Lisa Klewicki and a Call to Catholics

Lisa Klewecki (Ph.D., '97) calls the past year one of Jubilee for her family. "They (whoever they are) say things (whatever things are) come in threes," Lisa says. "This has certainly been the case for us. Truly, our continued devotion to God and following the Light of Christ has kept us going during these times of joy, and a little bit of stress."

The first blessing the year brought was a baby! After several years of difficulty, Lisa and her husband were blessed with Rebekah Helena Klewicki, born on September 29.

Last spring, Lisa received an offer to become assistant professor at the Institute for the Psychological Sciences (IPS), a new Catholic graduate school of psychology in Arlington, Virginia. "The job description could not have been better if I had written it myself," she says. So off moved the Klewickis: Lisa, husband Ken and baby Rebekah. She left a medical staff position at a California state hospital to follow a call "to evangelize Catholics and the mental health profession" through teaching and part time clinical work.

The third blessing of the Jubilee year was a trip to Rome as 2000 rolled into 2001. In Rome, Lisa attended an international convention of Catholic psychologists. Lisa and Ken were able to see the ordination of some priests from the same order running the Newman Center at Caltech, where Ken and Lisa met in California. The trip also included a marriage retreat and attendence at several papal events.

At IPS, Lisa is teaching personality assessment and adult psychotherapy courses. The institute's goal is to train Catholics to be good clinical psychologists and to evangelize the Catholic world with regard to the dignity and vocation of the human person, especially the laity. Part of Lisa's teaching position involves giving presentations and workshops to Catholic mental health professionals. Her most recent trip was to present in Mexico City at the University of Anahuac (a leading Catholic university in Central and South America). She was also named head of the newly formed International Catholic Psychologists Association.