Cal State Long Beach professor Bita Ghafoori is planning a trip to Greece later this year, but it won’t be for a summer vacation.
Ghafoori, who is a professor of advanced studies in education and counseling at CSULB, has been awarded a grant from the Fulbright Specialist Program to work with administrators at the University of Crete from May to June.
The grant covers international fare travel related expenses and a $200 per day grant payment, according to the Fulbright Specialist Program website. Host institutions often pay for lodging and food as well.
Ghafoori said she is interested in studying the mental health effects that Greece’s economic collapse has had on its people.
“They are in need of help,” she said.
The Greek economy began to falter in December 2009 when the country admitted it had amassed nearly €300 billion worth of debt, according to BBC. In 2010, the International Monetary Fund and Eurozone nations reached a €110 billion bailout package, according to BBC.
Ghafoori said there is only one Greek university that offers educational opportunities for those seeking a master’s degree needed to become a professional mental health practitioner.
“In the past, [Greece] wasn’t accustomed to providing people with mental health services,” she said. “Mental health was considered a luxury. Someone who wanted it was very distraught or very wealthy.”
Ghafoori said she became interested in the Fulbright Specialist Program after realizing it would give her the opportunity to do a lot of work in a short period of time.
The program allows U.S. faculty to participate in two- to six-week long projects in more than 140 countries, according to the Fulbright Specialist Program website.
While in Greece, Ghafoori said she hopes she can achieve the two short-term goals she has set for herself.
“The first goal is that [the faculty at the University of Crete] want me to assist them to re-structure [their] curriculum,” Ghafoori said. “They want to be able to meet the needs of those seeking mental health services.”
Ghafoori said she also hopes to help people who work in the mental health world to develop research skills.
“They feel as if their skills may not match what’s necessary to conduct research,” she said.
Although Ghafoori said she will enjoy working with mental health professionals at the University of Crete, she said she has never had the opportunity to study in Greece.
Greece was not originally on the list of countries participating in the Fulbright program that requested the expertise she possesses, Ghafoori said. After calling the Fulbright office and explaining that she wanted to use her expertise in Greece, however, Ghafoori was able to set up her study program.
Ghafoori said she decided to go to Greece because she had been following the economic crisis since it occurred.