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BGSP Community Updates and Resources

BGSP Announcements and Resources on Race

Resources on Understanding and Combating Racism

Communications from Dr. Snyder

Dear BGSP Community,  

The Anti-Racism Committee at the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis would like to extend our support to the Asian and Asian-American members of our community. The heinous acts of violence that occurred a week ago, Tuesday, in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as recent incidents of assault and harassment around the country against Asian people, demonstrate the enduring and deleterious effects of white supremacy and systemic racism. We recognize that the tragic deaths of Soon Chung Park, age 74, Hyun Jung Grant, age 51, Suncha Kim, age 69, Yong Yue, age 63, Delaina Ashley Yaun, age 33, Paul Andre Michels, age 54, Xiaojie Tan, age 49, and Daoyou Feng, age 44, were incontrovertibly fueled by racist, misogynistic, sexually objectifying, and anti-immigrant rhetoric which has only increased over the past year. As we know, an increase in policing does not necessarily increase the safety of Black, Indigenous, people of color, and immigrant communities. We encourage those in our community to continue to utilize police-alternative resources whenever possible.  

The Anti-Racism Committee condemns all acts of hate, oppression and violence against those seen as “other” based on race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, or nationality.  

This coming Saturday from 1 to 2:30 pm, we are fortunate to have the Steering Committee of Reflective Spaces/ Material Places, Boston, present and help us with Difficult Dialogues, the process of talking about race. 

Please join me there!         

Dr. Snyder & Anti-Racism Committee

Dear BGSP Community, 

I am writing to provide a follow up on the important work that BGSP has been doing to address the problem of racism and inclusion in our community.  First I describe some community-wide initiatives we are taking, and then I offer some important considerations for dealing with individual concerns about racism.  

  1. Community-wide initiatives  

As you know, we have formed an Anti-Racism Committee dedicated to facilitating an inclusive and respectful atmosphere at BGSP.  One thing that becomes clearer through the work of the Committee is how much work there is to do at BGSP to make this happen. This work is complex, and we take it very seriously.  We are learning much more about issues that concern the student body and the faculty, and are engaged in a number of initiatives to increase communication and understanding within our community about issues of race and identity: 

  • The Committee is providing educational experiences to raise the consciousness of the community regarding unconscious and institutional racism.  Please join me to hear our next speaker, Dr. Fanny Brewster, a nationally renowned Jungian analyst, who will talk on Saturday, December 5, 1-2:30 pm on “The Psychology of  Racism and our Racial Complexes.”  This event is for our community only and will address, in part, race in our work with patients. Dr. Brewster just spoke at ABAP, our psychoanalytic accrediting body, and was very well received.  I was told she is a warm, accepting and very knowledgeable analyst interested in helping people talk with each other. 
  • The Committee is working on developing mentor and ally programs for BGSP students who identify with marginalized communities, most specifically our Black students. This will provide support for our students of color as well as feedback to the Committee about the needs of our students.   
  • We are hopeful that the above initiatives, among others, will introduce us to a wider group of potential faculty members of color who may be interested in joining BGSP to explore psychoanalysis, counseling, and race. 
  • In addition, to the efforts of the Committee, the Faculty has begun a series of retreats to discuss racial concerns at BGSP in light of the School’s mission, history, and teaching methods.  This is very much a work in progress, but it starts from a position of mutual respect and interest in understanding ourselves and others. 

2)  Dealing with individual concerns 

After discussion with the Anti-Racism Committee and the Faculty, I would like to make the following clear: 

BGSP is committed to an atmosphere of respect for all individuals and appreciation for all racial, ethnic, religious, gender, and sexual orientation identities.     

If an individual feels they have suffered (or witnessed) an incident of disrespect or emotional distress due to their identity, I urge them to bring it up in the moment with the person(s) involved.  I recognize that this can be very difficult, particularly in light of perceived and real power differentials.  Nevertheless, our faculty is trained to talk about everything and really wants to understand what is going on with each individual and students are learning to do the same. 

If a distressed individual cannot bring up the incident in the moment, I urge them to pursue additional options to discuss the incident with the person(s) involved.  These include scheduling a private meeting at a later time and, if it’s helpful, including an ally (such as a fellow student or a faculty person) in the meeting.   

If this feels too difficult, a person experiencing disrespect or emotional distress may talk with an advisor or administrator about the experience, with an ally present if that would be helpful.  I would be glad to speak personally with any individual or group about their concerns.  

If these steps are not sufficient to address the issue, and a community member seeks remedy, the School has a formal grievance procedure, which is outlined in the Student and the Faculty Handbooks.  

BGSP is an unusual institution.  While we are far from immune from the social problems that plague our nation, we are exceptionally prepared to talk personally about our experiences and to learn from them. 

It’s important to recognize that our community will need to work on these issues on an ongoing basis.  Racism has a long and complex history in our country and in the field of psychoanalysis, and we will not fix it overnight.  I am confident, however, given our respect for one another and our commitment to listening to and understanding each individual in our community, that we will continue to have the difficult conversations and make the changes necessary to improve BGSP’s inclusion of people of all identities, including those historically marginalized in our field and our society. 

