Kendra Conrad Bailey ’03, MA ’05, a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) at her own private Iowa practice, was in a client session when her office received a call from ��ݮ����. When she checked with members of her staff, they assured her the call wasn’t important.

She later learned that while she was helping clients that day, her colleagues were dancing in the halls. They had heard that Bailey, whom they had nominated, had been selected by EMU’s Alumni Association and its Awards and Nominations Committee as the 2024 Alum of the Year.

The award is given annually to an alum who has been recognized for significant achievement in her/his/their profession, community or church. Given to honor the alum, it is also awarded to inspire EMU students and fellow alumni to live lives of service and vocational excellence.

“I felt honored and humbled [to receive the award],” said Bailey, who added that being viewed by her staff in a way that drove them to nominate her was “the greatest gift.”

Bailey, 43, lives on a farm in Riverside, Iowa, with her husband, Jace Bailey ’04, and their three children: Bryce (17), Kale (15), and Jalise (11). An Iowa native, she learned about EMU when college recruiters made a stop at the school she was attending. Upon visiting EMU, Bailey said she “just overwhelmingly felt it was where the Lord was calling me.”

Bailey went on to attend both undergraduate and graduate school at EMU where she earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 2003 and a master’s degree in school and clinical counseling in 2005. She credits her EMU professors with noticing her strengths in the classroom—and recognizing how she might excel as a therapist, a career she decided to pursue after undergrad.

Bailey had no intention of starting her own business until some former clients, colleagues and her husband started asking, “Why not?” She told them she couldn’t imagine it. When her husband suggested it might be God’s will, Bailey confessed there was one place she could see God leading her: to downtown North Liberty, Iowa, in a particular neighborhood that, as far as she knew, had no suitable space.

The following day, a man approached her husband at the bank where he works as a commercial loan officer and asked if he knew anyone looking to rent a space in exactly the spot Bailey had named. She recalled the space needing a lot of work but could “see the vision.” “It’s like the Lord opened my eyes and allowed me to see what could be.”

Bailey obtained a LMHC license in the state of Iowa and opened her business Imagine Therapy Solutions, which draws its mission statement from Ephesians 3:20: “And to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, to Him be the glory.”

That was nearly 10 years ago. Now with two locations, the business provides in-person and telehealth services to children, adolescents, adults, and families with a variety of mental and behavioral healthcare needs. “From the day we opened, we’ve had a waiting list and never advertised,” said Bailey, who along with 10 other therapists and five office staffers help clients throughout Iowa to envision themselves achieving their goals so that they can take the necessary steps for self-improvement.

“I enjoy sitting with clients one-on-one to be able to walk with them,” Bailey said. “I am humbled that people allow me to journey with them in their life story.”

In addition to carrying a full-client caseload at Imagine, Bailey provides supervision to therapists in training who are working to acquire their mental health license. She wrote “Tower of Trust,” an interactive storybook for children teaching them the value of second chances, and also speaks publicly on the topic of mental health to surrounding organizations, churches and schools.

This year, the t-shirts, free to , are printed with four tread marks, inked, of course, with each school’s colors.

“It’s a symbol of all four schools united together,” said Suzanne Hostetler, who mentors EMU students in her positions with and and is a member of the Walk for Hope planning committee. “T��� EMU counseling center is grateful for the opportunity to work alongside of JMU, Bridgewater College, and Blue Ridge Community College to raise awareness about depression and suicide prevention. We see this day as a valuable event for students, faculty, staff and community members to come together in unity and to experience hope.”

The walk and all afternoon activities are free and open to the public. People whose lives have been affected by mental illness, either personally or through friends and family, are especially encouraged to attend.

Participants will gather at 11:15 a.m. at Turner Ashby High School in Bridgewater, with the walk to Bridgewater College commencing at 11:30 a.m. The main event music, speakers, refreshments, and creative arts activities, which includes music, speakers, refreshments, and community arts projects starts at 12:30 p.m. in Nininger Hall. Children’s activities include face painting, hula hooping, and a special art area.

Comedian Kevin Breel, a writer and activist for student mental health, will be the speaker. The 21-year-old Canadian has toured frequently on behalf of Active Minds, a national student organization that works on peer levels to change the perception about mental health. His talk “” was featured on TEDxKids.

As in past years, participants can create remembrance art, adding squares to the “Symbols of Hope” quilt or creating “Hope in a Bag,” personal bags “to hold symbols of hope to remember for yourself or share with others,” she said, adding that participatory art projects have always been an important part of the event.

Since it began in 2012, Walk for Hope has increased in size each year. Last year’s event, hosted at EMU, drew between 600 and 700 participants.

That growth may come as the result of a tragic fact: Most college students know someone who has suffered from depression or anxiety, contemplated suicide or died by suicide. The second leading cause of death among college students is suicide, according to a 2012 study by the . reports that depression and anxiety are more common among college students than back pain, sinus ailments, and allergies.

The event is sponsored by , which also funds an innovative mentoring program at EMU called CoachLink. The program began after Austin Frazier, a junior at James Madison University, died in 2009 after a long battle with bipolar disorder.

