Continuing Conversations September 2024

Greetings Alumni! And a tremendously joyful welcome to our new Alumni – the Class of 2024!

Welcome to your late Summer Edition of Continuing Conversations. We hope this newsletter finds you well. Here in the Office of Alumni, it has been a productive and exciting Summer. We have deepened our work immensely. We are so blessed by our new alumni. We are nurturing evolving alumni rhythms, tending to our new directory (see below!), and having wonderful conversations about expanding our community connections.

Huge News: Please join our new Alumni Directory!

We are now ready to welcome all alumni to join! We are ecstatic and hope you’ll enjoy it and find it helpful!

• Signing up is free –here!
• This is a public-facing resource
• If you are working in multiple states you will need to list each state in the Service Area to be searched for by location.
• We have broad vocational categories. Please use detailed language in your bio for the purpose of searching–for example ‘offers telehealth,’ ‘accepts insurance,’ or your church affiliation or denomination.
• Search functionality will be officially up and running in a couple of weeks after we get a bulk of alumni listings approved.
• If you have any feedback, questions, or needs related to this new tool please don’t hesitate to let us know at alumni@theseattleschool.edu!

Lastly, please contact me if you have any concerns about your email access or contacts – we have a new database and are working on improving all of our alumni data management – any issues can be sent directly to me at jskillman@theseattleschool.edu!

We send you all our love,
Jocelyn Skillman MACP ‘13
Supervisor of Alumni Outreach

Tributes

Over these past several months, several in our alumni community have known significant heartache as we have grieved the deaths of Elle Malmstrom MACP ’20, Tos Fackenthall MACP ’10, and Laurie Hovis MACP ’17. Thank you so much for sharing these tributes with us: 

• Tos’ tribute by Andrew Bauman, MACP ’10
• Laurie’s tribute by Maddy Miller, MACP ’17
• Elle’s tribute by Emersyn Hvile, MACP ’21

Please continue to pray for these three beautiful alumni, their families, and their circles of connection.

School News

Join Us at Convocation!

Convocation is around the corner! Please save the date and join us this September 14 at St. Mark’s Cathedral as we welcome, mark, and bless our incoming cohort and community! We strive to have every year of our school’s life walk with us through your alumni representation of a great embodied cloud of witnesses in our convocation ceremony & procession – contact alumni@theseattleschool.edu to RSVP by September 12 and get more details!

Alumni Support

MACP graduates: State Licensure process guidance varies wildly and uniquely depending on when you graduated, your coursework, and what the current guidelines are state-by-state — please contact Student & Academic Services if you have any licensure-related needs and they can help with advising. Sign up here for a meeting! 

Thank You to Our (S)ending Alumni Workshop Leaders! 

We want to extend a huge thank you to the incredible Bethany Bylsma MACP ‘16, Dan Cumberland MATC ‘13, Paula Womack MACP ‘10, and Martha McNeely MACP ‘17 who each led just incredible workshops for our graduating class’ (S)ending Season – on Private Practice, Entrepreneurship, Community Mental Health, and Finances 101, respectively! If you’d like to get in on their wisdom please email us at alumni@theseattleschool.edu and we will share their workshops and materials with their blessing!

IFPE Conference in Seattle

The International Forum For Psychoanalytic Education is hosting a conference in Seattle on October 17-19 that will have a large number of alumni presenters in attendance – and Dr. Caprice Hollins (former faculty) and John Totten MACP ‘12 will both be receiving IFPE’s Distinguished Educator awards! Congratulations! Please check out the conference website for more info and join your fellow alumni! 

Alumni Spotlight

Thank you Charlie Howell, MACP’16 for welcoming us into your life as we spotlight you and your passion for storytelling as a business consultant, tutor, and photographer. Learn more about Charlie’s journey and see some of the photos from his time as a student.

