Meet Jan Canty | Psychologist and homicide survivor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jan Canty and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jan, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
My favorite quote is from Helen Keller:

The world is full of suffering.
But it is also filled with the overcoming of it.

It speaks to the resilience of people and gives hope. What may seem impossible is often not, especially when broken down into steps by someone who has already succeeded.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I was trained as a psychologist at a time when few women were encouraged to go to grad school. I was the first in my family to go to college and I appreciated the opportunity. I had a wonderful mentor in Aaron L. Rutledge, Ph.D. He was a brilliant man and I respected him immensely. The hard part of the doctorate was the political cross-winds among faculty and the sheer “weight” of the assignments. But my goal was to finish before age 30. I made it by one month.

What was hard is that after I’d been in training for 11 years, the rug was ripped out from beneath me. Within two weeks of completing my post-doctoral fellowship my husband was murdered. The media descended. The investigation was all-consuming and it all hit like a Tsunami just when my practice was starting. So, I packed up after 18 months and left Detroit. It was not an easy choice but the media was relentless.

I abandoned clinical work for academia and it turned out I enjoyed teaching immensely. It never seemed like a second-place choice to me.

I guess the main thing I would like the world to know about my story is that so-called “homicide survivors” are misrepresented and ignored by Hollywood, researchers, podcasters, the clinical training of mental health professionals and by medical staff. We are overlooked in the gun control debate. Politicians know next to nothing about us. It’s not the fault of society. We pull away from them and society pulls away from us. There are many myths associated with the aftermath of homicide that need correcting. I do speak on that often.

I set out to do something about that with my Podcast Domino Effect of Murder and my books, “A Life Divided” and “What Now? Navigating the Aftermath of Homicide and Suicide.”

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
(Is this question referring to Detroit?)

Believe it or not, one of the places I would take them is to the graves of famous people buried in Detroit that tell its rich history. I’d want them to know about Mother Waddles, Chief Pontchartrain, Aretha Franklin, Rosa Parks, David Ruffin, Henry Ford and others.

I’d take them to the Fox Theater, dine at the Whitney Mansion on Woodward, drive by Hitsville U.S. A. and spend time at the Botannical Gardens at Belle Isle. If time allowed, we could also drop in to see Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum near Franklin (not exactly in Detroit).

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Oh, yes. Indeed. It’s hard to narrow it down to one, however.

First, my parents. They were strict, loving, funny, fair, encouraging and practiced what they preached. They taught me self-confidence, gratitude, compassion and a love of books, people and animals.

Second, Detective Landeros of the Detroit Homicide Division. She was professional, intuitive, organized, patient, ethical and brave. She inspired confidence and trust. Without her I would not have gotten through the murder of my husband as well as I did (especially the legal dimensions of it).

Website: www.jancantyphd.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Domino-Effect-of-Murder-102529034482310/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jancantyphd

Image Credits
WXYZ Channel 7: Detroit