When Nafziger graduated from Harrisonburg High School in 2009, the track standout had other things on his mind than attending the small university where his father was vice president of student life. EMU was always on the radar, but Nafziger said he felt more pressure than desire to attend. Instead, he looked to the myriad of Virginia colleges which had offered him track scholarships before finally accepting a partial scholarship to attend George Mason University, a Division I school in the suburbs of Washington D.C.

Nafziger remembers this decision as being based on pride. The scholarship proved that he was able to compete at the highest level, and the school’s distance from Harrisonburg was a way of showing that he was moving past his hometown.

As Nafziger soon realized though, pride was not the best way to choose a school. In his first year, Nafziger said that he only talked to one teacher and that was during his transitions class. He trooped through a succession of lecture halls with hundreds of people and impersonal experiences.

Nafziger felt anonymous. He had friends on the track team, but felt that the sprawling institution – 33,197 total students spread over 806 acres in four locations in Northern Virginia – made him a mere number. In addition, Nafziger felt that the professors didn’t care about the undergraduates. “T���y were there for their research,” he said. “It might have been different if I was a graduate student, but as an undergraduate I did not feel that I had their attention.”

The questions that had begun to surface during the year were exacerbated when Nafziger suffered a stress fracture to his back during the winter. At this point, injured and with his future as a runner in doubt, Nafziger began to look at other schools – this time looking for something else: community. “I wasn’t saying ‘community’ that much,” he said, referring to his time before entering George Mason. “But [now] I wanted a community.”

Nafziger came to visit , having never officially done a campus visit after high school. What he found surprised him. Nafziger was stunned that associate professor of , took time out of her day to meet with him. He also realized that he had mistakenly assumed that attending EMU would be like an extension of his high school experience. “T��� campus seemed self-contained. It was not like the Harrisonburg that I knew; it was different when I got on campus.”

After deciding to transfer to EMU for his sophomore year, Nafziger found his niche athletically and academically. Still a standout runner, Nafziger immediately made an impact on the and , setting school records in the 1000 meter and 1600 meter races, as well as being awarded first state all academic and conference academic honor multiple times. At EMU however, Nafziger was not on a track scholarship, so he pursued running voluntarily instead of as an obligation. “I still loved running, but now I had the freedom not to run. It was my choice, not my identity.”

In addition to athletic success, at EMU, Nafziger found old friends and made new ones, and enjoyed the support of faculty. With caring mentors, he explored his options, changing his major twice before graduating with a B.A. focused on counseling with a minor in biology.

Following graduation in 2013, Nafziger began working with troubled youth. After a few months, though, Nafziger found himself missing the EMU community. “Where can I do the most amount of good?” he asked himself.

For Nafziger, the answer was back at his alma mater. “I was a transfer, an athlete, a team captain, and I changed majors. I can speak to a lot of experiences” – including the benefits of a smaller school.

“Dan cares about people,” said , vice president of admissions and Nafziger’s supervisor. “He demonstrates an incredible balance between deep compassion and competitiveness.”

Walk For Hope unites students from Blue Ridge Community College, Bridgewater College, ��ݮ���� and James Madison University to raise awareness about depression and suicide. The walk and all afternoon activities are free and open to the public. People whose lives have been affected by mental illness, either personally or through friends and family, are especially encouraged to attend.

Organizers predict this year’s event will be especially powerful. The Steel Wheels, which include Eric Brubaker ’01, Brian Dickel ’98, and Jay Lapp, are also bringing that special friend on stage to share the story of his struggles with depression and past abuse, and how he came to make a different, life-saving choice. Keith Morris ’83 is past president and current board member of the , which addresses child sexual abuse in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

“T��� prevailing message of the event is hope,” said planning committee member , who mentors EMU students in her positions with and . “It’s really moving to be a part of it, to see everyone supporting each other.”

The event kicks off at 11:30 a.m. with a 2.2-mile walk from JMU’s Memorial Hall in downtown Harrisonburg along High Street/Virginia Avenue to the EMU campus. In the past, walkers and an administrator from each school marched separately to a common location, but this year, in a show of solidarity, all will walk together. Walk For Hope T-shirts, free to pre-registered participants, will be brightly tie-dyed in school colors.

Organizers expect close to 1,000 participants to congregate at EMU’s Thomas Plaza around 12:30 p.m. for an afternoon of music, creativity, and sharing. The concert begins at 1 p.m. Other activities include children’s face-painting and games, drumming, and opportunities to create remembrance art. As in past years, participants can decorate and take home personal garden stones and add squares to the “Symbols of Hope” quilt. This year’s special community project will be decorating large wooden letters that spell “Walk for Hope.”

Since it began in 2012, Walk for Hope has increased in size each year. That growth may come as the result of a tragic fact: Most college students know someone who has suffered from depression or anxiety, contemplated suicide or died by suicide. The second leading cause of death among college students is suicide, according to a 2012 study by the . reports that depression and anxiety are more common among college students than back pain, sinus ailments, and allergies.

