s dad dies, he misses him in one way, but when that child starts Little League at age 10 and sees lots of other dads around, he might get angry and start acting out. Kids need support at different stages of their development. There’s no timeframe to grieve, and it’s different for everybody.”
“My mom had an outlet in other adults, but my brother and I had no one—we never got to tell our story. I would’ve given anything to have had someone to talk to.”
In 2003 Robinson founded Good Grief, a nonprofit organization that provides direct programming for children and families, as well as education on grief in public schools. Three years later, she became the first executive director of the organization, whose mission is to help children coping with loss due to death, by develop coping tools, while creating communities of support in which they can heal and resume leading healthy lives.
“Kids need to know that what they are feeling is normal and that they are not alone. The single thing that helps is one or more caring adults,” she says.
In 2007 Robinson attended an ACAP open house for prospective students
and was immediately ‘sold’. “I felt like ACAP gave me the keys to the kingdom in understanding human behavior, and it changed my life,” she says. In 2011 she earned a master’s in applied psychoanalysis and continued on her path to become a psychoanalyst through ACAP. After graduating she founded Imagine, a grief organization in Westfield and Newark, New Jersey, to offer peer grief support groups for New Jersey children ages 3–18 and young adults, up to age 30, who are coping with the loss of a parent, sibling, a close family member or other significant person. She says ACAP was her “clinical North Star” in creating the organization.
In 2019, in what she calls “one of the highlights of my life,” Robinson was honored by the CNN news network during a broadcast in which she was named one of the year’s ten “CNN Heroes” chosen from across the nation; CNN news anchor Andersen Cooper bestowed the awards.
In 2022 Robinson retired from Imagine, opened a private practice, and has come back full circle as a volunteer for Good Grief. Her journey to bring comfort and healing to those who are grieving continues to benefit countless lives.
Robinson receiving her CNN Heroes Award from program host, Anderson Cooper, in 2019.
She Danced Her Way Into a Career Embracing a Long-Held Dream
The first thing you learn, when speaking with Dr. Mary Massaro: she is passionate, pragmatic, perspicacious, and somewhat of a renegade. The more you listen to her, it quickly dawns on you: The woman is a force of nature.
Students call her “The Feelings Teacher.” Together they discuss emotions, relationships, anxieties, bullying, and other issues.
taking one class at a time while committed to her career as a public school teacher. Over more than twenty years, taking one class at a time, Horan earned a master in psychoanalysis at Centenary College as well as a master in mental health counseling with the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis (BGSP).
When she was eligible to retire from teaching, she pursued her dream of becoming a school counselor and was hired by a small private school, where she works under the supervision of an ACAP faculty member, with the goal of becoming a licensed professional counselor (LPC).
encouraged, through creative strategies, to build community, promote the value of empathy, and value the opinions of others.
“The wealth of knowledge and experience provided by the ACAP community during my extended schooling propelled me toward my goal of helping others.” Finally able to share her extensive education and experiences, Horan is grateful to be living her dream.
Her journey to becoming a psychoanalyst began on a rather unconventional path. She attended New York’s High School of Performing Arts, and her career blossomed when she became a professional dancer. She had long had a fascination with the mind-body connection, an interest that led her to work within the field of dance therapy, teaching and training a variety of populations, from in-patient psychiatric hospitals, to schools whose children were diagnosed with developmental delays. In 1981 she joined the faculty at C.W. Post campus of Long Island University, where she taught graduate courses in movement science, dance therapy and stress management, among other subjects.
Massaro then embarked upon a career path offshoot, when she joined a multidisciplinary pain management group practice that welcomed her background in the concepts of body/mind healing. For many of her patients, the work on cultivating a mind-body connection was a last resort, but fortunately one that became, for the majority, a new lease on life.
To foster her lifelong fascination with the human psyche, in 1986, Massaro began her own analysis, and after 10 years “on the couch,” she enrolled as a student in the certificate program at ACAP. After receiving her certification in psychoanalysis, she opened her private practice and years later registered in the accelerated doctoral program at the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis (BGSP), making the four-
Pictured is Horan processing with her high school students on their graduation day.
plus-hours trek commuting to and from New Jersey to Boston in one day, every other week, for three years, earning her a doctorate in psychoanalysis.
She helped pioneer the concept of virtual practice in 2003, when she first began seeing patients via Skype, and now provides psychoanalysis to individuals all around the globe through her virtual practice.
Although some in the psychoanalytic community were skeptical of the virtual format, the COVID-19 pandemic proved Massaro was prescient: Therapists everywhere had to pivot quickly and adapt. Massaro saw new opportunities for people who are homebound or living in remote areas to gain access to therapy through virtual platforms. “It took a lot of chutzpah for me to stay true to my vision,” she admits. During the pandemic, she ran workshops for those she whimsically named the
“Internet Naïves,” helping therapists to get past their reluctance to move to providing online services. As a visible presence for many years in the psychoanalytic community, Massaro’s message of adapting to change held great sway with her fellow professionals.