Please contact me at any time with your questions or concerns. 

Sincerely, 

Jane C. Snyder, Ph.D. 

President 

Dear BGSP Community,

In the wake of the killing of Daniel Prude, a mentally ill Black man, at the hands of police in Rochester, NY, earlier this month, the Anti-Racism Committee is sending out two lists of Emergency Crisis Intervention Resources which we recommend you call instead of calling the police in incidents where there is an acute need for intervention to deal with a mentally ill or intoxicated person in need of professional help.  

The first list includes resources in NY and VT as well as the greater Boston area, the second is a list for Massachusetts.

Dr. Jane Snyder

Dear BGSP Community,

One of our students in the Psychoanalysis, Society and Culture program, Mr. Jean Claude Noel, forwarded this letter to me by Dr. Lee Pelton, President of Emerson College and the Boston Arts Academy I strongly recommend reading it, especially if you are white.

Dr. Snyder


June 1, 2020

Today, I write to you as a Black man and as President of Emerson College.

There is no other way to write to you, given recent events.

I didn’t sleep Friday night. Instead, I spent the night, like a moth drawn to a flame, looking again and again at the video of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a Minneapolis white police officer. It was a legalized lynching. I was struck by the callousness and the casual dehumanization of Mr. Floyd. To that officer, he was invisible – the Invisible Man that Ralph Ellison described in his novel by the same name.

Black Americans are invisible to most of white America. We live in the shadows – even those of us, who like me, sit at the table of bounty. At the same time, we are hyper-visible in classrooms, work places, social settings, and as we go about our daily lives.

On Saturday, I was very angry. The persistent structural racism that undergirds American society and permits the police and others to kill black people is pernicious and ubiquitous.

We mourn George Floyd. But let’s not forget the other George Floyds of which he is but one:

Ahmaud Arbery was jogging when white vigilantes pursued him in their pick-up trucks, shot and killed him. A Harvard educated black birder, Christian Cooper, was bird watching when a white woman walking her dog weaponized the lynching trope in an attempt to summon police.

Do you remember Trayvon Martin or twelve-year old Tamir Rice or Sandra Bland or Philando Castile or Eric Garner or Freddie Gray or Botham Jean or Breonna Taylor?

Say their names. This is not new.

All of them dead. Each of them invisible.

I’m still angry. As President, I didn’t want to write in anger. But I also didn’t want to write the kind of platitudinous letters that ordinarily appear after these kinds of killings. I consulted my children on Saturday. One said, “Dad, I don’t think you need to say anything if you don’t want to. Who even knows what to say right now. And as you said, it’s more up to white people to say something now.”

I consulted friends and one of the wisest among them said, “Let [the world] know how you feel. Everyone who gets it will be better for it; the others, who cares. In some contexts anger is not an emotion; instead, it’s a moral.”

And so, I write today.

I watched the video over and over again well into the morning hours because I was mesmerized by the casualness with which the Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd. Chauvin dug his knee into his neck for almost eight minutes, even as Floyd repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.” As he called on his Mama before he took his last breath, Chauvin continued to talk, he looked as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He didn’t stop until Floyd was unresponsive.

George Floyd was invisible. And it was his invisibility, a brutal white power structure and Chauvin’s dehumanization of him that killed him.

Floyd has a history. And so do I.

I was born in a house that had no indoor plumbing until I was six years old. Until they died, my mother and both of my grandmothers cleaned houses for middle class and rich white folks. My father was a laborer until he got a good paying job working at the City of Wichita, Kansas, where I was born and raised. When I was in high school, I didn’t know anything about private colleges or universities and even if I had, I would not have been able to afford one of them. So, I enrolled at my local public university, which was essentially a commuter school.

In my lifetime, I have been called the n-word by white people in every state and every city that I have ever lived in.

I have been pulled over driving while black more times than I can remember. I have been spit on by a white parking lot attendant. I was stopped 20 feet from my house by two white police officers in their cruiser, the searing heat of their spot light on my neck, guns drawn on either side of my car because I looked like a black man who was alleged to have stolen something from a convenience store. When I was living on the West Coast, I was pulled over twice in a single night by police officers because, according to each, I didn’t turn on my turn signal the proper feet before a stop sign. As president of the University before Emerson, two teenage boys drove up on the sidewalk to block my path home because I looked like someone who was suspected of stealing from neighborhood homes. When I asked what that person looked like they described someone more than twenty years younger than me. While visiting my cousins in Conway, Arkansas in the 70’s, I suffered the deep humiliation of having to go to the back alley of a local restaurant to order food. I was twenty years old. I was angry at the overt racism and at my cousins for enduring such indignities almost a decade after the passages of the two Civil Rights Acts of the mid-60’s.

That’s my history. And I have dedicated my life’s work to social justice in just about every aspect of American life, but especially for young people who grew up like me.