Raising awareness and providing support are two goals of the , which co-sponsors Walk for Hope and also funds an innovative mentoring program at EMU called CoachLink. The program began after Austin Frazier, a junior at James Madison University, died in 2009 after a long battle with bipolar disorder.

“This CoachLink program and Walk for Hope were concepts presented to local colleges by his father, Bibb Frazier,” says Hostetler, one of five coaches in the CoachLink program. “Both are ways to honor Austin’s memory, to acknowledge that there is hope for all those who experience the effects of depression and suicidal thoughts, and to provide support and resources to students who may need it.” Bibb Frazier is the owner of the nearby , which supplied limestone seen on EMU’s buildings and grounds.

In 2010, CoachLink began with 15 students and three mentors. Now five coaches are paired with more than 50 students, some of whom probably would never see a counselor because of “stigma and anxiety or past history,” says coach Crystal Horning, a counselor with more than 25 years experience in the mental health field. “T��� informality of our meeting places and the kind of supportive relationship we have is almost more freeing, I think, for a student to talk about really challenging issues.”

Hostetler says Walk for Hope has successfully created a similar informal and positive atmosphere for educating and raising awareness. “From that first year, we wanted the focus to be on hope,” she said. “We wanted to create the right atmosphere that is comfortable, so people feel free to walk for someone they’ve lost or someone who considered suicide, but didn’t do it. We wanted people to leave feeling hopeful and comfortable talking about depression and suicide, because it’s not something people talk about or admit they’ve struggled with.”

The event is co-sponsored by the Austin Frazier Memorial Fund, EMU, JMU, Bridgewater College, and Sentara RMH Behavioral Health.

To receive a free t-shirt, pre-register at .

“We don’t electric shock children. Even I wouldn’t do that,” Coan reassured the audience, with an infectious laugh.

At , Coan delivered a .” That presentation was published as a chapter in the conference book, (Cascade Books, 2013).

On March 10, 2014, Coan brought his chock-a-block Powerpoint slides back to EMU for another entertaining, anecdote-filled lecture about his neuroscience research on how simply holding a loved one’s hand can regulate stress in threatening situations.

Research shows calming effect of companionship

In his lab, Coan shows subjects threat cues on a screen that indicate a one-in-five chance of receiving a small electric shock to the ankle. Using an MRI scanner and cutting-edge brain-mapping tools, he and his colleagues observe blood flow through various regions of their brains when exposed to this threat of pain.

These threat cues and shocks are administered under three conditions: with the subjects alone, while holding the hands of strangers and while holding their spouses’ hands.

Coan and his team of researchers found that holding a loved one’s hand during stressful and threatening situations causes a big decrease in the response to threat when compared to being alone or holding a stranger’s hand.

In cases when their subjects, reassured by a spouse’s presence, showed a decreased threat response, Coan and other neuroscientists expected an alternate sector of the brain to “light up.” Curiously, however, they found that no other area of the brain was doing this. This suggests, Coan says, that an expected function of the test subject’s brain was being “outsourced” to another person.

“In traditional psychology, we see the individual – the single person – as our unit of analysis. But what if that isn’t the case?” asks Coan. Accordingly, he and his fellow researchers have proposed an alternative perspective, which they call “social-baseline theory.”

Interdependence as a survival strategy

Humans are not designed to efficiently solve problems alone, Coan continues. “We are designed to be interdependent, always and constantly to be placed in a social frame,” he says. Alone, we have to devote more of our brain’s resources to solving problems and responding to threats. “If you are by yourself, the world is a more daunting place.”

He saved the “weirdest” (his descriptor) bit for last as he postulated what folks from the world’s religious traditions will readily affirm: The “self” is extendable and dynamic, distributed and malleable, and most at home when connected to a healthy community.

The significance of Coan’s research, says , professor of , is its suggestion that life “is much less daunting … in a community in which you can trust that people are there for you in a moment of need.” The bright side of community in the Anabaptist tradition – “sending help to a far corner of the world or a sign-up list for bringing meals to someone who has fallen sick” – is, however, not the complete picture.

Early points to “the shadow-side of community: betrayal, conflict and histories of abuse. If we want to take seriously our mission to bring healing to the world, we will need to accept that that includes the inner world as well.”

Coan’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Time, BBC News, Discovery Channel and other major media outlets, and his groundbreaking research with John Gottman appeared in Malcolm Gladwell’s bestseller Blink. He also has about . (Interestingly, his first paper describing the hand-holding research was rejected by six journals prior to its 2006 publication.)

His visit was co-sponsored by Shenandoah Anabaptist Science Society and EMU’s .

Since 1995 when the inaugural cohort of ten future counselors and therapists completed their rigorous two years of professional studies, a total of 227 graduates have earned masters degrees here. Only 62 of that number were EMU undergraduate students. The vast majority were attracted by the program’s reputation for nationally-accredited excellence, a creative community whose goal is to train the whole person (mind, body and spirit) for the challenging work of counseling.

“Being part of a small Christian university is actually a strength of our program,” said , PhD, and a founding faculty member. “T��� sense of community, the shared values of service, and the interdisciplinary opportunities to collaborate with EMU’s other graduate programs, all help to create our program’s distinctive flavor.”

