An
interview with prior Iowa Psychological Association Director Dr. Kevin Krumvieda
When learning about
psychology on the surface level, you usually hear about the older influential
figures that shaped the field, Sigmund Freud, Carl Rogers, Albert Bandura, but
you don’t get to explore psychologists who are making a difference in the
present day. The Iowa Psychological Association is an esteemed group of
Psychologists around the state of Iowa that is dedicated to furthering its
knowledge and skill in psychological practices and theories while pushing for
legislative action in favor of those who benefit from the services that
psychology provides. Dr. Kevin Krumvieda, 2016’s IPA President, was kind enough
to discuss with me his journey through Psychology and what he’s learned.
Dr. Krumvieda first became
interested in Psychology in 1971 when he met Rev. Michael Cooney, a Methodist
minister in Imperial Beach, California, at a group therapy sessions at Rogers’
Center for the Study of the Person that Rev. Michael had led. However, Dr. Krumvieda
received a degree in English and a minor in Sociology from San Diego State
University, although he would later dive into the field of psychology, and
later moved to Montana with his family teaching school for two years. He
continued working in a shelter for neglected and abused children for three
years and the Montana Department of Corrections in the Youth Evaluation Program
(YEP) for another three years. During the time he spent at YEP he met Dr. Tom
Kraisich, a well known and highly skilled forensic psychologist who conducted
psychology evaluations for YEP. Dr. Krumvieda, after reading some of his
evaluations, invited him to lunch. Dr. Kraisich has asked Dr. Krumvieda about
his interest in psychology and if he had taken any statistics courses. Dr. Krumvieda
explained how he has always been interested in helping people and psychological
testing; he further explained how he had done incredibly well in statistics,
even earning the top grade in the class. He caught Dr. Kraisich’s attention
with that response and was directed to the California School of Professional Psychology,
Dr. Kraisich’s alma mater. Dr. Krumvieda later on earned his doctorate degree
from the CSPP in September of 1994.
Throughout the years, Dr. Krumvieda
has mainly used psychology to treat emotional disorders and conduct
psychological evaluations; he’s doing what we aspired to do when going into the
work world, to help other people. When I asked Dr. Krumvieda how psychology
affects everyday life and how learning about it can help someone, he replied,
“As a
Clinical Psychologist I am witness to, on a daily basis, how evidence-based
practices alleviate suffering…As an individual becomes more aware of how their
behavior is influenced by mental experiencing they can gain greater
psychological flexibility to address ineffective mental experiencing that leads
to suffering.”
Psychology
is a profession for those who wish to help others with the stresses of
day-to-day life and can draw anyone into it. Dr. Krumvieda shows us that
Psychology works its way into everyone’s lives one way or another and that it’s
very prevalent in our everyday lies. It takes skill, intelligence, compassion,
and humanity. Dr. Krumvieda stated, “I have always thought that the bets
definition of psychology is the scientific study of human behavior. I would ass
that this science will continue to advance the knowledge of human behavior for
the betterment of humanity”. Psychology does just that, and so does all the
psychologists in the field. We work to help better humanity and Dr. Krumvieda
is an excellent example of someone in the field who is making a difference.
I would
like to thank Dr. Krumvieda for taking the time in answering my questions. It’s
been wonderful getting to know your story and I am looking forward to what you
continue to do in the field of psychology.
