Dr. Jenny Chien, Associate Professor of Counseling, has been named as Assistant Director of Clinical Training for Richmont’s online campus.
Dr. Stan Hoover, Director of Richmont’s Online Modality, and Assistant Dean of the School of Counseling stated, “Clinical training for our online campus is in good hands with Dr. Chien. She is an excellent counselor educator whose genuine care for students and thoughtful attention to all the details of their internship experience make her an ideal fit for this role.”
Dr. Chien, who holds a Ph.D. from Florida Atlantic University in Counselor Education, remarked, “Clinical training is an integral part of growing in skill and competence as a counselor. I am thrilled to partner with the Clinical Training Team as the Assistant Director of Clinical Training for Richmont’s online modality to enhance the development of our online students. I look forward to supporting Richmont students in site placement, engaging with our partnering site supervisors, and working to bring innovation to clinical training.”
Richmont’s online modality has experienced remarkable growth in the last two years and anticipates even greater growth in the near future. Having someone of Dr. Chien’s caliber in this role is crucial for engaging students across the country in robust, quality clinical training experiences that meet Richmont’s high standards for students.
Richmont Graduate University has partnered with the Jesuit Institute of South Africa (JISA) to afford 9 free credits into Richmont’s Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Formation and Leadership through its Ignatian Spirituality course specialization.
Russell Pollitt, SJ, Director of JISA, comments:
“The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola are a gift that transcends far beyond any denomination. We are delighted to share in this international partnership – between the Jesuit Institute South Africa, The Martin Institute, Richmont Graduate University and Conversatio. Our commitment to working together testifies to the fact that the Spiritual Exercises belong to the whole people of God – in the broadest sense. They have the potential – when guided well – to change lives. Our partnership enables us to help others realize this potential. As Christ followers today, we can now offer a life-changing and re-orientating experience to people across the globe. We are blessed to share in this ministry and assist others to offer our world, God’s people, this timeless and priceless spiritual gift. We appreciate our relationship and those who have made it possible very much”.
Sam Youngs, Ph.D. adds:
“There is a deep alignment between Ignatian Spirituality and the ethos of Richmont, as both leverage classical resources to equip disciples in both spiritual direction and formation. This exciting partnership further empowers these mutual strengths!”
Russell Pollitt, SJ, Director of JISA
Sam Youngs, Ph.D. Adjunct Professor, Richmont Graduate University
Richmont Graduate University is pleased to announce that Dr. Kathleen Bazile has been named as the university’s Director of Clinical Training beginning April 3rd. Dr. Bazile is a licensed Professional Counselor, an Approved Clinical Supervisor, and received her doctoral degree from Mercer University in Counselor Education and Supervision.
Dr. Bazile states, ” I am excited to lead the clinical training program alongside an incredible team into Richmont’s next innovative season. I see this as an opportunity to infuse my passion, creativity, and expertise into the next generation of highly skilled and transformative counselors. ”
“The Director of Clinical Training is a critical position for the university,” states Dr. Cara Cochran, Dean of the School of Counseling, “and Dr. Bazile is a natural fit for this important appointment. Not only does she have superb educational and clinical skills, she also brings the warmth and encouragement that all new clinicians need as they prepare to see their first clients.”
The Director of Clinical Training guides students through the entire clinical sequence at Richmont from the first course in Helping Relationships through Internship II. Additionally, the director is responsible for clinical training for the entire university to ensure that the standards are met and maintained in Atlanta, Chattanooga, and online.
March 7: Dr. Sam Youngs, Richmont Graduate University
Lecture + Book Release Event
Doors 6:30 PM • Lecture 7:00 PM
March 29: Dr. Preston Hill, Richmont Graduate University
Lecture + Book Release Event
Doors 6:30 PM • Lecture 7:00 PM
Click the image below to download the PDF flyer
On January 28th, more than 100 friends of CBI/Richmont – alumni, descendants of the CBI founding family, and other friends – gathered at the Hunter Museum of American Art for a gala dinner to celebrate the 90th anniversary of CBI’s founding, its gradual evolution into today’s Richmont, and its decades of positive impact on the city. Guests viewed a video sharing an oral history of CBI and how it came to be merged with the Psychological Studies Institute (PSI) in Atlanta, forming Richmont Graduate University in 2000.
“2023 is a big year for Richmont. It marks not only the 90th anniversary of CBI, but also the 50th anniversary of PSI, Richmont’s Atlanta predecessor, and the 20th anniversary of our first accredited graduating class,” said Amy Estes, Executive Director of University Advancement. “We thought it was important to celebrate these milestones of our heritage and what has gone into making Richmont what it is today. And we are pleased to have started our celebrations in such a special way recognizing our Chattanooga roots.”