I also write to you today on the anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa, Oklahoma riots in which Greenwood, then the wealthiest black neighborhood in America (called the Black Wall Street), was attacked by mobs of white residents because a 19-year old black shoeshiner allegedly bumped into a 17-year old white elevator operator. More than 800 black people were admitted to the hospital, and 6,000 Greenwood families were displaced as white vigilantes deputized by law enforcement killed more than 300 hundred black people and destroyed more than 35 square blocks of Greenwood, some of it carried out by private aircraft. It is the worst single incident of racial violence in American history, and I suspect not one in ten Americans have ever heard of it.

What happened to George Floyd is not new. It as old as 250 years of slavery and the Jim Crow laws that sought to marginalize and shut out black Americans from American society.

As my wise friend reminded me, quoting James Baldwin, “Any real change implies the breaking of the world as one has always known it, the loss of all that gave one an identity, the end of safety.”

So, I have no words of comfort today because they would be inauthentic. They would absolve so many from coming to terms with their own silent complicity in the world in which we live.

As I wrote to someone today, “This is not a black problem, but a structural issue built on white supremacy and centuries of racism. It’s your problem. And until you understand that, we are doomed to relive this week’s tragic events over and over again. What changes will you make in your own life? Begin with answering that question and maybe, just maybe we will get somewhere.”

The most important question is: What are you going to do?

At an appropriate time, I will gather the community to talk about what I have written and what we might be able to do together to address racism in America, beginning first of all with an honest appraisal of ourselves.

Lee

Dear BGSP Community,

I am making the following statement on behalf of the entire faculty:

We wish to express our collective feelings of outrage, horror and grief at the most recently publicized killings of unarmed Black people by police and neighborhood vigilantes in Minneapolis, Louisville, and Georgia–George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery. We also note and condemn the ongoing and pervasive effects of racism and social stratification in this country evidenced in the disproportionate disease and death rates due to COVID in racial minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, as well as the many other racial incidents reported on a daily basis towards members of all minority groups.  As the president of the American Psychological Association said in her recent statement “We are living in a racism pandemic”.

BGSP condemns all forms of racism and social and economic injustice.  While we tend to focus on individual change in our work as psychoanalysts, we also need to address the deep societal inequities which affect the individuals we work with and continue to work for the rights of all people to live and grow in an environment offering equal opportunity for individuals to reach their full potential free of violence and oppression due to their race, gender, ethnic identity or socioeconomic class.

Dr. Jane Snyder

President


BGSP Coronavirus Updates and Resources

Resources Relevant to a time of Pandemic

COVID-19: Basic Information

National, Massachusetts and Local Policies & Recommendations

Self-Care

Zoom Recommendations and Online Teaching

Recreation in a Time of Social Distancing

Psychotherapy & Social Distancing

Psychoanalysis and COVID-19

Psychological Aspects of Pandemic Crisis

Medical and Social Policy

Social Effects of Pandemic

  • Pandemic Diaries (anthropologists reflecting on the effects on their profession and our lives)

Psychotherapy

Communications from Dr. Snyder

Dear BGSP Community,

     I hope everyone has had a good summer.  I write to you with a new COViD prevention policy based on recent data on the Delta variant and best health practices: we are requiring masking indoors at BGSP in all public areas and in the classrooms.  Smaller groups such as small supervision groups and one-on-one meetings can operate without masks by mutual agreement of all participants.  As you know, everyone attending in person activities at the school must provide proof of vaccination.  If you have not done so yet please send copies of your vaccination card to Mrs. Kaeli (faculty and students) or Mrs. Dolan (staff).  No one will be allowed into the building who has not provided proof of vaccination.  Additional procedures for entering the building will be announced this week. We are installing new touchless doors and all faculty, staff and registered students who have provided proof of vaccination will receive key fobs enabling them to enter the building during appropriate hours.   (As of this time all faculty and staff have been vaccinated.)

     The Therapy Center will not open until we have all procedures fully in place for assuring and monitoring vaccination status, probably in October.  Consult with your Fellow and supervisors about discussing this requirement with your patients.

     As many of you probably are aware, the Delta variant of the COVID virus is now the predominant variant infecting people in the US and the world at large and is highly contagious, infecting even those who are vaccinated.  Recent research indicates that vaccinated people who are infected carry high viral loads but may not be symptomatic or may have mild symptoms. However even if asymptomatic they can pass the virus on to others.  In some cases even vaccinated individuals get seriously ill, and it seems that the further out from vaccination (over 8 months) the more vulnerable one is to infection. Hence the recent recommendation of boosters.  In light of this information, it is very important that one get tested if experiencing any symptoms of respiratory illness or allergy like symptoms.  Please stay home if you are not feeling well and have any possible viral symptoms until you are symptom free or have a negative COVID test. 

