| Assessment Measures |
Jared D. Kass, Ph.D. |
Social Scientist, Psychotherapist, Professor Emeritus
Visiting Scholar Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine Massachusetts General Hospital (2015-Current)
Professor Emeritus Graduate Department of Counseling and Psychology Lesley University (1976-2021)
Visiting Lecturer on Medicine, Section on Behavioral Medicine Beth Israel and New England Deaconess Hospitals Harvard Medical School (1985-1986, 1987-1991)
Person-Centered Approach Project with Dr. Carl Rogers (1976-1981)
Jared Kass, August 2018
Professional History:
Visiting Scholar Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine Massachusetts General Hospital 2015-Current
(go to Research / Research Team / Investigators)
Dr. Kass' collaboration with BHI began in 1985 when Dr. Herbert Benson invited him to conduct quantitative behavioral medicine research on psychological wellbeing and spirituality as a potential health resource.
Professor Emeritus Graduate Department of Counseling and Psychology Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1976-2021
During his 45-year career, Dr. Kass developed and led a specialization in mind-body behavioral health. www.lesley.edu/about/faculty-staff-directory/jared-kass
Person-Centered Approach Project with Dr. Carl Rogers Dr. Kass' worked closely with Rogers as a staff member of this project. 1976-1981
Kass' clinical work, teaching, and social science research (psychospiritual development as a resource for resilience) are rooted in Rogers' humanistic philosophy of the person. Rogers identified interpersonal conditions essential to psychological growth. He also observed a maturational, formative tendency as an inherent aspect of the self.
Kass' scholarship includes development of:
Inventory of Positive Psychological Attitudes (IPPA; English and Spanish versions)
This 32-item metric assesses a resilient worldview, Confidence in Life and Self. It measures psychological change that ranges from stress dysregulation to resilient psychological wellbeing.
Five-Dimension Model of Psychopathology and Maturational Healing Psychopathology has roots in intergenerational trauma, violence, poverty, and broken families. These problems dysregulate the neurobiological pathways of healthy attachment and resilience. This dysregulation undermines five key dimensions of self:
Bio-Behavioral Cognitive-Sociocultural Social-Emotional Existential-Spiritual Integrative Worldview Formation
In Dr. Kass' research and publications, healing these dimensions of self is called: Person-Centered Psychospiritual Maturation.
Know Your Self: A Prevention Curriculum for Emerging Adults This curriculum promotes maturational growth in these five dimensions of self.
The effectiveness of the curriculum was confirmed through an extensive research project that employed a quasi-experimental, mixed-methods design.
Index of Core Spiritual Experience (INSPIRIT; research and self-scoring formats)
This 7-item metric taps subjective self-transcendent experiences commonly reported during meditation and contemplative prayer.
A Person-Centered Approach to Psychospiritual Maturation: Mentoring Resilience and Inclusive Community in Higher Education (Palgrave-MacMillan, 2017):
Dr. Kass' book presents research data on the effectiveness of these clinical and prevention-oriented approaches.
Community Service:
Boston Clergy and Religious Leaders Group for Interfaith Dialogue Dr. Kass participated for 20+ years, serving on its Steering Committee.
His ongoing committment to interfaith education & dialogue reflects recognition that mature spiritual development can be a vital resource for social justice, but that organized religion can also be a negative social force.
Ultimate (Frisbee) Dr. Kass co-founded this counter-cultural sport while a student at Amherst College. The positive impact of this game on the high-school students that he taught introduced him to methods of experiential learning that continue to inform his teaching and research. This sport helps young adults build community, cultivate self-esteem, and develop self-regulation skills.
Educational Background:
Amherst College, B.A. (1969): Independent Scholar, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa Professor Leo Marx (The Machine in the Garden) was Kass' tutor/mentor during his work as an independent scholar.
The year began with Marx guiding Kass to read Ralph Waldo Emerson. This attuned insight produced Kass' lifelong immersion in New England Transcendentalism (as a movement for social justice, environmentalism, and spiritual development), and lifelong immersion in the Bhagavad Gita (a spiritual text of India that influenced Emerson and Thoreau deeply).
Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities, Ph.D. (1975): Psychology and Education Danforth Foundation Fellowship for Graduate Studies Woodrow Wilson Foundation Fellowship for Graduate Studies Professors Roy Fairfield and Ivan Richards were Kass' mentors.
His work focussed on psychological, educational, and artistic processes to facilitate healthy psychosocial development in young adult men. Professional Organizations Phi Beta Kappa American Association for the Advancement of Science Association of American Colleges and Universities American Psychological Association
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