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In 2020, Lynn University Clinical Mental Health Counseling Professor Dr. Jonathan Sperry completed an evaluation of how psychological trauma therapy is applied around the world.
Dr. Sperry's research concluded that mental health professionals in the trauma-care field outside of the United States were "largely underprepared, and not feeling competent." As a result of his sabbatical experience, he is even more committed to advocating for the development of mental health professionals worldwide.
Publication Date
Spring 2020
Publisher
Lynn University
City
Boca Raton, FL
Recommended Citation
Sperry, Jon, "2020: Trauma and Resilience: An International Perspective" (2020). Kathleen Cheek-Milby Endowed Faculty Fellowship. 1.
https://spiral.lynn.edu/cheek-milby-faculty-award/1
Comments
In 2020, Lynn University Clinical Mental Health Counseling Professor Jonathan Sperry completed an evaluation of how psychological trauma therapy is applied around the world. At the heart of his research and teaching was Alfred Adler's Theory of Individual Psychology. The theory emphasizes understanding individuals within their environments and also within the context of their sense of social connectedness.
"It's about accessing a person's strengths and resources and looking for pragmatic solutions they can make in their current lives to deal with the problems in front of them," he said. "It's about activating resiliency. It's a very positive and optimistic way of looking at human behavior." Key points of this theory are optimism, resilience and pragmatism.
As part of his research sponsored by the Kathleen Cheek-Milby Endowed Faculty Fellowship Award, Sperry set out in December 2019 to visit 18 countries throughout Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America. His field studies had two objectives: to evaluate the levels of preparedness and training available to mental health practitioners in different cultures, and to host educational workshops on trauma-informed care.
In his first three months of travel, Sperry conducted lectures in Canada, Morocco, Mexico, South Africa and Uruguay. By late February the rest of his stops were cancelled, given travel restrictions caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. "It was disappointing having two-thirds of the stops canceled because of the pandemic," Sperry said. But that did not deter him, and his research continued. Sperry essentially channeled Adler's theory by his own optimism, resilience and pragmatism.
Not content with relying on the data from only the already completed in-person interviews, Sperry utilized remote interviews, surveys and teaching. He hosted virtual interviews and workshops in the remaining countries shut down by the pandemic. He conducted a three-week lecture series for the Chinese Adlerian Society and a two-day series for Trakia University in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria.
"I was able to provide the same training that I would have if I were in the country," he said. "I just needed to adapt the ways of delivering trainings, and my methodology for gathering enough data for my research."
His research concluded that mental health professionals in the trauma-care field outside of the United States were "largely underprepared, and not feeling competent." As a result of his sabbatical experience, he is even more committed to advocating for the development of mental health professionals worldwide.
- Text taken from this Lynn News article.