     More information will be forthcoming about procedures in place for accessing entry to the school,  who to notify if ill, meeting with staff, where to hang out between classes, and other issues.  As noted in previous letters, we have improved the HVAC system with air scrubbers and high air exchange rates consistent with current standards for anti-viral protection and added free standing air filters to each room in the building.  We have also installed touchless sinks in the bathrooms as well as the touchless front doors and will have hand sanitizer throughout the building.  Classrooms will be hybrid, that is set up for in-person and videoconferencing attendance.  As you know, some classes will be offered exclusively  through videoconferencing.  There have been some delays in equipment delivery so I am asking in advance for everyone’s forbearance and patience as we work together to navigate this new reality. 

     I look forward to seeing everyone, even though masked! Welcome to all new students!  Now more than ever we need to work together to promote emotional resilience and mental health.

     Our first All Community Meeting will be on September 24 at noon.  Hybrid attendance (or should it be online?)

Jane Snyder, Ph.D.

President

Dear BGSP Community,

I am writing to let you know that we have formally decided to continue offering our programs online in the Spring semester, 2021.  

We continue to deal with a spreading pandemic and the risks that entails for gathering in groups in person.  

The Therapy Center will also continue to operate through telehealth appointments.

We are working to develop better online administrative procedures to support our virtual instruction. 

We would like to schedule more all community meetings and other events online to help us all stay connected.  Feel free to contact me if you would like to meet virtually.

I miss seeing everyone.

Dr. Jane Snyder

Dear BGSP Community,

Fall Semester Activities to Continue Online

After carefully reviewing what it would take to reopen the school safely for in person activities in the Fall we have decided to continue with online classes, supervisions, and group activities for the Fall semester.

Regarding fieldwork placements, we will make a decision in August regarding whether in person placements can be offered as an option for students seeking to meet this requirement. We are planning for alternative methods of learning about psychosis and meeting practicum requirements for counseling students which will not involve in person contact (e.g., telephone interviewing, observation of live interviews with psychotic patients over videoconferencing). Therefore students needing to meet these requirements should sign up for fieldwork and/or practicum.

If in person placements are possible and considered safe they will be offered as an optional way to fulfill the requirement.

Regarding counseling internships, we will carefully review any internship possibility with the student and placement to determine if it meets safety requirements before approving the placement. Approval procedures will be outlined in the registration packet.

Regarding the Therapy Center, it will remain closed to in-person work for the time being until we can determine if there is a way it can safely reopen.

I am very sorry we cannot meet in person for now. We will continue to offer drop-in meetings and continuing education events over the summer. I hope to see you at the All Community meeting this Friday at noon on zoom.

Take care of yourselves,

Dr. Snyder

Dear BGSP Community,

I hope everyone is staying healthy and connected to family and friends including those at BGSP in this strange time.

I am writing to give you an update on our plans for the Fall.  It is not clear at this time if it will be safe to reopen to in-person activities in September or at what point it will be possible.  When it is safe, we will reopen. If it isn’t, we will continue to offer classes and other activities through videoconferencing (Zoom).  We are planning for either possibility.  We will be following the governor’s recommendations on in person gatherings and carefully reviewing the criteria for reopening public places and workplaces.  We will make a decision by July 31 on how we will start the Fall semester, ie, in person or by videoconferencing.

I realize some of you need to make decisions about returning to Boston or keeping leases on apartments.  If you need to stay where you are for now and the situation remains unclear we will be offering the option of attending class via zoom even if we do reopen to in person classes. In that case, the classes would have some people attending in person and some by  zoom.

Fieldwork/Practicum:
For those of you hoping to begin or continue fieldwork placements, if it is not possible to start a placement we will offer an alternative experience through the fieldwork class and supervision to learning about psychosis and regressed states. We will also be offering an alternative practicum experience for counseling students if necessary.  We are working on this now.

Internships Next Fall:
For those of you hoping to begin internships, it is not clear what will be open and available in the Fall.  We are seeking more information on what various sites are considering. We don’t know the situation with the public schools at this point for our school-based internship program. We will keep you appraised as we learn more.

Completion of Internships this Year & Graduation:
For those of you completing internships this year, there is good news! The licensing board has agreed to the plan to allow interns due to graduate to graduate with the internship hours they have.  Hours will need to be documented and any additional hours required to meet the 600 hours can be met post-master’s.  In addition, additional practica hours completed through the fieldwork experience may be added to your internship hours. Look for communications from Dr. Sharp and Mr. Patria on documentation of internship hours.

Therapy Center:
The Therapy Center will continue to operate via telephone and videoconferencing until we determine it is safe to resume in-person sessions.  Intakes will be conducted via telecommunication and the intake fee is waived for the time being.

Please let me know if you have questions or concerns. We will be scheduling more drop in meetings and Dr. Hugenberger is working on planning additional events for the community with the help of students and faculty.

Take care everybody!

Dr. Snyder

Dear BGSP Community,

Given the current status of recommendations from the governor and the statistics on the spread of the virus in MA, we will be extending the suspension of in person activities at BGSP. All classes and meetings will continue online through the remainder of the semester and the Therapy Center will remain closed to in-person  therapy until further notice.  The Therapy Center is open for telehealth intakes and therapy sessions.

