APTC Newcomers:  La Keita Carter and Ron Levant
Interviewed by Heidi Zetzer, Ph.D.

Welcome to the Newcomers column, which is designed to introduce newcomers to APTC and build connections across rhythms and views. The rhythm of each of our clinics and departments varies but carries a common cadence.  Members’ views also vary, but share a common genre: education and training in professional psychology.  Please join me in welcoming two new members:  La Keita Carter, Psy.D., & Ronald F. Levant, Ed.D., ABPP .  

La Keita Carter, Psy.D. is the Director of the Psychology Division of Loyola Clinical Centers (LCC) and Clinical Assistant Professor at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore. The LCC is an interdisciplinary clinic, which specializes in providing vital services to under-served populations.  Four divisions share LCC workspace and therapy rooms:  psychology, speech-language pathology and audiology, pastoral counseling and literacy. 1st and 2nd year Doctoral and Master’s Psychology students receive training in psychotherapy and assessment as well as lead clinic-based and school-based social skills groups. Aside from overseeing the psychology training for graduate students, she also supervises at the clinic and teaches clinical classes. She hires affiliate faculty members and works with the other division directors to ensure the provision of interdisciplinary services. 
    Dr. Carter described the mission of the LCC as two-fold: to serve the underserved in the community and train students.  “We operate with that dual mission always in our minds.  Service is part of the Jesuit tradition as is a commitment to cura personalis, or education of the whole person.”  Dr. Carter reported that one her greatest challenges is balancing the needs of clients and trainees. She said, “For example, we have a waiting list that we would love to ‘power through.’ However, our students can only take on a certain number of clients at a time because of their level of training.”
    Dr. Carter’s strengths are in organizing and leadership. She enjoys writing, presenting and publishing on topics related to multicultural psychology.


Ronald F. Levant, Ed.D., ABPP is a Professor of Psychology and on the Core Faculty in the Collaborative Counseling Psychology  at the University of Akron (UA).  He directs the Psychology Department Training Clinic, which provides free assessment and individual career and personal counseling to students and members of the community. Prior to moving into this role, Dr. Levant served on the faculties of Boston, Rutgers, and Harvard Universities.  He is a Past President of the American Psychological Association and former Dean at UA and Nova Southeastern University.  He has been in private practice for over 20 years and specializes in counseling men.
   Dr. Levant’s interests include the Psychology of Men and Masculinity, Fatherhood, and Emotional Socialization in Boys.  He is currently running a clinical study at Cleveland VA Medical Center, which teaches veterans challenged by substance abuse and PTSD about emotions.  The goal of the 6-week program is to reduce alexithymia and to connect vets with their interior life so that they can benefit from therapy, improve their intimate relationships, and enhance their approach to parenting.
   Dr. Levant’s challenges as a clinic director will resonate with this group. He has been fortifying the infrastructure of the UA clinic by constructing intake protocols, teaching assessment and diagnosis, advocating for compensation for faculty leadership and supervision in the clinic, and asking for a budget line. He has also been researching funding sources, upgrading equipment and destroying VHS tapes! He welcomes advice on HIPAA, client recruitment, and electronic health record keeping systems. Dr. Levant is looking forward to meeting many of you at our APA APTC Social and would like to invite you to attend a symposium that he has organized entitled, “A New Psychology of Men: A Twenty Year Perspective.”