Recognition Award

Section III Recognition Award for 2011

We’re pleased to announce that the recipient of the Section III Recognition Award for 2011 is Toni Vaughn Heineman, D.M.H. Dr. Heineman is being honored for her dedication and innovation as the founder and Executive Director of A Home Within (AHW).  AHW is the only national organization focused exclusively on meeting the emotional needs of foster youth. AHW is comprised of volunteer psychotherapists who offer pro bono therapy to foster youth, and experienced clinicians who donate their expertise to provide group consultation for the therapists. Given that each therapist agrees to work with one current or former foster child for as long as it takes, AHW facilitates long-term treatment to help youth overcome the effects of child abuse and neglect.  For Dr. Heineman, this project clearly is a labor of love.  She described the development of the AHW model as follows:

As for creating A Home Within, I’ve had a lot of help along the way, and relied heavily on connections with Division 39 members. We started as a loosely organized group of clinicians working in San Francisco and now serve current and former foster kids in 50 communities across the country. 2011 marks the 10th anniversary of AHW.  I think we have succeeded for a number of reasons—the model is quite simple. Some clinicians provide psychotherapy, others provide consultation, others manage a chapter.  Because all the work is pro bono, our direct expenses and administrative costs are very low.  The model also recognizes that we all have something to contribute, from the beginning therapist to the most seasoned clinician. Because there is no monetary value attached to any of these services, it strengthens the sense of community among our members.

In addition to her work with AHW, Dr. Heineman is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco.  She also has a private practice in San Francisco, where she has been working with children, adults, families, and organizations for over 30 years.  She made several contributions to the professional literature and numerous presentations about the mental health issues facing children and parents.  With
regard to her books, she authored An Abused Child: Psychodynamic Understandingand Treatment and co-edited Building a Home Within: Meeting the Emotional Needs of Children and Youth in Foster Care. Her article titled “A Boy and Two Mothers,” published in Psychoanalytic Psychology in 2004, explores the implications for oedipal development for boys being raised by two women.

Dr. Heineman is a longtime member of Division 39, active in several Sections.  She served on the board of Section III for over 10 years and chaired the dissertation awards committee for several years. She also worked to arrange co-hosted receptions at the Division 39 Spring Meetings to bring together members from likeminded sections.  She received several awards for her leadership and social entrepreneurial skills prior to being selected for the Section III award this year. Thank you, Dr. Heineman, for all you do…and happy anniversary to A Home Within!


Section III Recognition Award  for 2010

Our 2010 Section III honoree is Dr. Jane Tillman.  We are delighted to honor Dr. Tillman. Dr. Tillman is a psychologist and a psychoanalyst at the Austen Riggs Center, where she serves as a Team Leader and supervisor of psychotherapy and psychological testing.  She also chairs the Erikson Scholar Search Committee.  Jane is the past-president of Section III of Division 39 and currently is the Chair of the Ethics Committee for Div. 39.  She is a Trustee for the Accreditation Council for Psychoanalytic Education (ACPEinc), and on the Suicide Prevention International-Survivors Task Force.  Her research interests are in the area of the effect of suicide on clinicians and the psychotherapy of psychosis.  Jane is currently the Principal Investigator on a study of States of Mind Preceding a Near Lethal Suicide Attempt.
When being interviewed about receiving the award, Dr. Tillman said, “I am fortunate to be one of those people for whom Division 39 has always been a part of my professional life.  I am humbled and deeply grateful for the nourishment and opportunity I have received through the women of the section.”
_
Marilyn N. Metzl, PhD ABPP
Section-Three President, 2010