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Abstract
The deepening relationship between The William Glasser Institute and Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles is the subject of much excitement and hopefulness for the future of Choice Theory. Currently, we are approaching the end of the third year in a five-year plan to fully establish The William Glasser Institute for Research in Public Mental Health at LMU. "Fully establish" is a delicate turn of phrase; as presented here, this term includes the eventual and timely existence of an endowed, rotating professorship that guides and tempers the activities of the mission; a physical location within a vibrant Academic or Student Affairs division, and sustainable funding for staff, infrastructure, and mission activities. At this writing, just one of these components - the physical location - currently exists in a practical sense. The mission of this Research Institute mirrors the three-part structure of other distinguished institutes housed within the world's premier institutions of higher learning, though this one is imbued with a decidedly Choice Theory-specific emphasis: Its goal is to conduct and collect rigorous scientific research in the efficacy of RT/CT and apply those findings; then inform and support effective Education - a necessarily broad category that includes Lead Management and Counseling; finally, to shape through evidence a coherent and implementable public mental health policy that casts mental health as a public health issue.
The following article will seek to concretize the nature and progress of the still-emerging relationship between The William Glasser Institute and Loyola Marymount University (LMU), as well as address key obstacles and opportunities contained within this vision. First will be an overview of our broadening training initiatives, followed by a sketch of the four (plus one) research threads that are currently underway. Following these summaries, it is appropriate to include remarks by one of our lead researchers, Dr. Michelle Anderson, RTC, on "the thorny issue of measurement." These remarks are excerpted from her forthcoming paper addressing the research and assessment complexities that RT/CT present from a quantitative data standpoint. These extensively truncated remarks are offered in the spirit of engagement; meant only to highlight the fluid artifact and color that tempers the complexities of designing and deploying our research.
Trainings, Practica, and Community Outreach
Senior Faculty member of the...