These attributes and more were on full display during the hugely successful that filled EMU’s Yoder arena with more than 1200 attendees. “It took a village the size of EMU and a cooperative spirit among various academic disciplines to pull together that groundbreaking conference,” noted , PhD, professor in the counseling program and one of the conference organizers.

A community of deep conversation is built into the cohort model of counselor training. A group of 12 to 20 students moves together through the two-year course of full-time study, which expands to three or four years for part-time students. Classes meet two consecutive days a week to fit the schedule of busy working adults.

“T��� professors were extremely knowledgeable, professional, and amazing at their work, but they also were very approachable and made time for each individual student,” reported 2004 graduate Kristene Wellings. “I wasn’t just a student. I ‘belonged’ there. This personal and emotional connection also allowed me to have the courage to develop my counselor identity. If I could sum up the experience in one word it would be ‘grace.’ Faculty members are so gracious with students. Here I learned that counseling is not just a career, it’s building relationships with real people that deserve genuine care.”

The transition from “student” to “colleague” often happens during their 600-hour internship, a major component of their second year of training. They work at a wide variety of community mental health sites. “Motivated. Hard working. Compassion for suffering. High ethical standards. Respect for clients. Ability to handle depth work with difficult cases. Solid foundation with eagerness to learn.” These are among the many positive attributes supervisors note on intern evaluations.

The ups and downs of the program’s early years are in the rear view mirror. “We’ve crossed the threshold of internal growth to sustain the program. We’ve achieved national accreditation in Community Mental Health Counseling from CACREP, seen as the gold-standard. Now we can focus more intentionally on refining our training curriculum, our practitioner-focused pedagogy,” said Early.

“Head knowledge alone is not the key to lasting change. Rather, real change comes through an immersive experience of the whole person – body, mind and spirit – in both verbal and non-verbal ways,” she explained. Exploring new ways of integrating the power of the healing and expressive arts places the counseling program at the leading edge of a burgeoning field.

As the program enters its third decade, the recently launched augments core curriculum with innovative workshops and nationally-known cutting-edge speakers. The institute’s goal is to broaden the learning horizons of its student and serve the wider network of practitioners. “I can see the institute growing into a place of retreat for professional development as we expand our regional reputation,” Haase said.

This year’s expert speaker is , an internationally-recognized poet, author and expert in organizational development. “I have heard him several times at national conferences before audiences of several thousand. He speaks about the human condition in new ways and with great insight,” Glanzer said. “To have him on our campus for a one-day seminar in our more intimate setting will be an exciting opportunity for personal reflection and professional growth.”

Inviting a poet to speak to counselors may seem an odd choice. However, Whyte breaks the stereotypic image of poet as navel-gazer. He is as likely to quote Dante as his own lines when exploring the deeper levels of meaning embedded in life’s work, always asking the relevant questions that spark insight and change. His Yorkshire accent and global life experiences add to the power of his presentations.

Whyte will lead a seminar Feb. 22, 2014, in EMU’s Martin Chapel from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. His creative workshop is on the topic of “Solace: the art of asking the beautiful question.”Attendance is limited to 300. Fees are $50 for current students and $150 for the general public. More information and registration is.

The topic of his evening talk is “T��� foundation of conversational leadership.” That event will be begin 7 p.m. in EMU’s Lehman auditorium. It is free to EMU faculty, staff and students, and $20 for the general public.

Conversing about his 20-year journey and looking ahead, Glanzer sees the innovative reputation of EMU’s counseling program continuing to grow. “Each of our strong faculty have a unique vision. Invitations from the broader world to share our scholarship, pedagogy and experiential insights will open exciting doors in the years ahead.”

, the conference featured renowned researchers and practitioners – including Sue Johnson, the developer of Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy and author of Hold Me Tight; neuroscientist James Coan of the University of Virginia; and psychiatry professor Daniel J. Siegel of the University of California-Los Angeles.

Their presenters summarized and interpreted decades of research, with paradigm-shifting implications, as the editors of Integrating the New Science of Love and a Spirituality of Peace observe in the book’s introduction and conclusion.

“The confirmation of attachment theory puts us in a position to say that we are fundamentally relational and emotional beings, not rational and calculating individuals as modern Enlightenment theorists thought,” write co-editors and in the opening pages of the 151-page book.

“Now we can begin to understand with theoretical specificity the devastating consequences of disconnection: its influence not only in the makeup of a human being, but also on the large scale of the social tragedies and traumas that plague our world today.” Both editors are professors at EMU – Annmarie of counseling and Christian of philosophy and theology – and both were key players in organizing the 2011 conference.

In his foreword, of points out that understanding humans to be “fundamentally relational and emotional“– embedded in a web of relationships comprised of love and support, if we’re to be healthy – has large implications for his own field of . It confirms that harmful acts usually emerge from (and contribute to) brokenness that needs to be addressed in community-based relationships.

The book underscores that “the brain expects, and is fundamentally shaped by, relationships,” writes Zehr. “We are not expected to grow and develop alone, and we are not designed to solve problems by ourselves.”

