CAS CONNECT 2015

PHOTO / BRIAN PETROTTA / A&S 35 “I’m a suicidologist.” Cue an ear-splitting record scratch, stopping the music and replacing it with a sudden silence. Ray Tucker, a fifth–year graduate student at Oklahoma State University, is used to semi-stunned reactions with his uncommon answer. He takes it in stride and seizes an opportunity to talk about a subject that, at best, is rarely discussed socially and, at worst, teeters on the taboo. “There are so few of us who do this work and are comfortable talking about this,” Tucker says. “I feel like I get a chance to educate people about suicide through those moments. Some people are really starved to talk about it, but some are still uncomfortable — and under- standably so.” He is one of a group of dedicated grad- uate students studying under Dr. LaRicka Wingate, who started a laboratory to research suicide at OSU in 2007. The program has grown from a few under- graduates to a motivated group of five graduate students. While each student approaches suicide research from a differ- ent angle, the driving principle is a rela- tively new branch of psychology, dubbed “positive psychology.” Dr. Collin Davidson was one of the first graduates of the program and is a senior clinical psychologist at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. He describes positive psychology as an emphasis on drawing from people’s strengths rather than focusing entirely on what is “wrong” with them. As a clinician, he has a goal of getting his patients to answer one major question: “How can I flourish and really live the life I want to live?” The seeds to that question were planted in Wingate’s lab. Davidson studied psychology at the University of Kansas and worked for a crisis hotline during his time in Lawrence, Kan. When it came time for graduate school, OSU’s entire program stood out to him. Wingate was his first clinical supervisor, and the two quickly found common ground with this positive approach. The success of former students such as Davidson elevates the reputation of OSU’s psychology program. Graduate student candidates from across the coun- try identify OSU as a prime destination. Victoria O’Keefe, a Cleveland native, was introduced to the lab and Dr. Wingate when she was accepted as an American Indians Into Psychology (AIIP) Fellow in 2009. She is Seminole and Cherokee. O’Keefe focused her research on ethnic minorities, specifically the vastly under- served American Indian population. While at OSU, O’Keefe says her research and public speaking skills saw the great- est growth. “Now I actually like presenting and disseminating research,” she says. Such enthusiasm was on display in 2012 at OSU’s TEDx presentation. O’Keefe’s talk titled “Researching the Taboo — Understanding Suicide” demon- strated how suicide research at OSU could help carry out the university’s land-grant mission. She detailed alarm- ing statistics of suicide within Native American communities and showed how her research would attempt to assess risk factors and ultimately suggest prevention measures. Inside Wingate’s lab, a passion for helping others is not unique to O’Keefe. The graduate students encourage each other, a collaborative environment Wingate heartily endorses. While each student follows an individual path, they also work on others’ projects. The unify- ing force is that shift from approaching suicide in the traditional manner of clini- cal psychology to the relatively new field of positive psychology. While the work at OSU is centered on suicide, Wingate sees potentially wide- spread applications for positive psychol- ogy concepts. “It is not just for suicide but for those who are living life with everyday prob- lems and helping them rise above,” Wingate says. She notes positive psychol- ogy attempts to use hope as a protective factor of suicide, or something that helps someone be resilient from suicide, not just showing who is at risk, as has tradi- tionally been the case. From that stand- point, it is a more proactive approach, and that helps the researchers and clini- cians keep an upbeat attitude, as well. CONTINUES VICTORIA O’KEEFE YOU’RE AT A PARTY, LAUGHING, TALKING AND MEETING NEW PEOPLE. YOU ASK A NEW ACQUAINTANCE, A 20-SOMETHING MALE, WHAT HE DOES FOR A LIVING.