printable versionAlbucher appointed new director of counseling, psychological services at Vaden
BY KATHLEEN J. SULLIVAN
Dr. Ronald Albucher, who began Sept. 2 as director of counseling and psychological services at Vaden Health Center, was previously the agency medical director of Westside Community Services in San Francisco.
During a family vacation, 9-year-old Ronald Albucher fell in love with San Francisco.
"I think everything about it suggested a magical quality: the often-changing weather, especially the fog, Chinatown, the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, the downtown skyscrapers, the newly opened BART system—all of it in such a small place," said Albucher, 45, the new director of counseling and psychological services at Vaden Health Center.
"I always thought I'd like to live there," he added. It took about three decades to make that childhood wish come true.
In between, there was high school in New Jersey, college in Pennsylvania, medical school and a residency program in psychiatry in Michigan, and a decade's worth of work teaching medical students and treating patients at the University of Michigan.
His last name, modified from the original "Alboher" by his great-grandfather, who immigrated to the United States from Macedonia, is pronounced "al-BUKE-er."
Albucher made San Francisco his home in 2005, when he became the agency medical director of Westside Community Services, a nonprofit organization that provides mental health care and social services to low-income adults; people living with AIDS; and poor children, youth and their families.
He helped the 40-year-old agency revitalize its role as a training center for medical students and professionals—a place where young nurses, doctors, psychologists and social workers could work with patients they might not otherwise encounter in their programs.
To do that, Albucher helped establish relationships with programs at the University of California-San Francisco; the University of San Francisco's School of Nursing; and the California Pacific Medical Center, a hospital with a small residency program.
It was rewarding work for Albucher, who lives on one of the highest hills in San Francisco, in a neighborhood filled with stunning views of his adopted city.
But Albucher, who had spent more than a decade on the clinical faculty of the University of Michigan Medical School, where he taught classes on psychotherapy and psychiatry, found that he missed the intellectual stimulation of campus life.
"In academia, people are always challenging the conventional wisdom, and there are always interesting people to share ideas with," he said. "In some ways, it really helps you feel young—in the best sense of being young. It's a tremendous fringe benefit of working in a university setting."
After four years at Westside, Albucher made his way back to academia when he accepted the post of director of counseling and psychological services at Stanford's student health center.
He started work there Sept. 2.
"I'm thrilled that Ron has joined our staff," said Dr. Ira Friedman, director of Vaden Health Center. "Ron's experience and skills will complement our existing strengths, and help us to address the current and future mental health needs of students."
In recent years, Albucher has co-authored papers published in Biological Psychiatry, Journal of Psychiatric Research, American Family Physician and American Journal of Psychiatry. He is the editor of Psychiatry: Just the Facts, a 400-page book for psychiatric residents and psychiatrists who are preparing for certification or recertification exams, published earlier this year by McGraw-Hill.
Albucher succeeds Alejandro Martinez, who was recently named senior associate director of counseling and psychological services.
At Vaden, Albucher oversees a staff of more than two dozen psychiatrists, psychologists and clinical social workers. Last week, five pre-doctoral and postdoctoral psychology fellows began working at the center in a yearlong training program. The staff also includes three psychiatry residents—two are from Stanford Medical School—who serve six-month rotations.
The counseling and psychological services staff provides a variety of services to students: individual, couples and group therapy; crisis counseling, which is available 24 hours a day; workshops on social, personal and academic effectiveness; and consultation and outreach to faculty, staff and student organizations.
Albucher said Stanford has done a good job breaking down the barriers that might keep students from seeking psychological help for emotional problems.
"It is certainly my goal to help further that process by making sure students know we're here, know what we offer and know the high degree of confidentiality we provide," he said. "We also want students to know the success we have had helping people in treating difficulties, including relationship problems and self-esteem issues, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, substance abuse problems and bipolar disorder."
Albucher will join Vaden's staff at its annual open house, which is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. Sept. 16 at the center, located at 866 Campus Drive East (at Cowell Lane).