Monitor on Psychology - May 2012 - (Page 20)

Random SAMPLE Ximena Zurita, PhD Rod Searcey Pacific Graduate School of Psychology in 1993. She herself had a happy marriage with a Chilean man, who recently died. Practical therapy: Zurita’s training had a psychoanalytic bent, and she underwent psychoanalysis and other forms of therapy herself during graduate school. Now she knows that even brief therapy can be transformative for her clients, especially for her newest patient population — accident survivors with chronic pain or loss of physical function. A big believer in how the mind and body can help each other heal, she has patients get in touch with their bodies through diaphragmatic breathing, yoga, qigong or even dance. She learns from her patients, too. A former marathoner, she ruptured a disk in her spine and was told her exercising days were over. Then a patient told her about yoga and other types of exercise that helped her recover from back pain. A Renaissance woman: Today, Zurita bikes, hikes and travels the world with her 19-year-old daughter. Her latest trip was a first-time visit to Brazil following a trip to Chile, where she held a memorial for her husband. Zurita is also a student of piano, which she started later in life. “I struggle, but I enjoy it,” she laughs. She also takes continuing-education classes at Stanford, dipping into classes on drawing, anthropology, film and writing. Says Zurita, “I am the eternal student!” —R.A. CLAY A native Ecuadorian, Stanford University psychotherapist and “eternal student.” Member since: 1994 What she does: Since 1994, Zurita has been a psychotherapist in Stanford University’s Faculty and Staff Help Center, which offers 10 sessions of individual, couples or family therapy to all faculty, staff and their families. “We could see a professor one hour and a person who takes care of the gardens the next,” says Zurita, who also has a private practice. She finds her work with clients from diverse cultures particularly rewarding. A cross-cultural journey: Zurita grew up in a tumultuous household in Quito, Ecuador. When she was 11, 20 her parents divorced and sent her to boarding school. Although she had once thought of becoming a physician like her father, the trauma of her family breaking up helped steer her toward psychology. At 18, she left her Catholic girls’ school and landed in New York, speaking no English. “I would just walk around the city in awe,” she remembers. She began teaching herself English by watching TV, listening to music and writing down 50 vocabulary words every day. Then she enrolled in an “English 101” class at the University of Tennessee. After earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she got a master’s from San Jose State in 1982 and then a PhD in clinical psychology from Each month, “Random Sample” profiles an APA member. You may be next. M O N I T O R O N P S Y C H O L O G Y • M AY 2 0 1 2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - May 2012

Monitor on Psychology - May 2012
Letters
President’s Column
Contents
From the CEO
Math + science + motherhood = a tough combination
The rights of indigenous people take center stage at AAAS meeting
Interdisciplinary programs that are leading the way
Good Governance Project moves into its next phase
APA publishes third edition of seminal ADHD book for kids
Government Relations Update
In Brief
Random Sample
Judicial Notebook
Psychology’s first forays into film
Time Capsule
Questionnaire
Presidential programming
Obesity researchers receive lifetime achievement awards
Top speakers for psychology’s top meeting
Science Watch
Homing in on sickle cell disease
Psychologist Profile
Alone in the ‘hole’
Public Interest
State Leadership Conference ‘12
Perspective on Practice
Education tops council’s agenda
Meet the candidates for APA’s 2014 president
Presidential election guidelines
Division Spotlight
American Psychological Foundation
Support for sexual miniorities
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - May 2012