Alumna Dolores Christensen PsyD'17 Describes the Impact of East Campus
Springfield College alumna Dolores A. Christensen, PsyD'17, recently returned to campus as the keynote speaker at the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) Northeast Regional Conference.
By: Damon Markiewicz
Springfield College alumna Dolores A. Christensen, PsyD'17, recently returned to campus as the keynote speaker at the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) Northeast Regional Conference. As part of Christensen’s address, she highlighted how the College played such an important role in her development as a professional, especially the knowledge she gained from her experiences taking classes and working at East Campus.
“Nothing I have today is even possible without my time at Springfield College,” expressed Christensen. “Working at East Campus is certainly one of the most influential things, and the lessons I learned show up in my career on a daily basis.”
As part of Christensen’s presentation, she connected the critical ethical lessons she learned during her graduate school training at Springfield College, with her current professional practice as a licensed mental health professional working with elite collegiate student-athletes at the University of Oklahoma. During her time on Alden Street, Christensen developed a strong connection with Associate Director of East Campus and Outdoor Programs Angela Veatch, G’07, and Christensen described the impact Veatch has had on her life.
“Veatch became a huge mentor for me, and I am the group facilitator I am today because of my time with her,” explained Christensen. “Veatch is one of the most skilled group facilitators I have ever met, and the skills and confidence I have today are because I took Adventure Therapy, a class Veatch teaches.”
Christensen went on to emphasize that taking Adventure Therapy at Springfield College is a must for all students.
“I really learned the importance of sequencing, and how that is such a critical component when working with teams and groups,” explained Christensen. “As a group facilitator, you can never lead a group to a place you can’t bring them back from, and I remind myself of that experience all of the time.”
One particular Adventure Therapy class experience that has stuck in Christensen’s memory focused on the importance of debriefing.
“The class activity was out at East Campus, and we had to find a handkerchief that was hidden in the snow, and we had to do this while blindfolded,” described Christensen. “The class was two hours, and of course we never found the item. The class ended, we all left with nothing else being said, and we didn’t meet again until a week later. Well, a week later, we met again as a class, and we were all ready to express our frustrations. But, we quickly learned that the lesson being emphasized was the importance of debriefing, and always leave time to debrief when working with a group.”
The lessons Christensen learned from that particular class experience never go away, and they continue to impact her work when dealing with OU student-athletes, coaches, and staff.
“That particular class showed Veatch’s skills as a group facilitator were outstanding,” emphasized Christensen. “She knew people were going to have feelings at the end of that class, but she trusted the process she was building with that class. Because of that class with Veatch, I remind myself to trust the process, to trust my education when I have those moments when I ask myself, ‘have I taken the group too far?’ when working with a team. When I think of competence as a facilitator, I think of Veatch.”
Returning to Springfield College gave Christensen an opportunity to reflect on her time as a member of the first cohort of the Springfield College Doctor of Psychology Program in Counseling Psychology. In 2015, she was elected student representative for the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) while enrolled on Alden Street.
“I was very honored to receive the opportunity to be the keynote speaker at this year’s AASP conference because Springfield College has more than a 20-year history of training athletic counselors,” explained Christensen. “The opportunities I received at Springfield College show up in my work every day, experiences that set me up for this beautiful life that I have today.”