I hope all of you are maintaining good health both physically and emotionally in these extraordinary times. I have enjoyed seeing some of you in Drop In meetings and other meetings which we will continue to schedule to talk about how things are going. We also have some upcoming continuing education events and events for our community. Please let me know if you have specific suggestions or concerns and let Dr. Hugenberger know if you have ideas for events.

Warm regards,

Dr. Snyder

Dear BGSP Community,

Given the governor’s current directive regarding extending social distancing regulations to May 4 and banning gatherings of more than 10 people and the importance of continuing to “flatten the curve” of the contagion of COVID-19, we will be continuing to operate through online and telephone activities for classes, supervisions, analyses, Therapy Center work, meetings, etc. to this date as well.  We will follow Massachusetts directives as to when we may safely resume in person activities.  I would like to thank everybody for their help and cooperation in successfully moving to online classes and meetings.  We will continue to offer “drop in ” meetings and other online get together opportunities to help us all maintain connection with each other.

Dr. Soldz and Mr. Fraley are continuing to update the COVID-19 Resource page on the Website.

I hope everyone is staying healthy and active!

All my best,

Dr. Snyder

Dear BGSP Community,

I hope everyone is staying healthy and managing this new strange way of living at a physical distance from each other while trying to stay connected virtually.  It sounds like the classes have gone well overall with a few glitches which are hopefully resolved going forward.  Many of you have taken advantage of the “drop-in” times and it has been good to connect in a less formal way and find out how people are doing.

A couple of announcements:

Important:

If you have traveled and relocated to another state temporarily, please let us know. We need to know if people are using distance learning from other states and which ones in order to be compliant with state regulations.  Respond to this email, or let Mrs. Kaeli know where you are.

If you have traveled to another country, let Ms. Woolbert know if you haven’t already.

Internship Students:

The licensing Board is continuing to discuss options for students who have been enrolled in internships this academic year and how to handle the requirement for pre-MA hours.  We will keep you updated.

COVID-19 Resource Page on the Website

Dr. Soldz and Mr. Fraley have worked on updating and restructuring the COVID-19 Resource Page on our website, accessible through a link on the home page. Check it out. If you have suggestions on resources for entertainment, coping with social distancing, working out at home and other helpful websites or articles let Dr. Soldz or Mr. Fraley know.

Accessing Health Care

Some of you have raised questions about accessing health care and insurance coverage should you get sick.  It is important to check out your insurance coverage by calling the number on your health insurance card to find out more about your benefits.  You will be responsible for meeting the deductible, by calling you can find out what that is if you don’t know. After meeting the deductible your insurance should cover any additional expenses incurred to treat an illness or accident.

Note: COVID-19 testing is a free service.  However you need a doctor’s referral to get tested at one of the testing sites.  Please see the resource list on health care resources on the website under COVID-19 Resources if you do not have an identified doctor or clinic  to consult.  You may call in to an urgent care clinic or one of the hotlines at the hospitals (Beth Israel and Partners Health Care are two which have hotlines) to have a consultation on the phone.

Please note that everyone who needs it will get care.

If you have more questions, please feel free to contact me.  I do not know how long this period of social distancing will last. but we will keep in touch and continue to offer drop-in times in addition to classes.

Take care of yourselves and each other.

Dr. Snyder

I hope everyone is managing to weather their first week of social distancing and online classes with as little difficulty as possible. It’s certainly a huge change from the way we usually operate and from our emphasis on in-person contact. It will be a learning experience for all of us.  This email includes some announcements as well as answers to questions which have come up from students.

Extension of Closure of Building and In-Person Activities through April 6

My email last week said we would be closed to in-person activities for two weeks. Given current developments, including the Governor’s order prohibiting gatherings of more than 25 people, we will be extending the time of the shutdown of in-person activities through April 6.  It is likely we may remain shut down through the rest of April; we will see.

Will Cancelled Classes be Made Up?  What is the Schedule Next Week?

The classes cancelled last week will not be rescheduled; they were cancelled.  Next week is a Spring vacation week; there are no regularly scheduled classes. However, several instructors have scheduled makeup classes for prior schedule changes. If you have a question about whether your class is meeting next week, please ask your instructor.  In addition, we will be scheduling some optional faculty get-together times during the break (see below).

Counseling Internship Hours

Counseling students whose internships have been suspended may be concerned about completing all of their internship hours for licensure.  We are part of a consortium of counseling programs (MARIACES) that is meeting today online with the state Board of Allied Mental Health to advocate for remedies for affected students.  We will keep you posted of any developments.

Why Social Distancing? 