Looking back on her career, Massaro says, “I’ve loved every single part of my trajectory; it has been joyful, and I can’t be more appreciative of the support and encouragement I’ve received from ACAP every step of the way.”
A Leap of Faith That Led to a New Life
Imagine that opportunity knocks for you, but your big chance requires leaving everything behind: Your native home, extended family, culture, and hard-earned professional credentials.
Dr. Cassio Campello de Menezes, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, experienced this seismic shift in his life when his wife, also a physician, was offered an exceptional position with a pharmaceutical company in the United States. So, after resigning from his position as a hospital anesthesiologist, he, his wife, and their nine-year-old son packed up their lives, moving to Chatham, New Jersey—literally and figuratively a world apart.
Once they had settled into their new home, Campello began thinking about making a career change: Medical licensure is not equivalent between Brazil and the United States. Combined with this reality was an even greater impetus: Working as an anesthesiologist in Brazil
had been unrelentingly stressful. “You have to work [in anesthesiology] as if you’re a professional athlete,” he says, adding that the hours were grueling: A 60-hour workweek, including a weekly
night shift, and a bi-weekly weekend shift. As the years went by, he says he saw many of his colleagues suffering from career burnout.
Campello had cultivated an interest in psychotherapy, which grew from his own experience as a patient in psychoanalysis. After moving to New Jersey, he found ACAP’s website and realized that becoming a psychoanalyst was within the realm of possibility. At that point, “ I felt a love for the field,” he says.
He enrolled with BGSP in 2019, graduated with a master’s in 2022, earned his associate counseling license last year, and is now working toward full licensure as an licensed professional counselor (LPC). He is also an adjunct lecturer in the psychology and counseling department at Caldwell University in Caldwell, New Jersey. This has all
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Dr. Cassio Campello Menezes with his family
Dr. Mary Massaro
CAREER SECTOR
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In 2021 the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) issued a national state of emergency in child and adolescent health, which was followed by related advisories from the US Surgeon General in 2021, and 2023.
Among recommendations made by AAP, AACAP and CHA:
• Increase federal funding dedicated to ensuring all families and children, from infancy through adolescence, can access evidence-based mental health screening, diagnosis, and treatment
FRONT LINES
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September 11th and its aftermath revealed a growing need for crisis training and services. During the following year, ACAP’s volunteers provided critical incident services for more than 3,000 survivors and their families, free of charge. Recipients included child advocacy/protection workers, hostage negotiators, school districts, domestic violence workers and mental health and medical professionals, among others. Dr. Patricia Bratt, a director at ACAP, who has served on the New Jersey Governor’s Task Force on PTSD, organized the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) program at ACAP in 2001 and to this day continues training
• Improve access to technology to assure continued availability of telemedicine
• Accelerate adoption of effective and financially sustainable models of integrated mental health care in primary care pediatrics, including clinical strategies and models for payment
• Promote and fund trauma-informed care services that support relational health and family resilience
• Strengthen emerging efforts to reduce the risk of suicide in children and
adolescents through prevention programs in schools, primary care, and community settings
• Accelerate strategies to address long-standing workforce challenges in child mental health, including innovative training programs, loan repayment, and intensifying efforts to recruit underrepresented populations into mental health professions
The forecast for growth in mental health professions is a boon for current mental health professionals as well as those considering the field for the first time. The employment of substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors is projected to grow (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014), much faster than the average for all occupations.
therapists and volunteers in critical incident support techniques.
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the immediate mobilization of multiple online support and training groups for the community and professionals such as clergy, domestic violence intervention, emergency health workers, and educators. Special training curricula and support for mental health professionals thrust into adapting to a telehealth environment was especially valuable.
Since 2022 and the inception of the war in Ukraine, ACAP has provided virtual mental health services, conferences and supervision sessions to struggling individuals in that country as well as to Ukrainians around the world who fled their homeland and are now refugees.
These services are available thanks to the networking efforts of Ukrainians in the ACAP learning community. In response to the crisis in Israel that began on October 7, ACAP launched an initiative to provide resources for those caught up in the initial devastation; support that has continued in the ongoing conflict. Individual and group sessions, mental health professional care and training, and community leader support groups are offered for those in need.
ACAP’s expertise in remote learning, both domestically and internationally, has brought together a robust clinical community and relationships that can be called upon when there is an emergent need for trauma and emotional care services. Leveraging inherent strengths in volunteer recruitment, networking, and developing a coordinated response, coupled with compassionate interest, provides vital support that gives rise to resilience and renewal among those who are suffering the impact of trauma.