The seven book chapters, based on presentations by the five keynote speakers at the conference – with an additional commentary by Janel Curry, professor of environmental science at Calvin College – basically argue that a critical task for humans is to learn how to form healthy attachments, with each other, with the earth, and with God. The other two keynote speakers were John Paul Lederach, professor of international peacebuilding at the University of Notre Dame, and Nancey Murphy, professor of Christian philosophy at Fuller Theological Seminary.

In the first half of the book, Siegel and Coan set forth the findings of researchers in psychology and neuroscience over the last 60 years, which strongly suggest that the human brain functions optimally when a person has supportive relationships with others. Conversely, if a person feels socially rejected, it registers in the same part of the brain (the anterior cingulate cortex) as physical pain does.

In her chapter, Johnson elaborates on this theme in regard to marital relationships, where “love” means having an emotional bond with others with whom we form a safe haven from the storms of life.

“In your spiritual tradition, Anabaptism,” Johnson told her audience (and repeats in her chapter), “you talk about the need for community and connection. This resonates with attachment theory in psychology.

“As a developmental theory, the new attachment science tells us the essence of a human being is not aggression, inquisitiveness, or sexuality. The essence of man is his need to connect with others; this heart connection is essential to survival and to growth, to being fully and optimally alive to the soul.”

In Integrating the New Science of Love and a Spirituality of Peace, the contributors highlight what it really means to be human, and how understanding this will propel us toward a better tomorrow. They also make the point that insecure, controlling, judgmental and otherwise unhealthy relationships will have the opposite effect.

In his five end-of-chapter commentaries and concluding book chapter (co-authored with Annmarie), Christian Early links the new science of love to the kingdom of God as preached by Jesus of Nazareth. “[A]t its deepest, truest, and most basic, the human story is a love story. Attachment theory is really a theory of love; the gospel is really a story of love,” say the editors in their conclusion.

, EMU associate professor of chemistry and former chair of the , provided the preface where she explains that SASS received funding from the Metanexus Institute and John Templeton Foundation “to begin a transdisciplinary exploration of attachment theory using an Anabaptist lens,” which led to several speakers in 2009-10 and early 2011, culminating in the 2011 attachment conference.

The book can be ordered for $16.40 in print ($9.99 on Kindle) through or other online booksellers. Links to podcasts, blogs and downloads of power point presentations from the conference are .

The new faculty, announced by provost Fred Kniss, are:

Amy Gillespie, EdD, assistant professor of the practice of nursing

Gillespie earned a BS in nursing from Duke University and an MSN from the University of Virginia. She holds an EdD from the University of Phoenix and has over 30 years of floor and administrative nursing experience. Gillespie also brings collegiate adjunct faculty experience in teaching acute care medical-surgical nursing.

Jennifer Holsinger, PhD, associate professor of sociology

Holsinger earned a BA in sociology at Seattle Pacific University. She holds an MA and a PhD from the University of Washington. Holsinger has collegiate experience teaching as an associate professor at Whitworth University and served as interim director of the U.S. cultural studies minor in 2012-13. Her areas of scholarly interest are race and ethnic relations, urban sociology, environmental sociology, demography, applied sociology and African and Middle Eastern studies.

Daniel King, PhD, assistant professor of physics

King earned a BA in physics and music at Goshen College. He holds an MA and a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. King served as a teaching assistant providing laboratory instruction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests include ultrasound, microbubble dynamics, acoustics, biomechanics and fluid mechanics.

Kristen Kirwan, assistant professor of the practice of nursing

Kirwan earned a BS in nursing at the University of Virginia and an MSN from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. Kirwan brings a variety of nursing experience both in hospitals and family nurse practitioner settings. Her most recent professional experience has been at James Madison University as a family nurse practitioner.

Nate Koser, PhD, assistant professor of counseling

Koser earned a BS in psychology and an MA in counseling from EMU. He completed his PhD at Saybrook University in summer 2013. Koser has collegiate experience as an instructor in the MA in counseling program at EMU. His interests are in assisting and accompanying individuals to move towards an authentic life.

Jessica Kraybill, PhD, assistant professor of psychology

Kraybill earned a BA in psychology at Earlham College. She holds an MS and PhD from Virginia Tech. Kraybill has collegiate teaching experience as an instructor at Virginia Tech. Her specialty is in developmental and biological psychology and shares that teaching is her passion.

Justin Poole, PhD, assistant professor of theater

Poole earned a BA in communications with a theater emphasis at Eastern University. He holds an MA from Villanova University and a PhD from the University of Maryland. Poole spent two years studying with the Austrian Academic Exchange Program, one year in Vienna and one year in Salzburg, Austria. His research interests are devised theater/ensemble play development, contemporary European experimental performance, and contemporary performances of classical texts.

Andrea Dalton Saner, assistant professor of Old Testament and Hebrew Language

Dalton Saner earned a BA in Bible at Messiah College and an MA at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. She completed her PhD at Durham University in the United Kingdom in 2013. Dalton Saner’s faculty appointment will be a joint one with Eastern Mennonite Seminary and the undergraduate Bible and religion department. She has previous collegiate teaching experience at Goshen College. Her areas of interest include Old Testament theological interpretation.