Social distancing is strongly recommended and put into place by many closures and suspensions of activities. This is being done, as you know, to “flatten the curve,” that is, really slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, which is highly contagious and often asymptomatic for 5-14 days.  If this is done successfully, the medical system will hopefully not be overwhelmed by many new cases coming to them at once.  I am sure you are keeping up with the news.  I will be posting articles and sources I find useful on our webpage under Coronavirus, and I thank those of you who have been sending me good articles and links.   I am including one link now from Boston physicians emphasizing the importance of people staying home.

Are Young People at Less Risk?

Many young people feel they are at less or no risk. Current statistics indicate this is not true! Young people are equally at risk of getting seriously ill, possibly dying. They are not the highest risk group for fatalities, but that doesn’t mean that young people won’t become critically ill.  It will happen to some.  In other words, group statistics do not tell you what will happen to individuals. I am emphasizing this because as you probably know, many young people are not taking this epidemic seriously, and are mingling and socializing in ways that may put them at great risk and the public at large at higher risk by spreading the disease. Please protect yourselves and tell your friends to take every precaution they can.

More Opportunities to Connect at BGSP

As we are finding ways of connecting at a distance and working online and on the telephone, we have been discussing how to offer more opportunities for the BGSP community to connect online beyond the scheduled classes, supervisions, and meetings. I am asking the faculty to take turns sponsoring a scheduled time to “hang out,” i.e., get together to talk about how things are going.  People can share ways people are  entertaining themselves when housebound, trouble or success buying groceries, new ideas about psychoanalysis — whatever people want to talk about.  When we have a schedule, we will send out an email, and Mrs. Kaeli will send an invitation the day before to all students and faculty via Zoom.  Dr. Hugenberger is also thinking about how to offer Continuing Education events online, since in-person CE events will be cancelled through April. If you have other ideas about how we can get together, let me know.

Thank you!

Thank you to the entire BGSP community for coming together and working so cooperatively to go online quickly, figure out how to do it, and keep connecting. Thank you to our wonderful staff who worked all weekend last weekend to get us up and running smoothly, or smoothly enough!

Dr. Snyder

PS For the complete list of Coronavirus resources, please go to the BGSP Student Resources page.  Right now, all resources are embedded in my previous letters.  I will be working to update it over the weekend to include a list of resources in addition to my letters.

Dear BGSP Community,

As we continue to seek to keep our community and our patients safe we are taking the following additional measures beginning on Monday :

Therapy Center

The Therapy Center will be closed to in person sessions for the next two weeks beginning Monday, March 16. Please consult with your supervisor about how to work with your patients remotely or what is the best approach to this interruption.  A message will be put on the Therapy Center phone line to this effect.

Building Closure & Faculty Appointments

We are working towards completely closing the building for two weeks as our staff prepares to work from home. This should be achieved early next week.  All faculty are asked to move off campus and to work remotely with their analysands and supervisees beginning Monday.  In this unprecedented time we need to take all measures to protect ourselves and those we work with.

We will reassess at the end of two weeks as to whether we need to remain closed for a longer time.

Internship Students, MH Counseling Program

Those students completing counseling internship hours please be aware that the MA Mental Health Counseling Association is actively working on how to address the shortage of internship hours that students are likely to complete for the pre-Master’s training.  Please know your plight is being considered and will be addressed.

To this end, I am asking that all students take a two week break from their internship activities onsite.  Please discuss this with your supervisors.

Health Care

All of my emails about the coronavirus including health care resources and questions about accessing insurance coverage are now posted on the school’s web page.  I have heard some concern among international students as to whether they will be taken care of or treated.  Yes you will, but where you receive care may depend on your insurance as noted in the resource list. Please see resource list, contact me or other faculty if you have questions. This is a public health emergency. All individuals will be treated.

Classes:

As noted previously, all classes and supervisions will be held online beginning next week.  Emails are forthcoming regarding procedures.

All my best at this difficult time,

Dr. Snyder

Dear BGSP Community,

Given escalating concern about the coronavirus and community spread, we have decided to cancel all remaining classes this week beginning today, Thursday March 12, and to move to online classes next week if all is in place to do so. In person classes will not be held next week.  We will keep everyone informed and be giving instructions regarding attending class online.  As mentioned in previous emails, it is best to have a working computer with working microphone and camera. If lacking this equipment, it is possible to telephone in.

Therapy Center

The Therapy Center will remain open, but we are suspending all intakes for two weeks and will continue to assess the situation for when to resume.  In the meantime, student therapists should consult with their supervisors regarding how to continue their work with patients for both their own comfort and safety and the patient’s, i.e., whether to meet in person or through telecommunication.

Group Supervisions

Tomorrow’s group supervisions are cancelled.  If you have concerns about your patients, contact your supervisor.  We will be in touch about future small group supervisions.

Fieldwork

We are suspending student attendance in onsite fieldwork activities for two weeks (through March 27) while we assess the situation for the safety of all concerned.  Ms. Healy will be contacting the placements to let them know.

Internships

Students may continue to attend internship placements if comfortable doing so. Please consult with your supervisor onsite and at a BGSP. I realize students are concerned about internship hours and we do not know what will happen with the licensing board given the current situation, i.e., if any flexibility will be given for internship hours this year.  However, your health is of paramount concern. At this moment, all internship sites are continuing to operate.

