New York Freudian Society
Scientific Program
Friday, September 23, 2011
8:30-10:00 pm
Mt. Sinai Medical Center
Hatch Auditorium, Madison Ave @ 100th Street
Admission is free and no reservations are required.
Dissociation in a Post 9/11 World
Ira Brenner, MD, presenter
It was predicted that things would never be the same in the US after the attacks on September 11, 2001. A new era was to have begun in which our illusion of safety on American soil was irreparably shattered. Destruction of the World Trade Center, substantial damage to the Pentagon and a significant loss of life triggered our “war on terror” which continues ten years later. Homeland security and other measures to “protect us” have gradually eroded several of our freedoms. The growing awareness of the limits of US supremacy in a rapidly changing technological and geopolitical world has left many with a vague sense of uneasiness about the future. In the aftermath of this national trauma, it is curious, therefore, how little has been published in the psychoanalytic literature about this topic. After review of this literature, the author will offer some speculations about why this might be the case and consider the importance of dissociation in contemporary mental processes. Dissociation will be compared and contrasted with related phenomena such as denial, disavowal, repression and splitting.
Ira Brenner, MD, is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College and a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia where he is also Director Emeritus of the Adult Psychotherapy Training Program. He has a special interest in psychic trauma with over 75 publications, having edited two special issues of the International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies and written four books: The Last Witness: The Child Survivor of the Holocaust, co-authored with Judith Kestenberg (1996); Dissociation of Trauma: Theory, Phenomenology and Technique (2001); Psychic Trauma: Dynamics, Symptoms and Treatment (2004); and Injured Men: Trauma, Healing and the Masculine Self (2009). He has received a number of awards including the Pierre Janet Writing Award for his 2001 book, the Gradiva Award for his 2009 book, the Gratz Research Prize for his Holocaust work, the Bruno Lima Award for his work in disaster psychiatry and Practitioner of the Year from the Philadelphia Psychiatric Society. He lectures nationally and internationally and maintains his private practice in the greater Philadelphia area.
Objectives:
At the end of this program, participants will be able to:
1. describe the process of a dissociative response to trauma, distinguishing it from denial and other more familiar defensive processes.
2. analyze the concept of dissociation in relation to the psychosocial reactions of some survivors of the attack on 9/11/01.
3. apply the model of the dissociative mind to a traumatized society.
Who Should Attend:
Mental Health Professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, licensed professional counselors, eg, LP’s, LCAT’s, pastoral counselors), and people with an interest in psychodynamic and psychoanalytic thinking and clinical applications.
APA-approved CE Credits:
Psychologists: The New York Freudian Society is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education programs for psychologists. NYFS maintains responsibility for this program and its content. APA-approved CE credits are granted to participants with documented attendance and completed evaluation forms. Attendance is monitored. Credit will not be granted to registrants who arrive late, or depart early. It is the responsibility of participants seeking APA-approved CE credits to comply with the requirements outlined below. Upon completion of these requirements, participants will be given 1.5 CE credits.
Registration Fees:
There is no fee for attending this program.
Basic Certification of Attendance forms will be provided to ATR-BC’s and others at no charge. The fee for 1.5 APA-approved CE Credits for Members of NYFS and Candidates of
the PTI of NYFS is $15, and for all others it is $30. If you would like CE credit, please give
your email address to the identified person at the end of the program. An evaluation form will be emailed to you. You will receive a PDF via email of your CE credits upon receipt of a hard copy of the completed evaluation form and your check (written to NYFS).
Important disclosure information:
None of the planners and presenters of this CE program have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Vivian Eskin, PhD, at veskinphd@gmail.com
NYFS-NY Scientific Program Committee
Vivian Eskin, Chair; Ani Buk, Richard DeBenedetto, Susan Light, Kristina MacGaffin, Virginia Shipley
The Psychoanalytic Training Institute of NYFS offers a variety of programs in both New York City and Washington, DC for students interested in adult psychoanalysis, child/adolescent psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, and parent-infant treatment. Our NY Adult Psychoanalysis Program is registered as licensure qualifying by the NYSED. All Masters-level professionals are welcome to apply.
Please visit instituteofnyfs.org for further information