Abstract
It is with a heavy heart that the counseling world says goodbye to one of the giants of the profession, Dr Richard Watts. He was a mentor, friend, and colleague to many in the profession. Richard was a strong advocate of family, scholarship, humanity, music, and faith. He will leave a hole in the profession and in our hearts.
During his career he served as a professor at Sam Houston State University, Baylor University, Kent State University, and Texas A & M—Commerce. He also served as a Teaching Fellow or Distinguished Lecturer at the University of North Texas, University of Vienna, ICASSI among others. He received numerous accolades during his career. He was a NASAP Diplomate, an ACA Fellow, an ACA Distinguished Mentor, and he was identified as one of the 20 most prolific authors in Counselor Education.
Richard was a true intellectual. He was brilliant and plain spoken. He loved books and conversation. He could spin a tale, tell a joke, and quote Martin Luther, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Martin Heidegger all in the same meal. He was able to see the humor in our humanity, but never at the expense of another person. He was generous with his time, resources, and credit.
He began his career as a musician and then trained as a theologian. Music and spirituality would guide his work throughout his career. These were also the sources of comfort he embraced during his end of life.
He was never as happy as when he discussed his family. Richard saw his son, Will, as a spiritual blessing, and he was prouder of Will than of anything else in his life. Richard recognized that his wife was his rock, and he appreciated her brilliance and valued her partnership. They were a great model for those of us who were young when we met them.
As a human, Richard embodied the concept of Gemeinschaftsgefuhl. In his words… The premier concept in Adler's theory and therapy is Gemeinschaftsgefuhl. It is typically translated social interest or community feeling and emphasizes the relational, social-contextual nature of the theory. Both community feeling and social interest are needed for a holistic understanding of Gemeinschaftsgefuhl; that is, community feeling addresses the affective and motivational aspects and social interest the cognitive and behavioral ones. Thus, true community feeling (i.e., sense of belonging, empathy, caring, compassion, acceptance of others, etc.) results in social interest (i.e., thoughts and behaviors that contribute to the common good, the good of the whole at both micro- and macro-systemic levels); true social interest is motivated by community feeling.
Richard leaves behind his family, his body of scholarship, and the thousands of lives he has touched with his work and his humanity across the world. We are all better for having known Richard.