Press Release
THE AMERICAN PSYCHOANALYTIC ASSOCIATION
212-752-0450 Fax: 212-593-0571FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12/97
NEW YORK -- The American Psychoanalytic Association in conjunction with The American Psychoanalytic Foundation invites the public to attend a PUBLIC FORUM during its FALL 1997 MEETING on:CREATION OF A SELF: COLOR AND TRAUMA IN THE LIFE OF A CHILD Friday, December 19, 1997 - 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Grand Ballroom, Third Floor 301 Park Avenue, New York, NY [ADMISSION IS FREE]
Violence and racism continually traumatize our nation's children. The perpetual cycle of poverty, family violence, and an expanding socioeconomic and cultural gap between groups of people threaten the very survival of our society. These influences shape the identity, development, behavior, and well being of all children.
Each panelist participating in this PUBLIC FORUM offers a valuable perspective on the use of psychoanalytic thinking in understanding the inner worlds of children, and of children of color in particular. The panelists will report on the application, successes and limitations of a theory and technique that originated with Sigmund Freud, but has been greatly expanded over the last 100 years.
As Life Magazine recently reported in its "Millennium Issue," Freud was one of the most significant individuals of the past millennium. His study of the unconscious and its "power...to influence behavior," is not only relevant but essential to a full understanding of the impact of critical social problems on the psychological development of our nation's children. Following the Panel presentations, there will be a dialogue between the panelists and the audience.
The Panelists:
CARL BELL, M.D., Author of VIOLENCE, EXPOSURE, PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AND HIGH RISK AMONG INNER-CITY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
GLORIA JOHNSON-POWELL, M.D., Author of BLACK MONDAY'S CHILDREN: A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF SCHOOL DESEGREGATION ON THE SELF-CONCEPTS OF SOUTHERN CHILDREN
STEPHEN KURTZ, M.S.W., Author of THE ART OF UNKNOWING, applies Freud's theory and techniques in Harlem
STEVEN MARANS, Ph.D., Author of THE POLICE MENTAL HEALTH PARTNERSHIP: A COMMUNITY-BASED RESPONSE TO VIOLENCE
The Co-chairs are MARK SMALLER, Ph.D. and SANDRA C. WALKER, M.D.
In addition to the Public Forum, the FALL 1997 MEETING includes more than 100 sessions, including discussion groups, panels, and special programs on many topics of current interest. Most sessions -- except those in which there are questions of confidentiality -- will be open to the media.
GLORIA JOHNSON-POWELL, M.D. is Professor of Child Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Senior Advisor on Community and Social Policy Research, Judge Baker Center for Children, Boston. She is co-author of THE PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF MINORITY GROUP CHILDREN, the first textbook in child psychiatry to address this issue. She is also the author of BLACK MONDAY'S CHILDREN: A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF SCHOOL DESEGREGATION ON THE SELF-CONCEPTS OF SOUTHERN CHILDREN and has continued this research with children in the North. Dr. Johnson-Powell has taught in universities in Brazil, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. She received the Rosa Parks Award from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Foundation and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in recognition for her work on child abuse and sexual assault. She is the recipient of the American Psychiatric Association's Solomon Carter Fuller Award. With her daughter, she is co-author of THE HOUSE ON ELBERT STREET: THE BIOGRAPHY OF A WELFARE MOTHER, which is about her own mother.
STEPHEN KURTZ, M.S.W. is Director of The Harlem Family Institute, New York and is a New York City psychoanalyst and author whose institute trains psychotherapists to work psychoanalytically free of charge with children in Harlem schools. He has himself worked in the schools, including the Children's Storefront School on East 129th Street, and shares with the school's founder, Ned O'Gorman, the view that Freud applies in Harlem as do Mozart, Schubert and Thomas Aquinas. Mr. Kurtz is author of THE ART OF UNKNOWING and has published articles on psychoanalysis in Free Associations, the Journal of The American Psychoanalytic Association, and Psychoanalytic Review.
STEVEN MARANS, PH.D. is the Harris Assistant Professor of Child Psychoanalysis at the Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine and Director of the Program on Child Development-Community Policing, New Haven. The Child Development-Community Policing Program addresses the needs of victims of community violence, and also the needs of witnesses and perpetrators. The Program has recently published a manual entitled THE POLICE MENTAL HEALTH PARTNERSHIP: A COMMUNITY-BASED RESPONSE TO VIOLENCE. In clinical practice, Dr. Marans treats children, adolescents, and adults in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. His articles have appeared in the Bulletin of the Hamstead Clinic, the Journal of The American Psychoanalytic Association, and the Psychoanalytic Study of the Child.
[For more information about the Participants]
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