A Co-Authored Interview
Carlos: Marjorie, as a historian, I was blown away by the richness of your class syllabus. How did you come up with the idea of using history to ground a clinical psychology course?
Marjorie: I was a history major in college, so I have always loved it. I remember when I first discovered that history is not just facts about wars and dead people, but was an interpretation of past events. Then I began to learn that most history was controlled by those with power and privilege, which meant there were those whose voices were silenced or never heard from. I knew it would be important for therapists. Once I began teaching at Azusa Pacific University, I found that students were often overwhelmed when working with older adults and clients from a different historical era. They did not know their history, which became a barrier to providing effective treatment. We decided to add a class to close this gap.