This is the third of three major awards the dean of the Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology has received in the past three years.聽
J. Christopher Muran, PhD, professor and dean of Adelphi University鈥檚 Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology, doesn鈥檛 much care for dwelling on individual honors, especially his own鈥攂ut he will if the accolades are meaningful to his institution, as well as colleagues and family who helped make them possible.
In August, the presented Dr. Muran with its 2024 . The recognition, for lifetime achievement, has been presented annually since 1970 and also went to now-retired Derner dean, , in 2018.
鈥淚鈥檝e always believed that the products of our work are the presentations, publications, grants and the mentoring of our students, and that those are more meaningful than awards,鈥� Dr. Muran said. 鈥淏ut a colleague recently reminded me that these honors are important for the whole community, Adelphi, Derner, our faculty (especially junior), and our students and graduates.鈥�
A past president of the international , and past editor of its journal, , Dr. Muran was the recipient of its 2021 Senior Distinguished Research Career Award. The same year, he was also presented with the from the National Register of Health Service Psychologists.
鈥淭hese recognitions are special to me, each in different ways,鈥� Dr. Muran said. 鈥淭he SPR has been my professional home for more than 30 years. The APA Division 29 and National Register represent large organizations with a great many practitioners, who are the target audience for my research.鈥�
A Focus on the Therapeutic Alliance
While the three recent honors have been for lifetime achievement, Dr. Muran isn鈥檛 nearly done with his professional and academic work. His focus has largely been on therapeutic relationships, particularly the study of ruptures in the therapeutic alliance and development of intervention models and training strategies for their resolution.
He has published more than 180 papers and 10 books, including , written with Catherine Eubanks, PhD, also a Derner professor, and with Dr. Eubanks and another longtime collaborator, Lisa Wallner Samstag, PhD. An upcoming book, Alliance-Focused Training, will be released with a companion video in Summer 2025. Dr. Muran calls that project 鈥渁 culmination of three decades of research.鈥�
Recognizing the importance of community for both the Derner School and his other research, Dr. Muran emphasizes the support he has received in his career. 鈥淎rnold Winston, MD, chair of psychiatry at Mount Sinai, who I worked with in my first 20 years in a hospital setting, was an incredible father figure,鈥� he said. 鈥淛eremy Safran, PhD, a professor of psychology at The New School for Social Research, was like a big brother, and many others have supported me, including Catherine Eubanks, PhD, a two-decade colleague; my wife, Elisa Denise Ventur, PhD, who鈥檚 also a clinical psychologist; and my son鈥擨鈥檝e written about our relationship, helping him grow as a person and navigate challenges in his life.鈥�
鈥淣ot About Awards or Accolades鈥�
Raised in an Armenian family, Dr. Muran notes that in his upbringing, 鈥渓ife was more about process, how you conduct yourself, not about rewards or accolades. Working hard was the aim, not so much recognition for it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f anything, there was this evil-eye notion that comes up if you start boasting. My dad had a funny Armenian expression which characterizes my ambivalence about awards: 鈥業 don鈥檛 want it, but you can put it in my pocket.鈥欌��
In Fall 2022, Dr. Muran started a new chapter in his professional life as dean of the Derner School, succeeding Dr. Barber, who has also been a regular collaborator on research and writing. Dr. Muran had been associate dean and director of the PhD in Clinical Psychology program at Derner for the previous 14 years and also served as interim dean, leading the School through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Muran is optimistic about the future of the Derner School, which was founded more than 50 years ago; its PhD program in clinical psychology was established more than 70 years ago. It added a postdoctoral (now a postgraduate) program, and today has strong undergraduate (including a BS in Neuroscience, offered jointly between Derner and the 麻豆直播 College of Arts and Sciences) and graduate programs (general master鈥檚, mental health counseling and school psychology), 鈥渟omething that is highly unusual, maybe unique, among universities,鈥� Dr. Muran added.
鈥淒erner is evolving, and we face challenges鈥攕uch as the trend of less emphasis on psychoanalysis in the clinical setting鈥攂ut we鈥檝e developed in the last decade an excellent faculty representing diversity in other psychological disciplines and professional orientations,鈥� he noted. 鈥淭he potential for synthesis makes each area better and while there are some competing interests, we will all be more successful working together.鈥