New Core Faculty Member: Dr. Kanae Kura, PsyD VOL. 11
Could you tell us about your transition from previous career to ISPP? I worked in community mental health before teaching at ISPP. It has been a dramatic change in many ways. Firstly, work hours – seeing patients back-to- back all day every day, following schedule charts managed by administrative staff at the clinic was my life before. Now, I can build my own schedule and work from home when I am not on campus. My family, including my four fur-babies (two dogs and two cats) are incredibly happy with my new work hours, and I am happy I get to spend more time with them. Secondly, I absolutely love having time to study for myself. When I was working at the community mental health clinic, my free time was dedicated to finishing paperwork to meet deadlines. Now I can study to expand my knowledge in my field of research or subjects I teach, allowing me to grow as a psychologist and as a teacher.
What has been the most challenging aspect of your career?
There are too many things I want to do or be part of. This degree offers so many opportunities in a variety of fields in psychology. It gives you tools to fight for social justice, for the underprivileged population, and be the voice for the voiceless. I am currently serving as a research collaborator at the ARISE (Antiracism, Resistance, Identity, Socialization, and Equity) Lab at Purdue University, and I would love to continue expanding my research to advocate interracial, intercultural, and transnational couples and families. I am currently working on establishing a network to build a free clinic in Northwest Indiana. It pained me to see my patients leave treatment because they no longer qualified for Medicaid after they got a part time position without benefits. Medical care is a human right, not a luxury. So, I am trying to find a way to provide the mental health care people deserve, without them having to worry about insurance. I have many other plans to use my degree and training background, but I only have 24 hours a day and want to spend time with my family. The balance between my career aspirations and my motherhood is always a challenge.
Dr. Kanae Kura will be teaching and leading the Child and Adolescent Concentration in the ISPP PsyD program.
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