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November:

• On Nov. 9, the IPS community celebrates Dr. Philip Scrofani being named to Associate Professor. Read more

• On Wednesday, Nov. 3, students, staff and faculty gather to hear licensed nutritionist Kathy O’Brien, CN from the Weston A. Price Foundation speak on the compelling topic of Moods and Foods. Read more
  

October:

• Prof. William Nordling installed as president of the Association for Play Therapy (APT) on Oct. 10. Read more

• In the Oct. 6 Zenit article, Prof. Michael Pakaluk discusses IPS' mission of integrating psychology with philosophy and theology.

• Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R. and IPS adjunct professor, speaks to more than 230 guests as part of IPS' ongoing anniversary festivities.  Following his talk, guests had the opportunity to meet Fr. Groeschel (Photo gallery)

September:

• IPS to host Fr. Benedict Groeschel on Oct. 1 as part of  IPS' ongoing anniversary festivities. The event, An Evening with Fr. Benedict Groeschel, will be held at Our Lady of Bethesda Retreat Center in Bethesda, Md.  Reservations are required.  Please contact Nancy Flynn for more information.

• Cardinal Sean O'Malley, O.F.M., and the Very Rev. Arthur L. Kennedy, rector of St. John's Seminary (Boston), invite Professors Gladys Sweeney and Paul Vitz to speak at a conference on clerical life and chaste celibacy to be held at St. John's Seminary, Sept. 25-27.  The conference, held as a service to the Universal Church, will be attended by prelates and scholars from Canada and Europe.  A book featuring all presentations from the conference will be published.
  

• On Sept. 11, a packed audience warmly welcomed Prof. Peter Kreeft and helped launch IPS' 10-year anniversary celebrations.   Following Prof. Kreeft's talk Has Psychology Lost its Soul?, a reception was held for guests and the IPS community. (Photo gallery)

• Prof. Peter Kreeft will be the featured guest at IPS' Founders’ Day Celebration, a reception kicking off our 10th Anniversary on Sept. 11 from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.  More details to follow.  All are invited to attend; RSVP to info@IPSciences.edu. 

• Prof. James Giordano will be at the United Nations on Sept. 11 overseeing the last of the 3-series conference, Technology, Neuroscience, and the Nature of Being: Considerations of Meaning, Morality, and Transcedence.

August:

• President Fr. Charles Sikorsky stresses importance of IPS in A New Era for Catholic Psychologists. Read more

• On August 30, under a glorious blue sky on the grounds of Our Lady of Bethesda Retreat Center in Md., the annual President's Picnic was held. Following a Mass celebrated by President Fr. Charles Sikorsky, faculty, students, staff and their family and friends gathered for an afternoon of great barbecue fare, games, and fellowship. (Photo gallery)

• IPS welcomes new Training Clinic hire and IPS alumnus Leslie Kacsir, Psy.D. Dr. Kacsir will assume the position of clinical supervisor of the IPS Training Clinic.

• Fall 2009 Orientation Schedule for Friday, August 21. Click here

• President Fr. Charles Sikorsky and IPS featured in New Era for Catholic Psychologists, August 19.

• Successful Pastoral Formation Seminar:  Psychology Serving Marriage and Family attracts participants from around the country. Read more
• Local Diocesan paper covers seminar

• Prof. Paul Vitz is this month's guest blogger for the Society of Christian Psychology. Read his latest posting IPS and Modern Psychology: The Big Picture
  

July:

• On July 10, Dr. Stephen Hamel is the featured speaker during the Catholic Business Network’s monthly meeting in Rockville, Md.  His address, Handling Stress During Difficult Economic Times, generated tremendous interest, leading one member to comment, “He was highly informative, definitely one of the best speakers we’ve had.”

• July 23 and 25, Dr. Gladys Sweeney lectures at Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome, Italy.  Topics include character formation and human and affective maturity.

• Doctoral student Su Li Lee attends  the summer conference Brain, Mind, and the Nature of Being at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford University. Read more

June:

• Dean Gladys Sweeney is featured on NPLR's The Day Gardner Show and Living Hope for Life! with Michael Martelli.
   
  
• IPS faculty author the first Catholic issue for Edification, a prominent publication from the Society of Christian Psychology.  To date, this is Edification's only issue devoted to the integration of psychology and faith from an explicitly Catholic perspective. Read more
  • Zenit reviews Edification's special Catholic issue

• Dr. Michael Pakaluk will give a presentation on the issues of accounting ethics and professionalism to the Financial Standards Accounting Board (FSAB). Dr. Michael Pakaluk and his wife Cathrine are the featured speakers at the 14th Annual Family Life Conference in Edmonton, Canada.
  

