Jeanette Reinhardt Awarded Arnie Miller Achievement Award

Jeanette Rienhardt, EPSY counseling grad student, will be honored with the Arnie Miller Achievement Award on March 13, 2008 for her work in the Champaign community.  Jeanette is a crisis counselor for the Champaign Fire Department.

Jeanette's background...

I entered the Counseling Psychology Program in Fall 2002. I obtained my Master’s Degree in Psychology in Frankfurt/Main Germany. My Master’s Thesis was on implicit/explicit memory and reenactment effects in human performances. Between earning my master’s degree and beginning at UIUC, I worked for psychologists and psychiatrists in the field of Forensic Psychology. We did evaluation on child custody cases (neglect and molestation cases) and evaluations on individuals who were incarcerated. During my work, I have learned a lot about human motifs that was not taught at the University. I also worked for the 5th largest executive firm worldwide where I did executive search for companies such as ABB and Siemens. My study and my work have encouraged me to pursue psychology further and to enroll in the doctoral program.

My research addresses attitudes, beliefs, and behavior that lead to risk-taking behavior among firefighters. I work as a volunteer Emergency Service Support Officer for the Champaign Fire Department and I assist people in the community who have lost their homes through fires or who have lost family members due to accidents, homicides, or suicides. With my work, I hope to model for other students how a working alliance between the community (Fire Department) and the Counseling Program can be developed. Further, I am a debriefing counselor for the Critical Incident Stress Management Team and we provide service for firefighters in Central Illinois.

For the past three years, I have been working as a Graduate Assistant for the Faculty/Staff Assistance program at the University. I provide counseling for employees for emotional, personal, substance abuse, and financial concerns.

I am an APAGS affiliate of the APA Division 17. My practicum experiences were at McKinley Health Center, Mental Health Center of Champaign, and Disability Services at the University. The program has helped me to hone my interests in research and counseling and my work for the fire department has sparked my interests for trauma research and trauma counseling.

I enjoy music and dance Salsa, Merengue, and Bachata. I am passionate about life and my work and I hope to inspire others students as I was inspired by my role models.  Email: rnhrdtkl@uiuc.edu

Written by Jeanette about how she got started as a crisis counselor for the Champaign Fire Department...

My initial practicum experience was working with the student population at McKinley Health Center on issues related to depression, anxiety, relationships, and adjustment to campus life. Students ranged in age from 18 to their mid-40s (non-traditional). For an advanced practicum, I worked for the Mental Health Center of Champaign County, conducting assessments for low-income residents with a variety of psychopathologies.

From 2004 to the present, I volunteered each semester for the Anxiety/Depression Screening Day on campus. Most recently, I was a panelist answering audience questions about depression and suicide. During the same period of time my initial interest in the Champaign-Urbana community began when I started working as the graduate assistant in the Faculty/Staff Assistance Program (FSAP), providing individual, marital, and family counseling. Since the FSAP is based on a short-term counseling model, I rely on networking with community agencies for successful collaborations. Because of personal circumstances in my private life, my endeavor to do volunteer work, my belief that human beings can recover from trauma through generosity, and my interest in linking academe with the community, I began looking for opportunities and immersed myself in learning about the needs of Champaign-Urbana. One day, I met the lieutenant of Station 5 of the Champaign Fire Department, who invited me to have lunch at the firehouse and talked to me about becoming a volunteer. While we were eating, a 911 call came in: Flames were engulfing a house in a working poor neighborhood. We rushed to the scene and found the smoldering remains of a family’s home. I still remember the charcoal-like smell of burning wood, the devastated faces of the family, and the massive amounts of water pouring out of the fire hoses. By the time we left, my sneakers were soaked from standing in puddles.

For two years now, I have been a volunteer member of an emergency team with the Champaign County Fire Department addressing the mental health of local residents who have lost their home or significant others through fire, accidents, homicide, or suicide. Last year, I was promoted to team captain, supervising emergency support volunteers. An equally important need is to learn how firefighters can better protect themselves. In collaboration with another firefighter, I have co-led stress debriefing groups, which consist of five to eight firefighters who seek support after major traumatizing events while on duty. My work as a debriefing counselor has informed my dissertation research on the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that lead to risk-taking among firefighters.

In the spirit of Arnie Miller, I, too, am committed to the campus and Champaign community. As a woman and an international student, I have broken new ground and become a successful clinician in a tight-knit, American male-dominated world. I have not only established new ground for myself, but created opportunities for future students to conduct research and volunteer with the Champaign County Fire Department.

Award Announcement ...

The Champaign Area Psychological Society, a group representing licensed practicing psychologists, is awarding the Arnie Miller Memorial Achievement Award to University of Illinois Ph.D. candidates in clinical and counseling psychology who are working toward licensure as professional psychologists.  In keeping with the example of Arnie Miller, a University of Illinois clinical psychology graduate himself, we wish to honor a graduate student whose work in some way has served to promote the psychological well-being of the Champaign-Urbana area.  Students’ contributions can fall within a broad range of efforts, including clinical or community assessment, prevention, or intervention, translational research, mentoring, or other volunteer efforts.  This is a $250 award for achievement.

Applicants should submit a one-page-single-spaced letter, describing the work and its positive impact on the community. The letter should be accompanied by a letter of support from a faculty member or clinical supervisor. If the support letter is from outside the U. of I., accompanying proof of current U.of I. status and good standing is required.  All materials must be received by February 1, 2008, with an announcement made by March 15th.  The award winner will be invited to an April 22nd CAPS meeting to receive the award and to give a brief presentation to the society about the work. We would ask the recipient to be available for any media requests related to the award.