The New School in the Heights Wins International Award

The New School in the Heights is the recipient of the Association for Child Psychoanalysis’ 2009 Award for Excellence.

This award is given annually for exemplary work with children and families who experience emotional distress for reasons such as bullying, natural disasters, family disruption, illness or death. The New School in the Heights began in 2005 to help bright children ages 5-14 who need more educational and therapeutic support than traditional settings can usually provide. The school helps children who have been diagnosed with Asperger's, ADHD, Reactive Attachment Disorder, and Separation Anxiety, among others. Using the expertise learned by helping their own students, NSH educators and clinicians provide free consultation to teachers at other schools who want to better understand the emotional needs of their own students. No school or child care center is ever charged for this service.

“Outreach into the community is an important tradition at The New School in the Heights. Houston has supported our efforts to build our unique school, and we want to give back to the community,” explained Clinical Director Arthur J. Farley, M.D. Dr. Farley is one of the clinicians who volunteers his expertise at child care centers and schools. In addition, Dr. Farley is President of the Texas Academy of Psychiatry and Past President of the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians. Executive Director Diane Manning, Ph.D., echoed his sentiments.

“We can help a relatively small number of families in our own school, but by teaching others what we have learned in our own classrooms, our impact is exponential.” Dr. Manning has a strong commitment to educating teachers. Before moving to Houston and heading The New School in the Heights she was Chair of the Department of Education at Tulane University. Other clinicians working with area teachers are Monica Altamirano, LCP, and Adriana Crane, LSMW.

Previous winners of this prestigious award The Anna Freud Centre in London, the professional journal Psychoanalytic Study of the Child journal, The Hanna Perkins Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Pacella Center in New York City.

n citing the selection committee’s reasons for choosing the New School in the Heights for this honor, ACP President Kerry Kelly Novick noted the school’s generous outreach to child care centers, particularly those in the Heights such as the West End Service Center and the YMCA, and their assistance to vulnerable and needy families and professional colleagues after Hurricane Katrina.

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