GIFTED PSYCHOLOGY, EDUCATION, AND OTHER ISSUES

In about 2000, I was scouring the web for information about giftedness, as a result of a conversation with my grandmother. It was around this time that I joined Mensa, a move that led to the formation of the Under the Hill group for younger Mensans in Southeast Michigan. While surfing I, came across a remarkable article entitled Existential Depression in the Gifted by Dr. James Webb, who runs Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted. This article spoke to me so deeply that it sent me on a journey of discovery about the field of gifted psychology, even leading me to consider a career in the field. When I asked Webb for more information about this field, he referred me to Dr. Irvin Yalom, one of the preeminent thinkers on existential psychology. I eventually ended up speaking to a number of leaders in the field including:

• Mary-Elaine Jacobsen - author of The Gifted Adult: A Revolutionary Guide for Liberating Everyday Genius.
• Rick Olenchak - who has served as President of the National Association for Gifted Children.
• Joseph Renzulli - of University of Connecticut's National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented.

I also considered going to Iowa where Dr. Nick Colangelo runs a highly-touted program.

The problem I kept running into, however, was that I wanted to practice psychology and counseling with gifted children, but was unable to find a program specifically tailored to these issues. The programs specifically dealing with gifted issues were all in the education field, not psychology. My interest in the issue finally found an outlet when I met Mrs. Annemarie Roeper, a meeting that led me to begin working on a project called The Linx Institute. Mrs. Roeper also suggested a plan in which I would train under her in California, but this also never worked out.

Other Gifted Resources

• Educational Options - Website of High Intelligence Specialist Deborah Ruf, Ph.D. Educational Options is about meeting the social, emotional, and academic needs of the intellectually gifted.

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