Dr. Richard Shoup and Catherine Nicholas to Step Down from The Counseling Center; Virgil Roberson and Dr. Jane Benjamin New Directors
By Pat Drew, Member, Board of Directors, The Counseling Center
Mar. 9, 2016: The board of directors of The Counseling Center has accepted the decision of Dr. Richard Shoup, director, and Catherine Nicholas, clinical director, to step down from their directorships at the end of June 2016, as reported by Rosanne Welshimer, chairman of the board.
"While the organization is sorry to lose them in the leadership roles they have held for many, many years, the board is pleased to announce that Dick and Catherine will continue as staff therapists, treating clients at The Counseling Center," said Welshimer.
In keeping with Dick's and Catherine's devoted service to The Counseling Center, they have prepared their successor directors well. Virgil Roberson joined the organization as a therapist over a year ago, and he will succeed Dick Shoup as director.
Dr. Jane Benjamin, who has been a psychologist at The Counseling Center for twenty years, will succeed Catherine Nicholas as clinical director. The board is so pleased to have had the benefit of Dick's and Catherine's leadership for so many years and to move forward now under the leadership of two other highly qualified professionals.
Dick Shoup and Catherine Nicholas will be honored at a benefit on May 6 at the home of Mary and Jim Hoch.
Dr. Richard Shoup has served as The Counseling Center's director for twenty years. Among his many accomplishments, he re-established the organization as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit institution, which put The Counseling Center on the road to financial independence with grants, personal contributions, and fees supporting the mission. Under Dick's directorship, The Counseling Center grew to a level of success that now enables the organization to provide subsidies for many clients who are not able to afford full fees.
Dick also built important relationships with Sarah Lawrence College, NewYork-Presbyterian/Lawrence Hospital, The Reformed Church of Bronxville, and the Orthodox Church, seeking to leverage the center's services with those of other strong organizations. In addition to being a very successful therapist, Dick is also an ordained minister, an organist, and an auto mechanic. Dick has been a fabulous director and a wonderful ambassador for the organization in the community.
Catherine Nicholas has been at the heart of the organization, where she has worked for forty-two years. She was instrumental in effecting important changes, including the separation from a prior parent organization and the relocation of offices. As clinical director, Catherine has been the first voice speaking to new clients, and she has had responsibility for assigning clients to the therapist who could best help them. Catherine is credited with cultivating a remarkably supportive and collegial atmosphere within the organization. For many years, Catherine also put her love of music to work as she developed and oversaw the chamber music series, which brought extraordinary classical music to the community and earned new supporters for The Counseling Center.
Catherine's professional persona might be summed up in the word "nurturing." Keenly aware of the emotional demands of their occupations, Catherine develops close and caring relationships with staff members, who appreciate her professional guidance and personal encouragement. While Catherine will be leaving the position of clinical director, the culture she created carries forward, and she will continue as a staff therapist. In addition to music, Catherine enjoys travel and tennis.
Incoming Director and Clinical Director
Virgil Roberson, incoming director, received his training at the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis and earned a master of divinity degree in psychiatry and religion from Union Theological Seminary. Virgil is a certified and licensed psychoanalyst and psychodynamic psychotherapist and has been in private practice for over 25 years. He has expertise in several practice areas, including marriage and relationship difficulties, grief, career transitions, addiction, depression, and anxiety. In his practice, he works with individuals, couples, and groups. While assuming the new role of director, Virgil will continue to see clients of The Counseling Center in Bronxville and New York City.
In addition to his accomplishments as a therapist, Virgil's broad experience derives from other positions he has held, including serving as a chaplain at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, as the intern minister at Marble Collegiate Church during the tenure of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, and as president of the Bronxville Field Club from 2006 to 2012, during which time the club undertook an extensive expansion.
Dr. Jane Benjamin, incoming clinical director, is a licensed clinical psychologist who has been in practice for almost thirty years, twenty of which have been with The Counseling Center, where she has worked closely with Catherine Nicholas. Jane specializes in working with both late adolescents and adults. She enjoys doing short-term as well as long-term intensive psychotherapy. Her particular areas of expertise include identity formation in adolescents and young adults, self-injury, borderline personality disorder, and depression. She also treats women struggling with infertility. Jane will continue to serve clients when she assumes the role of clinical director.
Jane received her BA from Stanford University and her MA and PhD from the University of Michigan. She also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the department of psychiatry at the University of Michigan Hospital. Board members have known and admired Jane for many years.
Pictured here (top to bottom): Dr. Richard Shoup, Catherine Nicholas, Virgil Roberson, and Dr. Jane Benjamin.