Read More about Charlie

Alumni News & Offerings

• Alejandra Morris, MACP ’20 received the Local Chapter Service Award at the upcoming APA Division 39 conference in April; this award is given to graduate students or early-career clinicians in recognition of service to their local psychoanalytic chapter organization, which in this case is the Northwest Alliance for Psychoanalytic Study (NWAPS). Congratulations, Alejandra!
• Dr. Lauren Sawyer MATC ’14 and Rebekah Vickery LMHC, MACP ’21, along with colleague Tessie Muskrat MA (University of Missouri – Columbia), represented the Purity Culture Research Collective at the APA convention in Seattle on August 9, 2024. Together, they presented on the topic of “Sexuality and gender identity development in evangelical Christian purity culture.” 
• Knox Burnett MACP ‘13 recently released a second full-length album under the project name Willder! The album, entitled Entropy, was written over 4 years and was recently released digitally on streaming services and vinyl. Entropy brings into focus a wildly disruptive and transformative time in the artist’s personal life that undoubtedly resonates collectively.  Find Willder on any and all streaming services (Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Youtube) or purchase vinyl by emailing willderband@gmail.com.
• Rachel Elder MACP ’17 and Connected Couples Counseling is offering the Bringing Baby Home Class on October 12 and 19 from 9:00-3:00 PST virtually. Learn how to enhance your relationship satisfaction with your partner and your baby. $500 per couple, including digital learning materials. Register by emailing admin@connectedcouplescounseling.co
• Lindsay Braman MACP ’19 continues to create incredible visual content making counseling skills & wisdom accessible and aesthetically gorgeous through her digital illustration work – she recently made a freaking gorgeous – check out her new, amazing NCE visual exam prep and share widely!
• Julia Beck MACP ’24 is a recent MACP grad and amazing photographer –If you or someone you know needs a portrait photographer (for families, headshots, seniors photos, etc.) reach out here! She just moved to Bellingham, but is frequently in the Seattle area.
• Victoria Hudson MACP ’22  is seeking thought partners, advocates, shared intersections and resources around their evolving clinical work. They share: “This year, my work which previously focused on clients seeking support after or in the midst of mid to high-level interpersonal traumas has intersected with a high level of women with hEDS or POTS, whose medical experiences have tended to be systemically avoidant, abusive or bordering on unethical. My approach to counseling now continues to move more toward a clinical social work support style, intermixing advocacy and counseling, within a psychodynamic liberation frame. I am actively seeking out trauma-informed resources within WA State and beyond whose work with dysautonomia, and chronic health conditions can help to offer a more holistic approach to support for clients ranging and their close family members.” They can be contacted at: Victoria@restorativeresiliencecounseling.us
• Amber Englund MACP ’15 has been networking with the Family Support Consortium through Arc of King County which includes UW Autism Center and Children’s Hospital among other local non-profits for the past year – she has created a new consultation service – a 90-minute Family Support Navigation service. Go, Amber!
• Eli Harwood MACP ‘08 was featured on Good Morning America on August 31! Eli Harwood is a licensed therapist who lives in Colorado with her husband, Trevor, and their three children. Eli has been nerding out on attachment research for the past two decades and is on a mission to help make the world a better place, one relationship at a time. She continues this mission in her clinical work, her writing, and running her mouth about attachment on social media. Visit her at AttachmentNerd.com or you can follow her on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook at attachmentnerd, where she has nearly a million followers
• Do you have any news? Let us know: jskillman@theseattleschool.edu

Faculty News

Goodbye to Dr. Stephanie Neill

Dr. Stephanie Neill has officially retired as of this academic year’s close. Dr. Neill dedicated over 20 years to teaching and training students, laboring alongside Christie Lynk, Steve Call, Chelle Stearns, Dr. Caprice Hollins, Roy Barsness, Jo-Ann Badley (to name a few!) and those still here to shape The Seattle School for the next generation of students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Many of us are recipients of her grounding clinical knowledge and ethical expertise. Stephanie’s passion for poetry and learning, participation in our life together, deep kindness, and ready laugh have marked us all. She will always be a part of us.

Welcome Dr. Lizz Barton!

Dr. Elizabeth (Lizz) Barton has joined the faculty of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology! A licensed clinical psychologist in the state of Washington, she has received a degree in Psychology from Concordia University-Portland, a Master’s degree in Theology from Fuller Seminary as well as a PhD in Clinical Psychology at Fuller’s Graduate School of Psychology. She has taught undergraduate courses in psychology and world religions, directed the training program for master’s-level and doctoral-level counseling students at Pacific Lutheran University Counseling Services, and served as the director of the Counseling Center at PLU.

