Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center
Encyclopedia
Saybrook University, a San Francisco, California
based 'distance learning
' institution (originally founded in 1971 as the Humanistic Psychology Institute, and later named both the 'Saybrook Institute' and the "Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center'), is geared to providing a personalized, mentor
ed educational experience for graduate students. Saybrook specializes in the fields of psychology
, organizational systems, and Human Science
, and offers regionally accredited master's and doctoral degrees, as well as a range of professional certification programs. Accreditation is provided by the Senior Colleges and Universities Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
(WASC), which is recognized by the United States Department of Education. As of 2007, Saybrook has grown to an enrollment over five hundred full time equivalent students.
at an individual and societal level is a work in progress, for which each person is responsible. The concept is the ethical, pedagogical, and disciplinary foundation of the school's programs.
. The event helped establish humanistic psychology
as a movement embraced by scholars from a variety of disciplines, including Rollo May
, Clark Moustakas
and James Bugental
. The humanistic movement in psychology became a response to mainstream psychology's perceived lack of interest or involvement in human centered treatment and therapy, as well as a critique of the standard psychological practices of that time.
In 1969, Dr. Eleanor Criswell, a professor at California State University, Sonoma
, proposed that an educational program be established to provide an innovative, learner-centered, and rigorous educational environment devoted to humanistic psychology and research.
Led by Dr. Criswell and pioneer somatics researcher Dr. Thomas Hanna under the name The Humanistic Psychology Institute, the school began by offering graduate courses in humanistic psychology. In 1971, a master's program was added, and a doctoral program in 1972. Based on the humanistic tradition, Saybrook has evolved as a 'learner-centered' educational environment.
In honor of the 1964 Connecticut
conference, the school changed its name to Saybrook Institute. Founders who remained with the Institute included Old Saybrook conference participants Rollo May, Clark Moustakas, and James Bugental, all of whom served as members of the Saybrook faculty.
, international relations
, religion
, development, business
, and health sciences. Currently, the President of Saybrook, who also oversees the Rollo May Research Center, is Mark Schulman, PhD.
, the developer of person centered therapy and a leader in the humanistic movement that led to the founding of the school. Some others are:
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
based 'distance learning
Distance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
' institution (originally founded in 1971 as the Humanistic Psychology Institute, and later named both the 'Saybrook Institute' and the "Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center'), is geared to providing a personalized, mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
ed educational experience for graduate students. Saybrook specializes in the fields of psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, organizational systems, and Human Science
Human Science
Human science refers to the investigation of human life and activities via a phenomenological methodology that acknowledges the validity of both sensory and psychological experience...
, and offers regionally accredited master's and doctoral degrees, as well as a range of professional certification programs. Accreditation is provided by the Senior Colleges and Universities Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. The Western Association of...
(WASC), which is recognized by the United States Department of Education. As of 2007, Saybrook has grown to an enrollment over five hundred full time equivalent students.
Humanistic approach
Saybrook was founded on a fundamental humanistic belief, that human consciousnessConsciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
at an individual and societal level is a work in progress, for which each person is responsible. The concept is the ethical, pedagogical, and disciplinary foundation of the school's programs.
History
Saybrook traces its origins to a 1964 conference at Old Saybrook, ConnecticutOld Saybrook, Connecticut
Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,367 at the 2000 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, as well as the census-designated places of Old Saybrook Center and Saybrook Manor.-History:...
. The event helped establish humanistic psychology
Humanistic psychology
Humanistic psychology is a psychological perspective which rose to prominence in the mid-20th century, drawing on the work of early pioneers like Carl Rogers and the philosophies of existentialism and phenomenology...
as a movement embraced by scholars from a variety of disciplines, including Rollo May
Rollo May
Rollo May was an American existential psychologist. He authored the influential book Love and Will during 1969. He is often associated with both humanistic psychology and existentialist philosophy. May was a close friend of the theologian Paul Tillich...
, Clark Moustakas
Clark Moustakas
Dr. Moustakas is an American psychologist and one of the leading experts on humanistic and clinical psychology. He helped establish the Association for Humanistic Psychology and the Journal for Humanistic Psychology. He is the author of numerous books and articles on humanistic psychology,...
and James Bugental
James Bugental
James Frederick Taylor Bugental was one of the predominant theorists and advocates of the Existential-Humanistic Therapy movement. He was a therapist, teacher and writer for over 50 years. He received his Ph.D...
. The humanistic movement in psychology became a response to mainstream psychology's perceived lack of interest or involvement in human centered treatment and therapy, as well as a critique of the standard psychological practices of that time.
In 1969, Dr. Eleanor Criswell, a professor at California State University, Sonoma
Sonoma State University
Sonoma State University is a public, coeducational business and liberal arts college affiliated with the California State University system. The main campus is located in Rohnert Park, California, United States and lies approximately south of Santa Rosa and north of San Francisco...
, proposed that an educational program be established to provide an innovative, learner-centered, and rigorous educational environment devoted to humanistic psychology and research.
