Cel­e­brat­ing Wom­en’s His­to­ry Month with Inno­va­tors in Behav­ioral Health

March 29, 2024

Hap­py Wom­en’s His­to­ry Month! This month rec­og­nizes, cel­e­brates, and uplifts the con­tin­u­ous con­tri­bu­tions that women across the globe have made. Women are vital mem­bers of our com­mu­ni­ties and their brav­ery, impact, and voic­es are nec­es­sary and impor­tant! Today and every­day, we cel­e­brate the many facets of pow­er, intel­li­gence, deter­mi­na­tion, and imag­i­na­tion women bring to our lives.

E. Kitch Childs

E. Kitch Childs (1937−1933) was a clin­i­cal psy­chol­o­gist and LGBTQ+ activist. She was known for her activism in the Women’s Lib­er­a­tion Move­ment and her advo­ca­cy work for mar­gin­al­ized com­mu­ni­ties. She was also a found­ing mem­ber of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Chicago’s Gay Lib­er­a­tion Front. E. Kitch Childs also was the first Black woman to earn her doc­tor­ate at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Chica­go. She was pas­sion­ate about human rights worked to help build a more equable future for those not only in Chica­go but also globally. 

Inez Bev­er­ly Prosser

Inez Bev­er­ly Pross­er (1895−1934) was a psy­chol­o­gist, teacher, and school admin­is­tra­tor. She is also the first Black woman to receive a Ph.D in psy­chol­o­gy. Her work was a high­light of the Brown V. Board of Edu­ca­tion rul­ing. After gain­ing a teach­ing cer­tifi­cate, her work start­ed imme­di­ate­ly at schools like Ander­son High where she taught Eng­lish and coached girls’ teams. After a long fight, Inez received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees then focus­ing on a Ph.D. Her work has been instru­men­tal in deseg­re­ga­tion and edu­ca­tion for chil­dren and adolescents. 

Reiko True

Reiko True (1933-Present) is the Pro­fes­sor Emer­i­tus of Psy­chol­o­gy at Alliant Inter­na­tion­al Uni­ver­si­ty in Cal­i­for­nia. Her sto­ry begins in Japan where she was one of the first women to be accept­ed into Tokyo Uni­ver­si­ty. After grad­u­at­ing, find­ing it dif­fi­cult to find a job because of sex­ism and dis­crim­i­na­tion she faced in Japan, Reiko moved to Cal­i­for­nia. Short­ly after she was accept­ed into Berkeley’s Social Work pro­gram. Reiko was a tire­less advo­cate for cul­tur­al­ly appro­pri­ate men­tal health ser­vices and ded­i­cat­ed her time sup­port­ing com­mu­ni­ties of color. 

Jane Addams

Jane Addams (1860−1935) was a social work­er, activist, author, and philoso­pher. One of the icon­ic lead­ers in the ear­ly Women’s Suf­frage move­ment, she found­ed Chicago’s Hull House which pro­vid­ed social ser­vices and sup­ports to under-served, poor, and immi­grant fam­i­lies. Jane became the first woman to receive an hon­orary degree from Yale and the first woman to be award­ed the Nobel Peace Prize. Addams also co-found­ed the ACLU. Her tire­less work made many advance­ments towards social jus­tice, care, and com­mu­ni­ty support. 

Martha E. Bernal

Martha E. Bernal was a clin­i­cal psy­chol­o­gist and advo­cate. She was the first Lati­na to receive a Ph.D for psy­chol­o­gy in the Unit­ed States. Her icon­ic work earned her a Nation­al Research Ser­vice Award for the research pub­lished on clin­i­cal psy­chol­o­gy pro­grams and their lack of cul­tur­al­ly informed cur­ricu­lum and almost no stu­dent of col­or in psy­chol­o­gy cours­es. She also had a large role in cre­at­ing the Nation­al Lati­no Psy­cho­log­i­cal Asso­ci­a­tion. Her work has become a bea­con of inspi­ra­tion for generations. 

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