Maria Esther Showalter, lecturer in the language and literature department

Showalter earned a BA in foreign languages from Gabriel R. Morena University in Bolivia and an MA from George Mason University. She has prior collegiate experience at EMU, having taught as an instructor in both the Intensive English Program and the language and literature department.

Debora Snarr, assistant professor of the practice of nursing

Snarr earned a BS in nursing and an MSN at the University of Maryland. She is a certified adult nurse practitioner and brings years of nursing experience in a variety of settings. Her nursing experience has focused on diverse populations in different settings. Snarr is passionate about the voice of the nurse and evidence-based practice.

Jianghong (Esther) Tian, PhD, assistant professor of engineering

Tian earned a BS in mechanical engineering and a MS at Changsha Institute of Technology. She holds a PhD from the University of Virginia. Tian recently taught statistics and calculus at The Miller School of Albemarle in Charlottesville, Va. Her research interests include robotics.

Anne Waltner, DMA, assistant professor of music

Waltner earned a BA in piano performance and biology at Goshen College. She holds an MM from the Chicago College of Performing Arts and a DMA from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Waltner has collegiate teaching experience at West Virginia State University, where she directed keyboard studies. She maintains an active solo and collaborative performing schedule.

Visit the lower level of the Seminary building between 4:30 – 6 p.m., to find out more information about EMU’s accredited degree program providing psychologically and spiritually grounded training in professional counseling. Faculty, staff and current students will be on hand to answer your questions.

The master of arts in counseling is a 60-semester hour accredited community counseling program. The includes study in the areas of professional identity, counseling theories, group counseling .

For more information on the MA in counseling open house and for directions contact Brenda Fairweather at 540-432-4243 or email counseling@emu.edu. (.)

And, for most parents, that can be difficult. Just ask Kristina Catterton, a mother of two, who also has two stepchildren.

“I just think of them as they were babies and in preschool and all the milestones … Now they’re hitting new milestones as they grow and get into middle school,” Catterton says of her four children. “It’s different, but it’s good.”

Catterton tries to let her children be independent.

But that’s not always easy. One thing she’s learned is that, as they get older, she has less control over who their friends are. When they were younger, her kids’ friends were all children of her own friends, Catterton said.

“As they get older, they become more independent – they have their own circle of friends that are separate from you, especially as they go to middle school,” she said. “It is a little difficult because I don’t necessarily know all these people, so there’s a level of trust that you have to have there.”

Catterton’s goal is to raise autonomous adults.

“So, part of parenting is slowly letting go of that control … and trusting in them that they will make good decisions, and that I have done my job as a parent,” she said.

Letting Go

According to , an associate professor of at ��ݮ����, back-to-school time provides an opportunity to build trust between parent and child. As an attachment therapist, she speaks to the parents of incoming students about letting go.

“I think the key question for all of us [to ask those we trust] as we make transitions is `Will you be there for me when I really need you?’ ” Early said.

That means, as parents, being aware of your emotional shortcomings.

“Those transitions tend to go better when we are tending to those dimensions, and that means, as parents, we are focusing on our anxieties and dealing with them and not putting them on our children.”

When your child is going through a transitional period, the best thing to do is to allow him or her room to grow, according to Early. Even as parents take a step back, they should still be available to answer questions and provide emotional support, she said.

Doing that, she said, helps to create a resilient person who can not only “withstand, but benefit from stressful situations.”

“What we want to do is build resilient children; not just protect them from the world, but help them to have the skills they need to help them recover,” she said. “These transitions for children, we would want them to be opportunities for growth.”

Provide your children with room to go out and make mistakes, but also be there to comfort and console when things go wrong, said Early. Doing so will create a good balance, making children feel secure.

“When we feel safe, we can go out and explore and be successful,” she said. “And if we’re feeling scared or feeling a sense of danger – I call them alarm bells – we want to make sure that we calm that down and address those needs that revolve around, `Will you be there for me when I really need you?’ ”

Two Types Of Parent

Toward that end, Early says parents fall into two groups. The first is the “secure” parent who provides his or her children with the right balance of freedom and protection.

The second is the anxious parent who either over-regulates or under-regulates his or her children.

“One is the parent who feels anxious about letting go and steps in too soon and the other is the parent who provides too much distance and needs to step in sooner,” she said.

In any case, there are important messages parents should convey, she said. Kids thrive on words of encouragement such as “I believe in you; You are listened to; You are cared for; You are very important to me” and “I know you can handle [growing up].”

Whichever type of parent you might be, though, Early said, don’t always expect to be the perfect role model.

“It’s not always in getting it right – it’s going back and repairing the mistakes where security is built and where healing happens,” she said. “Transitions are oftentimes where parents can recreate or build something that’s never been there. So, transitions are wonderful times where parents can build new bonds with their children and repair things from the past.”

Courtesy Daily News Record, July 28, 2012

“T��� at ��ݮ���� is designed for working men and women,” said, PhD, director of the program. “The includes study in the areas of professional identity, counseling theories and group counseling.”

