Departments
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Week of 7 November 1997 |
Vol. I, No. 11 |
Feature
Article
Tipper Gore to speak at TFTF graduation
by Eric McHenry
Training for the Future, the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation's computer training program, has attracted the attention of many prominent mental health advocates, and that includes alumna Tipper Gore (CAS'70).
Currently the mental health policy advisor to President Clinton, Gore will speak at TFTF's November 12 graduation ceremony. She plans to see the program's classroom and facilities beforehand. Meeting the students first in an informal context, according to program director Larry Kohn, was Gore's idea.
Kohn initially invited Gore to attend the graduation after hearing of her admiration for the program. Gore, who earned a B.A. in psychology from BU, says she was "so pleased to hear that my alma mater was at the forefront of the mental health community with the development of this program.
"My interest in mental health began with my own family. My mother suffers from clinical depression, and I have long been aware of the toll that mental illness can take on families and loved ones," she says. "That interest has developed over the years, from when I thought I might one day practice to my role today as an advocate and policy advisor. I think it is so important to my efforts to stay up-to-date on programs that are making a difference."
The Center's faculty sees acquisition of practical skills as a cornerstone of rehabilitation. In keeping with that principle, TFTF is the first computer training program for people with psychiatric disabilities to be established in a college campus setting. The federally under- written Center is affiliated with Sargent College and is located at 930 Commonwealth Ave.
"I think it's demonstrating that people with psychiatric disabilities can get back into school and work," says William Anthony, executive director of the Center, "whereas in the past they've been thought of by unenlightened people as unemployable or really not students. This program is showing the capability of people with severe mental illness when they're given a program that's relevant to their interests and provides the needed amount of support."
Kohn says he conceived of the program, which is now in its fourth year and is graduating 14 students, both as a means to prepare people with psychiatric disabilities for a professional world that is increasingly computer-dependent and as a way to get those people working in a medium for which they often feel a natural affinity.
"I had a few students in our career class, which we'd had here for a number of years, who were tinkering with computers," Kohn recalls. "I asked them what they liked about the computer, and they all said basically the same thing: that the computer didn't have any prejudices against them because they had a psychiatric disability; they said that the computer gave them instant feedback -- they didn't have to wait to know how they'd done. And it seemed to tap into their strength, which was their intellectual capacity, and not deal so much with interpersonal relationships, as other professional roles might.
"Beyond that," he says, "computer proficiency is a highly valued skill. People with psychiatric disabilities are often pushed toward the kinds of jobs that no one really wants, despite their intellectual ability and career aspirations. So this is very different -- it's helping them regain some of the self-respect that the illness has taken from them."
The efficacy of the TFTF's practical focus is evident. Just as the program has generated interest among members of the mental health community, Kohn says, it hasn't escaped the notice of area businesses.
Gore says the program's attendance rate, its professional placement rate, and its cooperation with the business community are noteworthy qualities.
"It is successful in placing approximately 75 percent of its graduates in paid employment, and it boasts an attendance rate of 85 percent, which is almost triple the national average of programs for adults with mental illness," she says. "It is also an excellent example of a program that works in partnership with local businesses to supplement funding and provide added resources for job placement, internships, job-mentoring, and assistance in curriculum development."
"A lot of these companies have a very real sense of social responsibility," Kohn adds. "They're very aware of their place in Boston and the need to help out. And, we provide them with good employees."
The graduation ceremony for Training for the Future will be held at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, November 12, in Curtis Auditorium at Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, 635 Commonwealth Ave. For more information, call 353-3549.