 May:

• On Thursday, May 28, 2009, IPS celebrates its eighth commencement services. Sixteen distinguished IPS graduates receive their diplomas following Mass in the beautiful Crypt Chapel located in the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.  Dr. Russell Hittinger, Ph.D. is the commencement speaker and recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.  For a listing of 2009 graduates, click here.
   
• Academic Dean Dr. Gladys Sweeney is featured in the article Get Thee Behind Me, Depression published in the May 24 issue of the National Catholic Register. Read More

• 2009 Doctoral candidates successfully defend their dissertations. Read more
   
  
• Dr. Michael Pakaluk is a visiting professor in the Faculty of Philosophy of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. On May 28, Dr. Pakaluk will present Natural Law and Natural Right in Aristotle at the Istituto Acton.
   
  
• IPS Research Professor Roger Scruton weighs in on the latest "sexting" trend and its impact on today's younger generation. Read more
   
  
• Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R. speaks highly about IPS. Read more
   
  
• The Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences (Winter 2008) reviews the book, Human Nature in Its Wholeness: A Roman Catholic Perspective. The book was edited by IPS Academic Dean Gladys M. Sweeney, first IPS President Fr. Richard Gill, L.C., and Prof. Daniel N. Robinson.

 

April:

• On April 22, Dr. Paul Vitz is a guest speaker at Regina Apostolorum in Rome. The following day, Dr. Vitz addresses the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, also in Rome.  Both lectures are on Psychology, Psychotherapy and the Virtues. 
   
• IPS student recounts his transformative experience while on a missionary trip to Haiti during spring break. Read more 
   
• The Mary S. Thelen Library is the recipient of more than 124 books from the private collection of the late Mr. Benjamin Homan.  Mr. Homan's widow, Mrs. Helen Homan, recently contacted IPS about making the donation.  "I believe strongly in the message of the Institute for the Psychological Sciences and am therefore donating a collection of books from my husband's library." 
   
  A big day for IPS externs! All third-year doctoral students are accepted to their first-choice placements at prestigious sites.  Read More 
   
  On April 7, students attend a lively panel discussion presented by Dean Gladys Sweeney, Dr. Stephen Hamel, and Alpha Omega Clinic Director Art Bennett, M.A. The hour-long discussion titled Life After Graduate School detailed the many professional opportunities awaiting IPS students. Following the discussion, one student remarked, "the event renewed my excitement for pursuing a Psy.D. The program came at just the right time (before doctoral applications were due). I also appreciated their advice concerning the right motivations and foundational ideas to keep in mind as my career advances." 
   
• IPS announces the formation of The Dean's Advisory Board. The new board is comprised of 10 internationally-known and highly regarded members from the theological, philosophical, and psychological sectors.
   
  The purpose of the board is to provide ongoing expertise to ensure that the Institute's unique mission of integrating the science of psychology with insights about the human person from theology and philosophy is supported. 
   
  Online news service ZENIT features guest speaker Christine Rosen, Ph.D. and her recent talk, Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism. The lecture was broadcasted live as part of this year's John Henry Cardinal Newman Lectures Series titled Virtual Reality: Its Distortion of Self and Others.

The last lecture in the series is Thursday, May 14, 2009.  IPS Professor Paul Vitz will present the talk, The Analog to Digital Progression:  Modernity as the Removal of Reality.

 

March: 

• Reservations are now being accepted for the IPS Pastoral Summer Seminar: Psychology Serving Marriages & Families.  This comprehensive seminar features renowned speakers in the fields of psychology and pastoral ministry and is designed specifically for priests, deacons, religious, and laity who provide spiritual guidance and counseling. Read More 

To download an application, click here
Register by May 15 and save $100 or more
 

February:

• In the Winter 2009 issue of LeCristo Magazine, First IPS graduate Dr. Christina Lynch is featured for her work serving seminarians at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary of the Archdiocese of Denver.

• Saturday February 7, Paul Vitz, Ph.D., participates in a day-long conference titled, Religion, Mental Health, and the Search for Meaning, held at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX. (read more)

January:

• On the evening of Monday, Jan. 26th, IPS students heard from a representative of SunTrust Bank about consolidating loans, budgeting, and the impact of the economy on student loans.  The well-attended information session was sponsored by the Financial Aid Dept.

• Dr. Gladys  Sweeney, IPS founder and  academic dean, reflects on the passing of Fr. Richard John Neuhaus and  the influential role he played in IPS’ early years.

