Dear Friends and colleagues,
Welcome to the Southern Arizona Psychological Association.
I write this barely a week after events that have been local in nature, yet have achieved an international awareness. On January 8, 2011 there was a shooting in the northwest part of Tucson that ultimately killed 6 people. It has rocked our community, state, and country, yet voices of hope have emerged. As devastating as the event was, it is my hope that a vital dialogue will start about reaching out to others, developing community, and helping each other.
Barack Obama said it well in his speech to the Tucson community, which he delivered on January 13th, “But at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized – at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do – it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.”
That a sense of community within much of America has changed over the last several decades, and could use some rebuilding, is probably not news to most. As Robert Putnam wrote, in his book Bowling Alone (2000), “In small ways……and in large ways, too – we Americans need to reconnect with one another.”
As members of a field, which focuses on healing, primarily through talking, let us be a part of this reconnection. By joining and maintaining a membership with SAPA, you are contributing to our SAPA community; if you’d like to take this action further, please peruse our website for volunteer and training activities.
Many thanks, and peace to all,
Mayday Levine-Mata, PsyD
SAPA President, 2011
