The Chicago School Forensic Center

In less than two years, The Chicago School Forensic Center has evolved from an idea conjured by a small band of department faculty members into a major community resource that has already resulted in more than 1,200 hours of service and impacted the lives of some 100 individuals.

As the practice arm of the Forensic Psychology Department, the center connects students and faculty with local organizations on projects and programs that address issues such as delinquency, child maltreatment, transitional living for ex-offenders, and victim-related trauma.

“For us at The Chicago School, simply teaching psychology or creating a center is not sufficient. It is our goal to be the leader, to take the profession to places it has not gone before,” Forensic Psychology Department Chair Mike Fogel told the 130 faculty, staff, students, and friends who gathered in January to mark the official opening of the center’s new home in the Merchandise Mart. Joining Dr. Fogel on stage at the event were the center’s executive director and director: Drs. Darlene Perry and Tiffany Masson.

At the heart of the center is the new Mr. and Mrs. Philip R. Utigard and Transwestern Treatment and Observation Room, which supports the center’s initiatives including instruction in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). The facility is equipped with a one-way mirror and a separate observation room that will allow the use of a “bug-in-the-ear” communication system for discreet coaching by therapists to parents as they interact with their children. Because PCIT is empirically based, it carries the endorsement of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services as a recognized model for helping families with a history of abuse. It is a therapy that has been shown to be effective with abusive families in several states but, until the advent of The Chicago School program, few Illinois practitioners were trained in its use.

“I am proud to say that I was a member of the first cohort to experience the great works of the Forensic Center,” said Crystal Mahoy (M.A. ’08), who served as the event’s alumni speaker. “I am well assured that its expansion and continued support will result in the changing of many lives.”

The center will play a major role in providing training opportunities for the students in the department’s new Psy.D. in Clinical Forensic Psychology program (see sidebar). For more information about the Forensic Center, visit www.forensiccenter.org.