The
Centerline Vol. 18, Issue 1
www.azdressage.org
JANUARY 2018
Arizona Dressage Association
The System by Susan Downs Parrish, Ph.D. The Superior Unified School District hired me before I completed my dissertation. The dissertation was the final hurdle between me and a Ph.D. Superior, thirty-two miles east of Apache Junction, has been the site of several movies. The surroundings have a ruggedly independent look. I was horrified when the Superintendent of the District introduced me to people as Dr. Parrish. Hammered into the mindset of a humble student, my impulse was to run from the room before the Head of the Ed Psych Department appeared like a meta-human in The Flash to demand an explanation for my decision to impersonate a successful graduate. I exaggerate a little but not much. Despite framing the official document pairing my name with the degree, it took a while to become comfortable with my title. By the end of my first year on the job, I no longer cringed when addressed as Dr. Parrish, but a new wrinkle appeared—one not easily dismissed. My education proved inadequate. I hadn’t been a bad student. I mastered the material in the curriculum, but the gap between what I was Dorie Vlatten-Schmitz presenting a taught and what was needed couldn’t be ignored. People USDF University class hosted by TDC turned to me for answers that were beyond my bag of tricks. In the midst of giving up on psychology, I stumbled onto Ralph M. Reitan, Ph.D., a man who knew that a misdiagnosis was not harmless. Ralph (his students called him Ralph) was a neuropsychologist who understood what it takes to develop the art of arriving at a diagnosis, and yes, coming up with a diagnosis in any branch of psychology is an art. The difference between Ralph and too many other psychologists is that his art was based on science rather than conjecture or supposition or untested hypotheses. Continued on page 4