Photos by Carolyn Simpson
Community Service Organizations Directory
Bronxville Beautification Council
Organized in 1982 and incorporated in 1993, the Bronxville Beautification Council (BBC) is a not for profit organization administered by a Board of Directors. Its mission is to enhance and maintain the natural and man-made beauty of Bronxville Village, with emphasis on the downtown business district of Bronxville. The BBC uses the dollars raised in its annual spring solicitation letter to residents to fund the mum, tulip and summer flower plantings downtown and at traffic intersections, as well as the summer hanging baskets. Every few years the group spearheads such major endeavors as the renovation of Leonard Morange Square on the west side of the railroad tracks and the beautification of the Lawrence Hospital traffic circle, which included the addition of plants and the building of the fountain that now makes a gracious western portal to our town. The BBC also works with other civic groups to monitor the aesthetics of retail signage, the consistency of sidewalk materials, and litter and graffiti. During Beautify Bronxville Week, the BBC sponsors a poetry reading and works with Scout groups on the annual village clean-up.
Bronxville Beautification Council
PO Box 127
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-779-6123
Bronxville Boy Scouts
The village of Bronxville has a long tradition of scouting. “The troops and packs of Bronxville have maintained the finest scouting organizations and have taught the boys of the Bronxville area to be leaders and outstanding members of the local, national and global communities.”
There are several Boy Scout Troops in Bronxville, including Troops 1, 2, 4, and 5.
Bronxvillle Girls Scouts
The Girls Scouts is “the world’s preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls where, in an accepting and nurturing environment, girls build character and skills for success in the real world.” In Girl Scouts, “girls discover the fun, friendship and power of girls together. Through the many enriching experiences provided by Girl Scouts, they can grow courageous and strong.”
Bronxville Historical Conservancy
The Bronxville Historical Conservancy was founded in 1998 to further the understanding and appreciation of the history and current life of the village. The Conservancy furthers its mission through the presentation of programs, publications, lectures and special events that foster an awareness of the village's architectural, artistic and cultural heritage, and lends its support for projects designed to strengthen and preserve those legacies. Anyone who is interested in the Bronxville and its history can become a member; varying levels of membership are available.
Bronxville Historical Conservancy
PO Box 989
Bronxville, New York 10708
http://bronxvillehistoricalconservancy.org/
Bronxville School Foundation
The Bronxville School Foundation, founded in 1991, is a non-profit organization independent from the school with the sole purpose of supporting the school. The Foundation raises money each year through donations from school families, community members, and alumni, among others.These contributions fund grants that provide cutting-edge technology, innovative programs and curriculum and other resources that are beyond the scope of public school funding.
177 Pondfield Road
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-395-0515
https://www.bronxvilleschoolfoundation.org/
Bronxville Women’s Club
The Bronxville Women’s Club offers lectures, exhibits and concerts. It also has a beautiful clubhouse which is available for rental for events.
135 Midland Avenue
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-337-3252
www.bronxvillewomensclub.org
Bronxville Youth Council
The Bronxville Youth Council provides volunteer and leadership opportunities for high school students in the village of Bronxville.
177 Pondfield Road
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-395-0500 ext 1789
Counseling Center
Founded in 1971, the mission of the Counseling Center “is to provide a wide range of psychotherapeutic and counseling services to individuals, couples and families by a staff of highly trained, experience and dedicated psychotherapists.
The Counseling Center
180 Pondfield Road
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-793-3388
www.counselingcenter.org
Community Fund of Bronxville, Eastchester & Tuckahoe
The mission of the Community Fund is “to support broad social services in Bronxville 10708, Eastchester and Tuckahoe through grants and technical support to local agencies and community projects. All money raised here in our community stays here in our community.”
15 Park Place
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-337-8808
www.thecommunityfund.org
Friends of the Bronxville Library
The Friends of the Bronxville Library is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to focus attention on the “Library’s services, facilities and needs” as well as sponsor projects and provide materials that are beyond the reach of the Library’s regular budget and perform other services.
Junior League of Bronxville
The Junior League of Bronxville is “an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and to improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.”
Rotary Club of Bronxville
The mission of the Rotary Club of Bronxville is to “encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and to encourage and foster (1) the development of friendships within the community as an opportunity for service, (2) high ethical standards in business and professions, (3) the application of the ideal of service of each member to his personal and business and community life and (4) the advancement of international understanding, good will and peace through a world fellowship.”
Senior Citizens of Bronxville
Senior Citizens of Bronxville is a not-for-profit organization that provides services and programs to seniors within the 10708 zip code area. “Programs cover a wide range of activities from educational seminars and cultural enrichment, to community services, bridge classes and exercise.”
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