SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — After spending the last 27 years as an educator, Dr Susan Rattray-Hammond has found a new purpose: helping students who struggle with behavioural and learning challenges.

“My scope of practice will be with children and young people. [I will be] looking at things that will impact their educational, social and emotional development and how we can put measures in place to assist in facilitating positive development and particularly to enhance their educational outcome,” said Rattray-Hammond.

She was speaking with the Jamaica Observer at the official opening of her practice last Saturday at Lewis Street in Savanna-la-Mar.

Having read for her doctorate in education psychology, she will work with individuals under 25 years who experience barriers to learning by assessing their emotional needs, developing and supporting therapeutic and behaviour management programmes. She believes the country’s children are being increasingly affected by crime and violence within the society.

“It is getting worse every day. A lot of our children are traumatised and so the traumatic experiences that they encounter on a daily basis does impact on their general development. It impacts specifically on how well they function educationally as well as their social and emotional well-being,” she explained.

By working with families and teachers of the youngsters affected, she hopes she will be able to help address some of the challenges being faced.

Rattray-Hammond stressed the importance of removing barriers that are preventing students from learning at their maximum capacity, because “we can’t give up on them”.

“Outside of the crime and violence we also have trauma from motor vehicle accidents, we have the drama from other criminal activities that affect our children and when they go to schools we see the reports of what is happening in the classroom. Teachers are unable to educate them properly because they are not emotionally grounded, they are so disturbed,” she bemoaned.

In addition to helping the children, the psychologist explained, providing this service is also her way of helping the country cope with the ravages of crime.

“While I am not able to go out there and fight crime because I am not a member of the police force I, in my own little way, can make a difference in terms of helping them to navigate, helping them to build the skills that are necessary to help them to cope with the challenges that they face on a daily basis and to ensure they manage their emotions in such a way that they are not hitting out and getting into trouble,” said Rattray-Hammond.

In chairing the opening ceremony, custos of Westmoreland Rev Hartley Perrin pointed to the current surge in criminal activity within the parish and noted that the opening of the facility is a step in the right direction.

“Dr Rattray-Hammond is seeking to bridge the gap between parents and teachers in the face of students who have challenges in terms of performance in school, and in terms of meeting everyday social conditions. It may be a single step, but it is a monumental move in the right direction,” he lauded.

Rattray-Hammond has a long history of working with children. She obtained a diploma in primary education, with a maths focus, from Bethlehem Moravian College, then in 2003 she graduated from Medgar Evers College in New York with a degree in psychology. Later, she read for her Masters of Science in Educational Leadership and in August of this year she successfully defended her PhD dissertation at Northern Caribbean University.

The former educator turned psychologist began charting her course at Petersfield Primary and Infant School in Westmoreland where she later transitioned to being the principal. She filled that role for 13 years.

She is the widow of businessman and former Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Member of Parliament for Westmoreland Central, Russell Hammond. Saturday was the one-year anniversary of his death and hosting the opening ceremony of her practice on that day was her way of repurposing her life.

She was supported by friends, her son and others including her daughters who joined via Zoom.

“For me life is not without challenges, it’s how we navigate; so this is my way of navigating. This is my way of coping with him not being here. It’s a useful, functional way for me because what I’m doing is not just about me but it’s about how I can help others. So today, for me, was an important day because at least I’m not just moping around the house feeling down. It’s repurposing, then looking at what can I do,” Rattray-Hammond told the Observer.