News
Friday, September 18, 2009
Psychology Department Awarded Gift of $238,000
Thanks to a generous gift from the Alice Swarm Trust, administered through 1st Source Bank Trust Department, the IU South Bend Psychology department will be able to pursue a number of related projects focused around the topic of mental illness and suicide. Assistant Professor Daniel DeBrule and Associate Vice Chancellor and Professor John McIntosh will begin by collaborating to create the first undergraduate text on suicide in the country. Dr. DeBrule will be the primary investigator/project director of the endowment. DeBrule has been offering PSY-B 399, Suicide and Depression (a course that McIntosh developed), as a general education “Common Core” requirement for all undergraduates at IU South Bend for several semesters now. McIntosh and DeBrule hope that the new textbook will encourage other colleges and universities to follow their lead in offering this course to undergraduates.
The gift will also support undergraduate research involvement through supporting students on Dr. Debrule’s research team to conduct a series of writing studies that focus on trauma and depression. Funding will also allow for the creation of a suicide research team that will focus on clinical training in suicide, myths of suicide, and suicide survivorship. The student suicide research team takes shape this fall, as five students will work under Dr. DeBrule’s supervision to create a variety of seminars, curricula, and media that target suicide prevention for Michiana agencies. The two colleagues also plan to bring research scholars from across the country to campus as collaborators and presenters. They envision a public lecture series that will be open to community members and that will further serve to educate people about suicide. DeBrule notes that he is hoping to collaborate with colleagues in New Orleans and Mississippi on projects he began with them pre-Katrina.
John McIntosh is nationally and internationally known for his work on suicide, especially with regard to the elderly. Former President of the American Association of Suicidology, Dr. McIntosh has been at the forefront of championing empirical research into the “survivors” of suicide--the family members and other close friends who are left behind when someone takes their own life. Dr. DeBrule, a clinician, has conducted psychotherapy and evaluations at VA hospitals, community mental health centers, university clinics, and medical centers. He is known for his research into expressive writing as a coping tool for individuals who have suffered severe emotional distress.