The gala at the Hunter was sponsored by Decosimo Corporate Finance, LLC. Tom Decosimo, current Richmont Trustee and great-nephew of CBI founder Ellen Sharp Poindexter hoped to engage younger members of the founding family. Following the event, he said, “This 5th and 6th generation of family members and their broad network of friends, all of whom are upcoming leaders of the Chattanooga community, were provided information about Richmont – their legacy. To a person, they were overwhelmed with the impact the University is making in the world by training from a Christian worldview evidence-based clinical mental health practitioners. They were excited and eager to understand the ways they can offer their support.”
Richmont’s President, Dr. Timothy Quinnan, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to assume the leadership of Richmont in the summer of 2017. He provided guests with highlights of his tenure to date and a current snapshot of the university Richmont has become, experiencing endowment growth, expansion of programs, and record enrollments in recent semesters.
During the last weekend of July, Richmont will host activities in Atlanta marking the 50th anniversary of the Psychological Studies Institute.
Hear from the founders of CBI:
Richmont Graduate University has achieved another remarkable record enrollment this Spring of three hundred and sixty-one students.
As students and faculty began the 2023 Spring semester, Richmont welcomed its largest number of students engaged in courses at both Atlanta and Chattanooga campuses, a thriving online counseling modality, and a newly established doctoral cohort.
At a time when many graduate institutions have struggled to maintain sustainable enrollment numbers, Richmont’s semester-to-semester retention rates remain at 98%. Roxie Shellabarger, Vice President of Administration, attributes this to “the incredible investment of Richmont staff and faculty into students, as well as Richmont’s emphasis on community and self-care”.
After launching an online class integrating theology and psychology, Blueprint 1543 noticed that students of their TheoPsych classes had some questions our students at Richmont also have around integration. Many of these questions had really practical implications: Can insights from social psychology help us run church meetings better? How do I know if I should see a therapist or talk to my pastor? Is there such a thing as “thriving” amid a severe mental illness?
We’re thankful that our community and others are thinking about things like this, and we hope that these 8 episodes will help prompt more conversation in the church about these important issues. One of the episodes features Dr. Hill addressing trauma, theology, and mental health.
Click Here to Explore the Podcast Series and Download the Workbook
During the fall semester of 2022, Richmont Graduate University experimented with an innovative four-day operating schedule. The intent was to enhance employee wellness, workplace satisfaction, collaboration, and productivity. Near the term’s end, President Timothy Quinnan created a leadership team to assess its impact.
Vice Presidents of Administration and Student Affairs, Roxie Shellabarger and Dr. Amanda Blackburn, respectively, spearheaded this evaluative effort. Utilizing focus groups and productivity reviews conducted by management, the pilot initiative was deemed a major success. As Dr. Blackburn notes, “Staff noted increased collaboration, life-balance, the ability to work ‘smarter’, and an appreciation for how much value the University truly placed on their well-being.”
“We are so pleased to see the outcomes including higher levels of efficiency and productivity, but just as importantly, greater happiness in the workplace and at home. We believe this shift in work culture will elevate knowledge generation, as well exert a continuing beneficial effect on every member of our community,” Dr. Quinnan asserts.
To read more about Richmont’s Thrive Initiative, click here.
Trauma-Informed Theology and the Neuroscience of PTSD
by Preston Hill
Abstract: Recent findings in neuroscience and psychology indicate that “the body keeps the score” of PTSD. Concurrently, trauma-informed theology to date has deployed pneumatology to explain how God experiences trauma in the Christian narrative of salvation. Yet, in Christian theology, the divine person of the Holy Spirit has no assumed human body. This raises an important question as to whether a body is needed for God to keep the score of posttraumatic stress in a manner consistent with neuroscience and how this might shape one’s account of trauma in Christian soteriology. In this article, I take an analytic science-engaged approach to assess the viability of dominant proposals in trauma-informed theology which deploy trauma theory to assert God’s experience of trauma and explain this experience with exclusive reference to pneumatology. After reviewing clinical and scientific research on the neuroscience of PTSD which has been neglected in these approaches, I argue that Christology is a more obviously fitting locus for suggesting God’s experience of trauma within Christian soteriology than the person of the Holy Spirit. I conclude that since the body keeps the score of trauma from a scientific perspective, Christ’s body keeps the score of trauma from a science-engaged theology perspective.