Two tracks

• a 60-credit track approved by the (CACREP). It  prepares students for clinical practice and meets educational requirements for Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Virginia.
• a dual degree program that helps students earn both the master of divinity and an MA in Counseling at less cost and in less time than if the degrees were pursued separately.

Admission

Students are admitted on the basis of their qualities and abilities in scholastic achievement, work experience, and suitability of their character and personality to work in the counseling field.

Applicants must be a graduate of a regionally accredited college or university. They are required to submit official transcripts of credit from all colleges and universities attended and three references, two of which must be academic. Potential candidates will be invited for an interview.

A complete application file is due by  Feb. 15. After this deadline, the admissions committee will continue to review applications if space remains available.

More information

For more information about the master of counseling program, or to apply, contact Brenda Fairweather at 540-432-4243 or email counseling@emu.edu.

So say the organizers of an “attachment conference” to be led by experts from across North America gathering at EMU in the spring of 2011.

Conference is first of its kind

, PhD, director of

, PhD, EMU associate professor of

, PhD, EMU associate professor of

“Conversations on Attachment: Integrating the Science of Love and Spirituality,” a first of its kind, will bring together five internationally-recognized experts from a variety of disciplines to apply key insights from attachment theory to current research and practice.

The conference will be held March 31-April 1, 2011 and is open to the public.

“We hope hundreds of people will join us for three days of life-changing conversation that is sure to change how you see yourself, your relationships and the larger world,” says , PhD, director of , one of the conference sponsors.

Necessity of attachment in life

Program planner , PhD, EMU associate professor of , believes this conference “is sorely needed as well as timely.”

Recent neuroscience demonstrates that “healthy attachments, particularly people-to-people connections, are crucial for society to survive and flourish,” says Kishbaugh.

“One of our most important tasks is to learn how to form healthy attachments – with each other, with the earth and with God.”

, PhD, associate professor of , first had the idea for EMU to host such a conference.

“Attachment theory gives us a specific handle on the development of our sense of self, the dynamics of love, and the hope for repair after rupture,” he notes.

“This conference provides an open space – stretching from neuroscience to spirituality – to talk about what it means to be human.”

Attachment Conference Speakers

Confirmed conference speakers include highly sought after experts who are bestselling authors in their fields. They include:

Sue Johnson, EdD

Sue Johnson, EdD: Professor of clinical psychology at The University of Ottawa, director of the Ottawa Couple and Family Institute Inc., and the International Center for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy. Dr. Johnson has published numerous books, chapters and articles in the field of relationships and therapy. Her most recent book is written for the general public and is entitled “Hold Me Tight – Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love.”

James Coan, PhD

James Coan, PhD: Assistant professor of psychology, member of the Neuroscience Graduate Program and director of the Virginia Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Virginia, co-editor of Handbook of Emotion Elicitation and Assessment

Daniel J. Siegel, MD

Daniel J. Siegel, MD: Clinical professor of psychiatry, UCLA’s Center for Culture, Brain, and Development; co-director, Mindful Awareness Research Center and co-author of the bestseller, “Parenting from the Inside Out: How a Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who Thrive.”

John Paul Lederach, PhD

John Paul Lederach, PhD: Professor of international peacebuilding at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame and author of numerous books, including “The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace.”

Nancey Murphy, PhD

Nancey Murphy, PhD: Professor of Christian philosophy at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, Calif., and author of “Bodies and Souls, or Spirited Bodies?”

Pre-conference training with Sue Johnson

A will be offered March 31 by the originator of Emotion Focused Therapy, Dr. Susan Johnson, EdD. Dr. Johnson’s 2004 book (2nd Ed).

The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy: Creating Connection is the basic text on this form of therapy and her more popular book Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love is used for enrichment and insight into the dance of attachment.

The training is open to mental health professionals, pastors and interested community members who want a formal introduction to Emotion Focused Therapy by the originator of this approach.

It runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Martin Chapel of Eastern Mennonite Seminary.

Signature sponsorship

is the signature sponsor for the event. EMU is grateful for the collaboration with this local partner. Learn more…

Conference schedule and costs

More information about the conference schedule and costs, as well as online registration and blog postings by presenters, is available at .

Inquiries can also be sent to conference coordinator Cheryl Doss at attachment@emu.edu or phone 540-432-4400.

Supporters who made the conference possible

The conference is funded by a grant from Metanexus Global Network Initiative to the Shenandoah Anabaptist Science Society (SASS).

SASS is an inter-disciplinary, area-wide organization which creates space for dialogue and promotes education on issues at the intersection of science and religion.

SASS () is housed at EMU and open to all interested persons.

By Kate Elizabeth Queram, Daily News-Record

When he sat down to write his son Austin’s obituary last fall, Bibb Frazier was faced with a choice.

He could be purposely vague about how the 22-year-old died, or he could say, straightforwardly, that it was suicide, caused by his son’s battle with bipolar disorder.

“And I chose, in this case, to do something to make people think about a very real problem,” said Frazier, of Harrisonburg. “This is a situation where it’s best just to be honest and try to save some lives in the future.”

