In 2010, Dr. Jordan sought the support of Hamm Clinic’s Board of Directors and the technical assistance of the St. Paul Foundation to create a lasting legacy for training psychiatry residents in psychotherapy. Since that time, dozens of psychiatrists have been trained with the Endowment’s support.
For 25 years, Hamm Clinic had Dr. James J. Jordan, a skilled psychiatrist and medical director, as its steward. His leadership established Hamm Clinic as a high-quality, interdisciplinary mental health agency dedicated to providing comprehensive care to communities with the greatest need. We pride ourselves on being a place where the different professions – psychiatry, social work, and psychology – practice together.
Dr. Jordan’s vision was this: to confirm psychotherapy training as a powerful learning opportunity for psychiatry residents, and to develop strong and sustained relationships with the local psychiatry training programs. When residents spend time with social workers and psychologists as part of their development, they can learn from one another — how they see the world, how they see a client, and how they see mental illness. Hamm Clinic remains an environment where disciplines working together can treat almost any client needing care. Psychiatry residents also benefit from being supervised by an experienced psychiatrist accredited by their training program. Such supervision prepares them to benefit from current neuroscience so as to better treat complex mental disorders, both acute and chronic.
We continue to deeply value integrating the wisdom and experience of all professions to support clients’ healing. Dr. Jordan explains this with a metaphor: “Would you want to go in for surgery and meet with the surgeon, the nurse, but not the anesthesiologist? You might be concerned!”
Each year, the Dr. James J. Jordan Endowment for Psychiatry enables Hamm Clinic to train 5-6 psychiatry residents in psychotherapy. For years to come, it will continue to strengthen psychiatric care to ensure patient treatment achieves and maintains good results and to nurture psychiatrist leaders to reform our mental health delivery systems