While Dr. Barton has worked in a variety of mental health settings, her passion is engaging emerging adults in meaningful therapy and investing in the development, training, and mentoring of the next generation of deeply human and present clinicians. We’re excited about the gifts and talents she brings to our faculty and we look forward to growing together with her in our relational community.

Board Games & Mental Health Conversations

Check out the Board Games & Mental Health series on our YouTube channel with Dr. Paul Hoard, Dr. Jermaine Ma, and Paul Steinke MACS ’05, MACP ’23. Take a look at the latest Episode 4 here. The series began with the game Turncoat, posted earlier in 2024.

Faculty Publications & Presentations

• Dr. Joyce del Rosario, Adjunct Faculty, has a chapter in the new book Theopoetics in Color: Embodied Approaches in Theological Discourse.
• See the Alumni News section for Dr. Lauren Sawyer’s presentation at the American Psychological Association Convention in Seattle this summer.
• See the Alumni News section for Dr. Doug Shirley’s publication in the AMHCA’s The Advocate.

Center for Transforming Engagement News

• Looking for a personal growth opportunity this fall with the support of a community? Resilience Circles offer a unique, transformative journey of personal growth, connection, and resilience. This fall, we’re excited to also add new Resilience Circles dedicated to women in ministry. All are welcome for our new round of Resilience Circles led by Dr. Rose Madrid Swetman. Click here to find out more about joining a Resilience Circle!
  
• Listen to the latest season of Transforming Engagement: the Podcast! This season, we’re focusing on Women in Ministry with a wise, gifted, diverse group of women leaders. We hope you’ll find these conversations inspiring and practical—whether you are a woman in ministry, a leader from any marginalized background, or if you’re passionate about empowering all of God’s people to lead and serve in the ministry they feel called to. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or stream the episodes on our website.
• Coming up this fall: Transforming Communities Workshops for teams and coaches! Transforming Communities workshops aim to help congregations and organizations understand their local context, and match their organization’s strengths to the needs and opportunities of the community in order to design relevant projects that create meaningful impact. Click here for more information on workshop offerings and how to get enrolled! 

The Allender Center News

• Explore Online Courses: Fall is the perfect time to continue your journey of learning and growth. We invite you to explore our library of signature Online Courses from the Allender Center, thoughtfully designed to help you navigate the complex issues of trauma and abuse at your own pace. Whether you’re an individual seeking personal development or a leader looking to facilitate group learning, we offer group pricing and comprehensive leader guides to support your goals. Discover more at: theallendercenter.org/online-courses.
• Welcoming a new training cohort of Narrative Focused Trauma Care: This fall, we are thrilled to welcome our new training cohorts in Narrative Focused Trauma Care, Levels I, II, and III. This program is ideal for those looking to enrich their counseling practice or ministry work with advanced trauma care skills. We invite you to join us in Fall 2025 and take the next step in your professional journey. CEUs are included in this training. You can learn more about Narrative Focused Trauma Care Level I at theallendercenter.org/trainings

The Other Journal Updates

Check out the new issue of The Other Journal for an exploration of Church from ableism and racism to mystical theology, stories, and poetry. Sign up to receive the free newsletter of The Other Journal where each month Editor-in-Chief Zac Settle shares insights and curated recommendations! For more access to each new issue and the archive, subscribe to The Other Journal! Check out our latest call for papers on the topic of death. The next issue drops in late November!

Community Links

• “How Am I Responsible?” Seminar offered by Paul Hoard, PhD and Earl Bland, PsyD. Find more information and register here.
• Check out the events presented by the Contemporary Psychodynamic Institute:
• Alumni community audit voucher & reduced tuition: view the 2024-2025 course schedule and email academics@theseattleschool.edu for details and class availability.
• Interested in working at The Seattle School? Take a look at Current Openings.
• The Seattle School Alumni Association Facebook Group
• The Seattle School LinkedIn

Alumni Announcements & News

If you would like to place an announcement or share news in our upcoming quarterly alumni newsletter, please email Jocelyn Skillman at jskillman@theseattleschool.edu. Thank you!