NSU Horizons Winter 2008 - 2009

verbatim 36 horizons A lden Cass’s career choice is as unique as the methodology he applies to other life choices. Cass, Psy.D., is a doctoral graduate of NSU’s Center for Psychological Studies. His decision to attend NSU really came down to South Florida’s unique- ly warm weather. Cass had several universities to choose from but, in the end, he wanted a climate that was vastly different from his college town of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Cass is a licensed clinical psychologist in New York City and president and CEO of Competitive Streak Consulting, Inc., a professional services organization that assists companies by identifying and correcting employee problems before they hamper productivity and job satisfaction. Cass specializes in working with individuals and groups of senior executives, including high-profile CEOs, traders, financial advisers, planners, athletes, musicians, and bankers, helping them to achieve their corporate, career, and personal goals. Additionally, he is in private practice conducting cognitive therapy with both young adults and adults suffering from mental illness and/or addiction. Considered an expert on the use of psychology in the brokerage industry, Cass has appeared on or in the Today show, Fox News Live , New York magazine, Business Week , CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight , CNN’s Moneyline , CNN’s money.com , CNBC London, Financial Times , London Financial Weekly , Washington Post Radio, NY Newsday , On Wall Street magazine, E-Trade “On Air,” BBC Radio, Reuter’s Business News- wire, The New York Times , The Boston Globe , and Absolute Return magazine. Cass is a member of a core group of NSU alumni volunteers in New York City who are helping the university’s Office of Alumni Relations establish a chapter in the city. Alden volunteered his time as a presenter at the chapter’s inaugural Manhattan event in June 2008. He spoke on the topic of strategies for surviving in an uncertain world and job market. HORIZONS : Why did you choose to focus on those who work on Wall Street? While I was at NSU, I was sitting poolside one bright sunny South Florida day, where I do my best thinking, thinking about a topic for my Directed Study Research. I was also thinking about a friend of mine, who had just started working for a Wall Street broker- age firm, and how his personality had begun to change. In a matter of months, he went from fun-loving to short-tempered, and he was not focused. It did not make sense; I knew something was not right. It was then that I decided to do my research on whether clinical levels of depression, burnout, and anxiety were present in Wall Street stockbrokers. HORIZONS : How did you get the participants for the study? It was done through networking brokers. It is called a “conve- nience sample,” in research terms. A Helping Hand in a Hurting Economy By Felecia Henderson