• Dr. Kathryn Benes, director of the IPS training clinic, speaks at the 4th Annual Petrus Leadership Conference held January 5-7, 2009 in Austin, Texas. (read more)
  

2008

December:

• Students collect and deliver 10 baskets filled with much-needed baby items for St. Anne's Infant & Maternity Home in Washington, DC.

• IPS and The Witherspoon Institute co-sponsor a 2-day conference entitled, The Social Cost of Pornography. Ten scholars will deliver  papers on subject-specific aspects of pornography's impact, and  approximately twelve scholars will serve as discussants throughout the  meeting.  The conference will be held at Princeton University from Dec. 11-13.

 

November:

• IPS Doctoral candidate Eric Gudan speakes with ZENIT about his  experience and study of how the virtue of gratitude may counteract the effects  of depression.

• Recent virtual suicide is subject of Prof. Roger Scruton's commentary

• In the article, Can virtual life take over from real life? featured in The Sunday Times (UK), Prof. Roger Scruton explores how personal relationships can be adversely affected in the age of online social networking. 

Professor Scruton's Times article was extracted from a presentation he gave in October as part of the John Henry Cardinal Newman Lectures.  The 2008-2009 lecture series, Virtual Reality: Its Distortion of Self and Others, includes a distinguished team of psychologists and philosophers who will explore the new internet culture and chart the transformations in human relationships that it is encouraging.

• ZENIT publishes an interview with Dr.  Frank Moncher entitled, Psychology and Seminarians. In the article, Dr. Moncher  discusses the Oct. 30th document, Guidelines for the Use of  Psychology in Admission and Formation of Candidates for the Priesthood,  released by the Congregation for Catholic Education.

October:

• The popular John Henry Cardinal Newman Lectures resume. This year’s theme, Virtual Reality: Its Distortions of Self and Others, features a series of seven lectures presented by a distinguished team of psychologists and philosophers who will explore the new internet culture. Attendance is free of charge but reservations are recommended.  For those who are unable to attend, live streaming webcasts will be available for each lecture. For more information and to make reservations, please click here. 
  

• The 77th Annual Educational Conference sponsored by the Catholic Medical Association (CMA) invite Dr. Frank Moncher and Dr. Philip Scrofani to address participants at the 3-day event.  The theme for this year's conference is, Theology of the Body: Modern Challenges to Health, Conscience and Human Development. 

Dr. Frank Moncher, Recovering from Addiction: The Healing Process [audio available on Dr. Moncher’s biography page]

Dr. Philip Scrofani, Taking the ‘Crisis' out of Midlife [audio available on Dr. Philip Scrofani’s biography page]

• Dr. William Nordling is elected to serve as president of the Association for Play Therapy (APT).  He will begin his term in September 2009.

With more than 5,300 members, APT promotes research, public education, and promotional programs that advance the psychosocial development and mental health of people, particularly children, through play and play therapy.

                   

September:

• Dr. Kathryn Benes is elected to serve as the second president of the new Catholic Psychotherapy Association (CPA).  Dr. Christina Lynch, IPS’ first Psy.D. recipient, will serve as secretary, and Dr. William Nordling will serve as a board member beginning in Spring 2009.

The association is committed to the development and practice of psychotherapy which truly responds to the whole person  -- mind, body, and spirit -- and is in harmony with the teachings of the Catholic Church.

• In the new book, What is Death?  A Scientific, Philosophical and Theological Exploration of Life’s End, Dean Gladys Sweeney and IPS doctoral student Antony Bond co-author the chapter, “Psychotherapy and End of Life Issues.” (A. Aguilar, L.C. Ed.) Libreria Editrice Vaticana (Vatican City: 3008), pp. 147-179.

“Psychotherapists often underestimate the need of the terminally ill clients and their families to be supported throughout the dying process in an ethical and sensitive manner.  Little attention is paid to signs that people believe in the transformative effects of suffering. . . the great value of life until natural death.

This chapter outlines three biographical accounts which detail the decline and death of the terminally ill, and illustrate the value of accepting dependency, limitation and a search for meaning." -- Founder and Academic Dean Dr. Gladys Sweeney

July:

• Prof. Roger Scruton, esteemed IPS Research Professor and Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy at Oxford University's Blackfriars Hall, is elected to the British Academy for his contribution to the humanities. Professor Scruton has published more than 30 books that have been widely translated, including works on philosophy, political and cultural commentaries, criticism and novels.

The British Academy, established by Royal Charter, aims to support the humanities and social sciences and to recognize  excellence and high achievement across the United Kingdom and internationally.  Election is a mark of distinction, as only a very small number of scholars in any field are elected.