Led by Dr. Criswell and pioneer somatics researcher Dr. Thomas Hanna under the name The Humanistic Psychology Institute, the school began by offering graduate courses in humanistic psychology. In 1971, a master's program was added, and a doctoral program in 1972. Based on the humanistic tradition, Saybrook has evolved as a 'learner-centered' educational environment.
In honor of the 1964 Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
conference, the school changed its name to Saybrook Institute. Founders who remained with the Institute included Old Saybrook conference participants Rollo May, Clark Moustakas, and James Bugental, all of whom served as members of the Saybrook faculty.
Rollo May Research Center
Saybrook’s Research Center is a community of scholars and practitioners committed to the humanistic tradition and the exploration of its impact on all aspects of human life. Members come from the fields of psychology, politicsPolitics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, development, business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, and health sciences. Currently, the President of Saybrook, who also oversees the Rollo May Research Center, is Mark Schulman, PhD.
Programs
Organizational Systems (OS) is a Ph.D. course of study which "is built around the latest knowledge from both organizational behavior and systems science." OS is about "leading change and of active inquiry as a means of addressing complex organizational challenges. Its multi-disciplinary approach blends elements of graduate study in business, public administration, organizational psychology, systems science, anthropology, and sociology."http://www.saybrook.edu/academics/concentrations.asp?strContent=Organizational%20SystemsNoted faculty
All faculty members have doctorates, in most cases earned from leading research universities. Among the many distinguished faculty members at Saybrook is Natalie Rogers, PhD, the daughter of Carl RogersCarl Rogers
Carl Ransom Rogers was an influential American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach to psychology...
, the developer of person centered therapy and a leader in the humanistic movement that led to the founding of the school. Some others are:
- Béla H. BánáthyBéla H. BánáthyBéla Heinrich Bánáthy was a Hungarian linguist, systems scientist and a professor at San Jose State University and UC Berkeley. Bánáthy was the founder of the White Stag Leadership Development Program whose leadership model was adopted across the United States...
, PhD (1919–2003) - Distinguished Teaching Faculty, - Stanley KrippnerStanley KrippnerStanley Krippner is an American psychologist, and an executive faculty member and Professor of Psychology at Saybrook University in San Francisco...
, PhD - Executive Faculty, who holds the Alan WattsAlan WattsAlan Wilson Watts was a British philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter and popularizer of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Born in Chislehurst, he moved to the United States in 1938 and began Zen training in New York...
Chair in Consciousness Studies - Maurice Friedman, PhD, Distinguished Teaching Faculty, Biographer of Martin BuberMartin BuberMartin Buber was an Austrian-born Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of religious existentialism centered on the distinction between the I-Thou relationship and the I-It relationship....
- Jeanne Achterberg, PhD, Executive Faculty, Former President of the Association for Transpersonal psychologyTranspersonal psychologyTranspersonal psychology is a form of psychology that studies the transpersonal, self-transcendent or spiritual aspects of the human experience....
, scientist in Mind/Body medicine - Johan GaltungJohan GaltungJohan Galtung is a Norwegian sociologist and the principal founder of the discipline of peace and conflict studies. He founded the Peace Research Institute Oslo in 1959, serving as its Director until 1970, and established the Journal of Peace Research in 1964...
, PhD, PhD, father of peace studies. - Tom Greening, PhD, Executive Faculty, Editor for thirty-six years of the Journal of Humanistic PsychologyJournal of Humanistic PsychologyJournal of Humanistic Psychology is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers in the field of Psychology. The journal's editor is Kirk J. Schneider...
- Amedeo GiorgiAmedeo GiorgiAmedeo Giorgi serves on the faculty of Saybrook Graduate School. He was an early member of the "Duquesne School" of psychology and is credited with formalizing phenomenological methods for psychology...
, PhD, Executive Faculty, Internationally known phenomenologistPhenomenology (psychology)Phenomenology is an approach to psychological subject matter that has its roots in the philosophical work of Edmund Husserl. Early phenomenologists such as Husserl, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty conducted their own psychological investigations in the early 20th century... - Ruth Richards, MD, PhD, Executive Faculty, author of Everyday Creativity (2007)
- Steve Pritzker, PhD, Executive Faculty, co-editor of the two volume Encyclopedia of Creativity
- Donald Rothberg, PhD, Executive Faculty, BuddhistBuddhismBuddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
adept and teacher of Socially Engaged Spirituality - John Adams, PhD, Executive Faculty, Systems scientistSystems scienceSystems science is an interdisciplinary field of science that studies the nature of complex systems in nature, society, and science. It aims to develop interdisciplinary foundations, which are applicable in a variety of areas, such as engineering, biology, medicine and social sciences.Systems...
- Gregory BatesonGregory BatesonGregory Bateson was an English anthropologist, social scientist, linguist, visual anthropologist, semiotician and cyberneticist whose work intersected that of many other fields. He had a natural ability to recognize order and pattern in the universe...
, Adjunct Faculty, AnthropologyAnthropologyAnthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German... - Gary S. Metcalf (1957) is an American organizational theorist, management consultant.
External links
- Saybrook.edu - Official homepage