Analytic appointments and individual supervision

Please work out the nature of your attendance for analysis and individual supervision with your analyst and supervisor.

These are very uncertain and difficult times for all of us. We as a faculty and administration are doing our best to keep the health and welfare of our student body and our entire community in mind.  Please feel free to contact me or any of your faculty members, supervisors, and of course your analyst if you want to discuss your individual situation.  Also please continue to practice good hygienic practices and social distancing.

Dr. Snyder

Dear BGSP Community,

I have received a number of questions and concerns about the coronavirus and BGSP’s preparations and plans.  I would like to respond in this email. 

Classes:  At this time we are continuing to hold in-person classes and supervisions.  We are also continuing to prepare to go online for classes and supervisions if that becomes necessary using the Zoom platform. You can prepare by having a working computer ideally with a working microphone and camera. (Laptops and tablets seem to be the easiest.)  If your computer is not working, you can call in on the telephone using Zoom as well.

Some of you have asked why we are not closing, since other schools are going to an online format for classes or are preparing to do so.  The schools in MA which have gone to a completely online format have many students in residence onsite as well as in classes, so their exposure is in much closer quarters and more prolonged. In fact the school is responsible for  meeting all their student life needs, 24/7. These schools have also been worried about students going on and returning from Spring break after having traveled all over the country or world.  Our situation at BGSP is different.

Travel: With the concern about risk associated with travel in mind, I would like to ask members of the school community to let us know if they are planning to travel on commercial airlines and to contact us before returning to BGSP if they have done so.  As you know, it is recommended that no one engage in unnecessary international travel, and some health authorities recommend against any commercial airline travel if you are over 60 or have a vulnerable health condition..  In keeping with these guidelines, the May trip to Europe focusing on Freud, which we cosponsored with ACAP in NJ, has been postponed to Spring, 2021.

Cleanliness & disinfection:  The school is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected two times a week on the heaviest usage days.  In addition, staff is cleaning and disinfecting all touch surfaces (door knobs and handles, doorbells and buzzers, railings, faucets, toilet flushers, soap dispensers, water cooler, chair arms, couches and more) throughout the building twice a day.  We will have some Lysol cans available for Therapy Center offices if you would like to disinfect between patients.  (Lysol disinfects both hard and soft surfaces, such as couches.) We are waiting for our order of hand sanitizer to be delivered, hopefully by the end of the week. In the meantime, wash hands frequently for 20 seconds with soap and water.  There is a bottle of hand sanitizer on the entry level table for use by all; please leave it there for all to use.  

Health care:  Do not come to school sick!  This includes coughing and sneezing and cold symptoms even if you have no fever.  Protect yourself and your classmates, students, teachers, staff  and patients. Let’s take care of each other!  If you need to take an absence, contact your professor about how best to handle it.

My prior emails listed resources for information and health care. If you did not receive them, let me know and I will resend. They are also posted in the Student Association room.  I am asking Mr. Fraley to post them on the Resources page of the website. I would like to add the Johns Hopkins info site, which is very good:  coronavirus.jhu.edu.  Other general sources on the virus and public health concerns are: cdc.gov andmass.gov/resource/information-on-the-outbreak-of-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19.

What is a state of emergency?  The state of emergency declared by MA Gov. Baker on Tuesday is to give the governor more flexibility in responding to the spread of the virus. Its immediate effects are to discourage travel of state employees to conferences and large meetings and particularly to discourage international travel by state employees. It also gives him the authority to cancel large events, stockpile supplies needed to fight the virus, requisition buildings to house people if needed, provide for assessment and treatment of people whatever the nature of their health insurance, and take other actions in the interest of public health. The governor has not asked that everyone stay home. The risk of catching the virus is still considered low. Please note that while the number of confirmed cases in MA has risen, most are a direct result of the Biogen meeting held one week ago in Boston (70 out of 92).  Though the risk is low, I reiterate that it is important to practice good hygiene practices.

This is a constantly changing situation.  Please know that I in conjunction with other administrators and staff are reviewing the situation several times a day. We are working with up to date information and doing our best to inform and protect our community. 

Dr. Snyder 

Dear BGSP Community,

I write with additional information about the coronavirus outbreak.

Many of you have asked what would happen if the school had to close due to a public health emergency.  Although this may never be required, we have nevertheless been planning for such an emergency and are prepared to continue classes via videoconferencing.  In that case, I would email the community to stay home, and we would hold regularly scheduled classes online using the video conferencing platform, Zoom. This is an easy to use platform that is readily downloaded onto your computers, laptops, tablets, and phones if you receive an invitation from the School.  Students would receive an advance invitation for each class, which would meet at its regular time.  You simply would click on the link to participate. You need a working computer microphone and camera to use the full functionality, but in a pinch, people can call in via phone.

Group supervisions would meet in the same way.

