Josephine Bynder - Psychotherapist and Social Worker
By Kiki Clark

Like many young girls, Josephine Catena Bynder was sure she knew what

Josephine (on left) at 13, about the Spellbound age, with two friends and a much younger niece.

she wanted to be when she grew up. Unlike most little girls, she was right.
 

"I was an early teenager when I saw a movie called Spellbound

with Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman. She was a psychiatrist, and he was troubled by a traumatic childhood and accused of murdering someone. It was a Hitchcock film, so of course there were thriller aspects to it, too, but they actually worked to unravel his mind so he remembered that he was not, in fact, the killer. It all went back to his childhood and they figured it all out, and I thought that was totally neat. So that's what got me interested in psychology."
 

Age 7, first Holy Communion.

Born to Livia (Trionfo) and Pasquale

Catena, Italian immigrants who were both widowed, Josephine was a change-of-life baby -much younger than her four half-siblings from her parents' previous marriages.

She was also the only one in the family to attend college. "My siblings were teens in the Great Depression and didn't have a lot of opportunities," she says. She spent her childhood helping out in her

parents' grocery store in New Jersey.

"It was a small, neighborhood grocery, so people came in almost every day to buy stuff. My father was a good listener, so [customers] would come and tell him their troubles. We got used to hearing about all the stories in the neighborhood about everybody who was having a problem, and I think that kind of shaped my interest in helping people, too. The whole family worked in the grocery store. I find that whenever I'm involved in a group project with people, it always

makes me feel warm and fuzzy. It's made me a good team worker, I think."

While still in school, Josephine worked for the Children's Aid and Adoption

Service of East Orange, New Jersey. For three years, she supervised foster homes, was involved in some child-protection services, and also counseled mothers considering relinquishment of their children. It was during this time that her interest in the field of counseling developed a direction toward social work.

After receiving her bachelor's degree in psychology (with minors in Spanish and sociology) from Douglass College, the women's college of Rutgers University, Josephine received a graduate scholarship from the Jewish Guild for the Blind. In exchange for the scholarship, she agreed to work for the Guild after she received her masters in social work from Columbia University.

In 1958, Josephine moved to New York City to counsel legally blind clients and their families. "Manhattan was always a glamorous place for my family, living in New Jersey. When I was a kid, we would drive over to 'the city' on Sunday just to drive around. This was long before traffic became impossible. I got an apartment in Manhattan when I was in my late twenties, and it was a very exciting time for me. I had exciting work, and the cultural attractions of New York City were like living in a candy store. I went to a lot of theater, concerts, dance performances, and museums. I had a large group of female friends and had a reasonable dating life." She also traveled - to Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa, in addition to parts of the United States.

In 1961, Josephine joined the social-work department of the prestigious Mount Sinai Medical Center and began counseling adult and adolescent patients in the psychiatry programs. In 1967, she became the supervisor for social work in the Psychiatry Department, and in 1975, she was made the assistant director of social work services in psychiatry. "When I think about my experiences, the first thing I think about is what I have learned from clients. There was a very poor widow, raising two children by herself. She would scour the house for loose change and go out and buy chocolate cake to give her kids a lighter moment...even though their general circumstances were so constrained."

From 1971 on, Josephine also has maintained a private practice. Her specialties are depression, anxiety, life transitions, relationship problems (including couples' counseling), and the psychological aspects of illness, disability and aging. "I have known significantly disabled clients who were able to enjoy, in a very full way, the colors of autumn, the sight of a bird through the trees, a beautiful sunset. I have had numerous opportunities to experience the wisdom of my clients, and that has enriched my work and my life."

In 1979, Josephine embarked on a new adventure. She married at the age of 45. She had met Herb Bynder in 1961, when she first started at Mt. Sinai. At that point, he was getting his doctorate at Columbia University and was working as a researcher for the Social Work Department. "We were both in other relationships so were not romantic until years later after both those relationships ended. By then, he had a tenured position in the Sociology Department at the University of Colorado-Boulder. He tried to get one in New York City, but positions were frozen at that point. It was a huge wrench for me to move, but I have not regretted it. Life is easier and more pleasant here, although I always love visiting New York. I didn't marry earlier mostly because I didn't find the right guy - and maybe I wasn't looking hard enough because I had a pretty full life."

Josephine opened a new private practice in Boulder. She also took a position as director of the Longmont branch office of the Mental Health Center of Boulder County. During her 18 years with the Center, she was interim executive director, assistant director for the Plains Division, director of adult services, and deputy director.

In 2003, Josephine lost her husband and best friend after being married for 25 years. "I was fortunate to have a lot of support from family and friends, and financial security. Our two wonderful dogs were still alive, and they helped me feel that I still had immediate 'family' in the house. At some point after the first six months, I joined a group of therapists who were exploring the grieving process through their own experiences and through their experiences with clients. I found that very helpful in being

able to express some of my reactions in a supportive atmosphere. The field I'm in is full of very caring people."
 

In March of this year, Josephine was named Boulder Branch Social Worker of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers. In an age when most people go through at least three major career changes, Josephine's long-term commitment is one of the reasons she excels in her field. In addition to her ongoing private practice, she is vice president of the Mental Health Foundation in Boulder.

I asked her if she had ever thought of doing something else since that long-ago day when she watched Spellbound. She said, "I've had discouraging times, when I was overextended or when there were budget cuts that meant my agency had to cut back on services. But I always felt like I was in the right work."

To read last month's SuperHeroine article, click here.

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