“WHY I GIVE”
In 2003, Morris “Moe” Freedman joined ACAP as a volunteer; over time he served on the Board of Trustees as a member and former Board president. Before joining ACAP he had done volunteer work for several nonprofit agencies, but they weren’t the ‘right fit,’ he says, adding that at ACAP he was treated as a colleague and his work experience in teaching was valued. He had served as a volunteer fundraiser in the nonprofit world.
Compelled by ACAP’s mission, Freedman has provided not just his own financial support, but has contributed in countless ways by lending his skills to bolster ACAP’s fundraising efforts.
“ACAP is special,” he says, adding “It is recognized as one of the nation’s leading providers of distant learning and the virtual training of psychoanalysts across the country and around the world. My hope is that, one day, ACAP will fulfill its potential, becoming a community mental health center offering a full range of services for families and individuals of all ages. Imagining that bright future is why I continue giving to ACAP.”
LEAP OF FAITH continued from page 5
been possible, he emphasizes, because his wife has been the primary breadwinner. He says their life here is safer and calmer, but adds that he and his wife have made few friends. Fortunately, “ACAP is my second home,” he says, adding, “The faculty, staff, and students are welcoming, warm, and concerned. It’s amazing how we learn the concepts that help us evolve through learning and listening, and the structure is flexible.”
Since November of last year he has been working for ACAP’s North Jersey Counseling Center (NJCC), and finds that blending techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical therapy have enhanced his work. In the future he plans to work more with adolescent and senior populations. His is a story of reinvention that inspires others by example.
“I graduated from ACAP in 2016 after completing the certificate program in psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis changed my life, but it was my training at ACAP that has altered and determined my professional life.
ACAP and BGSP graduates are always evolving! Here are a few alumni updates:
“I am a mobile therapist and behavior consultant, an unlicensed, master’slevel position, working with children in and around my community of Pen Argyl, PA and am in the process of becoming a licensed associate counselor in New Jersey. The skills I learned from BGSP become even more relevant as time goes on.”
NICK BREZA, MHC nicholas.breza@gmail.com
Currently I live in Cyprus, my native country, where I have a private psychoanalytic practice: It’s going great—and it’s all because of ACAP.”
—DR. PARIS KASSINOS
Certified Psychanalyst ACAP Certificate ‘16 p_kassinos@hotmail.com
“Hello, fellow alums! For the past ten years I have been VP of Outpatient Services for Bridgeway Behavioral Health Services, enjoying my upward career trajectory! The training I acquired at ACAP has helped me to better understand myself and others, and this has helped me in every area of my life, both professionally and personally.”
STEPHANIE SIMON
LCSW, NCPsyA, CCS, DRCC stephanie.simon@bridgewaybhs.org
“Where Are They Now?”
Morris “Moe” and his wife
Nancy at the ACAP alumni event in April.
Rosemary McGee
John Miele
Abigail Miller
David Rosenthal
Vicki Semel
Eva Silver
Lisa Thomas
Annette Vaccaro
FACULTY EMERITUS
Frederick “Maurice” Lovell (dec.)
THE QUEST
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1
A Publication of ACAP’s Fundraising Committee
ACAP | Academy of Clinical & Applied Psychoanalysis
Christina Hall, Writer/Editor
Lynne DeLade, Graphic Designer
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Phone: 973.629.1001
Fax: 973.629.1003
Email: acapnj@acapnj.org
Website: acapnj.org
In Memoriam
The ACAP community mourns the passing of Dr. Frederick “Maurice” Lovell, on April 9, 2024, at the age of 94.
A scientist and scholar, among his many achievements was his work in tandem with other researchers at Columbia University, where he assisted in the discovery of the structure of insulin, leading to the development of a synthetic version of the hormone.
In his 50s, Dr. Lovell developed an interest in psychoanalysis, and spent the remainder of his life in the field. He was a founding member of the American Board for Accreditation in Psychoanalysis (ABAP).
From 1988 until his retirement, Dr. Lovell served as ACAP’s administrative director, faculty member, supervisor and training analyst, and passionate fundraiser. He engaged actively in legislative activities, advocating for the field of psychoanalysis to be recognized as an independent, mental health profession.
A Note of Thanks!
ACAP is grateful to Lillesol Kane and David Beck for hosting more than 20 ACAP alumni at a spring brunch at their home on April 7. It was a wonderful afternoon of sharing stories, successes, milestones and laughter!
Top left: Dr. Rosemary McGee, Dr, John Miele, Rafe Sharon, Dr. Patricia Bratt; Top right: Susan Saunders, Eva Silver, Dr. Judy Ashworth
Left: Dr. Vicki Semel and Dr. Moe Freedman.
Watch for news of our first scholarship campaign, launching this fall!
Dr. Frederick “Maurice” Lovell