Individual meetings, supervisions, and analytic appointments would be arranged between student and analyst, supervisor, or Therapy Center patient to take place by phone or videoconferencing. You should talk with your supervisor now about the best options for your patients and you, should such an emergency take place.

Attendance at fieldwork and internship sites would not be possible for the duration of the closure, if a public health emergency were declared.  Ms. Healy and Dr. Soldz remain in touch with their contacts at the sites as they monitor the situation.

Please note:  We will continue holding classes in person unless a public health emergency exists.  Students in the campus-based programs are currently only expected to attend class via Zoom if their medical situation warrants staying home, in which case they should discuss attendance with their doctor and their instructor.

  • In addition, some of you have asked about how to access health care or a provider if needed. Be assured that hospitals in this region will provide you with treatment regardless of your ability to pay.  However, it’s helpful to prepare in advance for cost-effective treatment.  I have attached a partial list of resources to this email, including a telehealth clinic at Beth Israel. [Attachment 1: Medical Resources for Students Attachment 2: Tips to Best Use Your Health Care Coverage] Now is the time, before you are in need of urgent care, to check with your insurance company to see which clinics take your insurance. If you have questions about insurance plans for students, Ms. Woolbert has a lot of helpful information.
  • At this time, international travel appears to be the biggest factor in spreading the virus, and Governor Baker has advised all colleges and universities to cancel organized international travel.  BGSP supports this recommendation. If you do need to travel, it is critically important that you follow all local and national travel rules and regulations and monitor entry restrictions, quarantines and isolation protocols for any country to which you are considering traveling. It is also important that you keep yourself apprised of U.S. restrictions, quarantines and isolation protocols that may be in place when you return. We ask that you provide Stephanie Woolbert with basic information about your personal travel plans, so we can be as responsive as possible to anyone who might need assistance as the situation evolves, or in the event local health officials need to investigate a local outbreak.
  • At the moment, the risk of such a public health emergency is extremely low in Massachusetts. Furthermore, younger, otherwise healthy individuals are at much lower risk for severe illness.  BGSP is working hard to keep the risk low by increasing its cleaning schedule and regularly disinfecting frequently touched surfaces around the School.  We will place more hand sanitizer around the School as soon as it is available.  In the meantime, please be sure to follow good practices for reducing the spread of illness:  wash hands frequently and thoroughly, cough or sneeze into a tissue or an elbow, stay home if you are sick, and don’t return to school or work until you are symptom free for 24 hours.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Dr. Snyder

Dear BGSP Community:

There is a lot of information circulating about the respiratory disease COVID-19 or the “Coronavirus.” We would like to reach out to make sure you continue to have accurate and up-to-date information.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 56 confirmed cases in the United States with one case in Boston. Currently, exposure risk remains low for individuals who have remained in the U.S. and who have not traveled abroad to countries where the virus has spread (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html).

Here is a link to the CDC webpage with information about what is currently known about COVID-19:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/index.html including:

  • How it is spread
  • Prevention and treatment
  • What to do if you are sick
  • Symptoms
  • Stigma related to COVID-19
  • Frequently asked questions

The CDC recommendations for businesses to prevent the spread of this and other viruses include:

  • Those who have symptoms of acute respiratory illness are recommended to stay home.
  • Do not return to work or school until free of fever (defined as 100.4 F or greater using an oral thermometer) or any symptoms for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-altering medicines (e.g., cough suppressants).
  • Notify your employer or school of your illness.

As always, it is recommended that in order to reduce the risk of contracting this or other viruses:

  • Make sure all family members are up-to-date with their flu shots.
  • Promote basic hygiene:
    • Any coughing or sneezing should be directed into one’s sleeve, rather than into hands or the air.
    • Wash hands after using and handling used tissues, after blowing nose, before and after eating, and after toilet use.
    • Wash for 20 seconds with soap, rub between fingers and under nails, and then rinse and dry. Use alcohol (60%or greater) hand gel if sinks are not readily available.
    • Avoid rubbing your own eyes, nose, and mouth.
    • Do not share utensils, cups, etc.
    • Stay home when sick.
    • Avoid contact with those who are sick.
    • Frequently clean high touch surfaces such as: counters, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, tablets, and bedside tables.

It’s important to recognize that if public health concerns prevent your return to the U.S. from abroad, this could have consequences related to your enrollment. So, for those who are considering travel, please refer to the CDC’s webpage on Coronavirus Disease 19 Information for Travel: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html. We ask that you inform us if you travel and return from countries listed under Alert Level 1 or Warning Level 2 on this site.

We will keep you informed of updates or changes as we are advised by our local and state departments of public health. In the meantime, we recommend that you sign up for the Town of Brookline’s phone and text Emergency Alerts at https://brookline.bbcportal.com/. This is a good way to receive alerts about all kinds of emergencies in the town, from snow emergencies to other incidents and public health concerns.

We hope that this information allows you to make informed choices regarding you and your family’s health and wellness.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jane Snyder

President