Austin Frazier Memorial Fund

Austin Frazier

To accomplish that goal, Frazier established the , where people could send monetary gifts in lieu of flowers. Immediately, he said, they began to pour in.

“There were well over 100 gifts made, and they’re still coming in,” he said. “And about a quarter of them are from strangers.”

This fall, that donated money – with additional funds from Frazier himself – will help launch a program at ��ݮ���� designed to make the transition to college life easier for students suffering from mood disorders, such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.

‘CoachLink’ connects the dots

Called “CoachLink,” the program will pair undergraduates with “coaches” – second-year graduate students enrolled in EMU’s master of counseling program.

<!––> Participation in the program is voluntary, and the request for assistance can come from the undergraduates themselves, their parents or faculty members, according to Pam Comer, director of counseling services at EMU.

The graduate students – who will receive credit for their participation – will serve as mentors, campus liaisons and friends, Comer said.

‘A listening ear’

Pam Comer, director of counseling services at EMU

“Coaches will determine case by case what each individual undergraduate needs,” she said. “They’ll connect them on campus, be a go-to, be a listening ear.”

Frazier said he chose EMU after the Mennonite community reached out to his family following Austin’s death. The campus’ size, he added, is ideally suited to the program.

“Being such a small school, I think it’s a particularly good nurturing environment for it to be tested and tweaked and monitored,” he said.

Program begins with four coaches

Currently, the program has four coaches, with the potential to expand depending on the demand from undergraduates.

Comer said she knows of at least two incoming students who have expressed interest in using CoachLink, but that the need for the program is much more widespread.

“Twenty-five percent of any college campus usually has some kind of pre-existing issue with depression or anxiety,” she said.

“About half of them could really be helped by a personalized layer of attention.”

Importance of ‘reaching out for help’

The hope, according to Frazier, is to encourage students to reach out for help in time to prevent them from feeling disconnected, withdrawing from school or ultimately succumbing to their disorders.

Frazier said he felt that if Austin – a junior at James Madison University when he died – had access to a program like CoachLink, his outcome could have been different.

“It’s an unmet public health need, transitioning these kids … into the freshman dorms, because once they leave their home, it’s sink or swim, baby,” he said.

“You’re on your own. You have to ask for any help, and sometimes for these students, that’s the hard thing.”

Future plans for CoachLink

The program is funded for three school years, according to Frazier, and the results will be tracked to determine if it can be expanded to other campuses. But even if it stays, successfully, at EMU, he’ll be happy.

“My first and number one hope is that it saves lives,” he said. “If we can just save a couple families from having to go through what we did, that’s enough.”

More info

For more information on CoachLink, contact Pam Comer at 540-432-4314 or email coachlink@emu.edu. If you or someone you know has concerns about suicide, she advises calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

• CoachLink at EMU
• EMU Counseling Services

MA in counseling ethics award recipients (l. to r.): Zachary Taylor, Erin Constable, Thomas Smith and Tara Kreider. Photo by Amy Schmid

A team of EMU students in the master of arts in counseling program received a first-place award in the annual national Graduate Student Ethics Competition sponsored by the American Counseling Association (ACA), Alexandria, Va.

Zachary Taylor, West Columbia, S.C.,; Erin Constable, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada; Tara Kreider, Harrisonburg; and Thomas Smith, Hillsboro, Kan., were among teams nationwide who submitted essays in the masters level competition. Each essay was reviewed by members of the ACA ethics committee.

A case study

The case study involved a counseling intern in a college counseling center. The scenario related to the counselors identity as a white suburban male working with a Latina student discussing her experience with childhood abuse. She reported having taken a covert action that seemed to have contributed to her abuser’s early death. The study contained multicultural, boundaries of competence and mandated reporter issues.

The team prepared a 15-page paper identifying what they believed the dilemma to be, what they felt the most ethical actions should be, the justification for their proposed actions and a description of the decision-making model used in reaching that decision.

Applying ethics to professional situations

Linda Leitch-Alford, associate professor of counseling, teaches a course on professional applied ethics, which the students drew from in preparing their essay.

“To have received first place in this national contest is a statement of the quality of students in our program,” Dr. Leitch-Alford said. “The award is also a significant affirmation of their abilities to apply academic learning to professional situations with excellence. It gives us confidence that they will serve their future clients well,” she added.

Each first place team member will receive a $75 gift certificate to the ACA Bookstore, an ACA Ethics Competition winner’s certificate and a letter of recognition from ACA President Lynn Linde. These will be presented to the EMU team – as well as the two other winning master’s level teams and the top three doctoral level winning teams – at the ACA Annual Conference & Exposition in Pittsburgh, Pa., during the ACA National Awards Ceremony Mar. 21.

Student names, institutions and winning responses of the winning master’s and doctoral teams will also be published in the (month) edition of “Counseling Today” magazine and posted on the ACA website at .

About the MA in Counseling program

EMU has 37 students currently enrolled in its MA in counseling program, which is accredited by The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The program offers a 60-semester hour, CACREP-approved track that prepares students for clinical practice as a licensed professional counselor and a dual degree that enables a student to earn both a master of divinity and an MA in counseling degree in less time than if both were pursued separately.