ACEPT Chicago

Thank you for those who attended the 7th Annual ACEPT Conference!

The Conference was a great success as we learned about:

Clinical Training in a Divisive Era: Creating Space for Complex Perspectives and Multiple Viewpoints

3 CE/CEU's were available to attendees and we would like to thank Dr. Johnson and Dr. Sharma for their incredible presentation!  For more information see the description below.  

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Resist, Reflect, Reset: Committing to Complex Conversations in Polarizing Times

Presenters: Kelli Johnson, Ph.D., & Rahul Sharma, Psy.D.

Program Description:

The social, cultural, and political environments in which we live have a central role in one’s lived experience and worldview.  As psychologists, our professional roles do not necessarily immunize or insulate us from those factors whose impact reach us in deeply meaningful and personal places.  In a time of overt and escalating polarization, the space that connects who we are as people to how we engage with our work is fertile ground for both internal and external conflict.  When these polarizing elements manifest in the daily interactions that are a core part of our academic, clinical, and supervisory responsibilities, it may require difficult internal and external dialogues.

The goal of this program is to engage the audience in committing to engaging in the complex conversations that arise when multiple and disparate viewpoints are in play.  The presenters will focus on resisting oppression, critically self-reflecting, and resetting one’s attitudes about difficult conversations. These tasks will be addressed through both didactic and experiential content designed to identify impediments to productive dialogue around polarizing issues, as well as strategies for maintaining connection to the “other” as part of facilitating open and ongoing communication.

Learning Objectives

After attending the intermediate-level workshop, participants will be able to:

(1) Identify examples of internal and external dialogues precipitated by one’s 

      social/political/cultural environment.

(2) Identify multiple factors that impede productive dialogue.

(3) List multiple strategies for facilitating difficult dialogues.

Presenter: Kelli Johnson, Ph.D.

Licensed Psychologist

Department Chair, Clinical Psychology PsyD Program

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Xavier University of Louisiana

Biography: Dr. Kelli Johnson currently serves as Department Chair for the PsyD program in Clinical Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Xavier University of New Orleans (TCSPP-XULA).  Prior to her current role, Dr. Johnson served as Assistant Professor and Director of Clinical Training at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University in Schaumburg from 2011-2018. She has been licensed as a psychologist in Florida and Illinois, and is in the process of obtaining licensure in Louisiana.

Dr. Johnson earned a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Miami in 2002.  She completed both her internship and postdoctoral residency at the University Counseling Center at Florida State University, where she went on to become a member of the staff following licensure, specializing in work with students of Color and marginalized populations, in addition to providing clinical supervision for practicum students and predoctoral interns. She was also concurrently an adjunct faculty member at Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College.  Dr. Johnson then served as Assistant Director and later, as Interim Director of Training at the Counseling Center at The University of Illinois at Chicago, where she was responsible for the coordination and administration of the advanced therapy externship and APA-accredited Predoctoral Internship, respectively.

In addition to her clinical and academic activity, Dr. Johnson has served in multiple roles in the professional community.  She completed a 3-year term as President-Elect, President, and Past President for the Association of Chicagoland Externship and Practicum Training (ACEPT).  Dr. Johnson also served for three years as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Association of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology (NCSPP) in her role as Chair of the organization’s Ethnic Racial Diversity Committee (ERDC).  In this role, Dr. Johnson’s focus, consistent with the Council’s and ERDC’s goals, was promoting the integration of issues of ethnic/racial diversity throughout the organization’s programs and activities, as well as facilitating the development of ethnic/racial diversity in the curricula of member schools.  Dr. Johnson has been an active accreditation site visitor for the International Association of Counseling Services (IACS), since 2007, and more recently, a site visitor for the American Psychological Association (APA).

Dr. Johnson’s professional interests and presentations include a focus on multicultural/diversity issues, social justice in psychology, professional identity development, and the role of each in training and supervision.

Presenter: Rahul Sharma, Psy.D.

Clinical Psychologist

Consultant, Therapist, Trainer, Educator

Biography: Dr. Dr. Rahul Sharma received his doctorate in Clinical Psychology in 1998, specializing in multicultural psychology. He is former Director of the University of Chicago's Resources for Sexual Violence Prevention, initially reporting to then Associate Dean Michelle Obama. He contributed a chapter on South Asian men’s roles in addressing violence against women for a book addressing domestic violence in South Asian communities. He won an award from the Vagina Monologues’ V-Day Celebration for his commitment to address sexism and violence against women.

Dr. Sharma served as an Associate Professor at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology (ISPP) at Argosy University, Chicago and Chair of its Diversity Concentration. In addition, Dr. Sharma is also founder and bassist/sitarist for the intercultural award-winning music group Funkadesi, comprised of diverse members (Indian-American, African-American, Jamaican, Latino, and European-American) who are musicians, activists, educators, and healers.

Dr. Sharma has used music as a vehicle for community-building, self-understanding, cross-cultural communication, and social justice principles. Dr. Sharma is a Trained Health Rhythms Facilitator and advanced Adolescent Protocol Facilitator, and has integrated Remo Drums’ evidenced-based health-promoting and social-promoting protocols with proven multicultural group techniques to spawn healing, personal growth, group cohesion, and dialogue among a variety of populations. In 2017, Dr. Sharma was the recipient of the Joyce Foundation Award, commissioned to co-write a musical piece to be performed by hundreds of musicians, aiming to provide arts opportunities for youth in violence-prone environments. The critically acclaimed performance took place in September 2018. Recently, with members from Funkadesi, 

Dr. Sharma led an experiential plenary session for 180 conference participants, teaching each person various cultural rhythms, playing together as a whole community, and relating the experience to fundamental concepts of diversity, social justice, and deepening Inter-cultural community. Dr. Sharma is also training Evanston’s entire Police Department on mental health response, integrating issues of diversity and community concerns.