“Traveling through Time: How Trauma Plays Itself out in Society”
A Presentation by:
Gerard Fromm, Ph.D.
Saturday, September 10, 2022
9:00 am – 9:15 am – Zoom Gathering
9:15 am – 11:45 am – Presentation
Location: Zoom
Please note: The start time for this presentation is 15 minutes earlier than previous Zoom conferences. Please check in at 9 am so we can start promptly at 9:15 am.
PRESENTER
M. Gerard (Jerry) Fromm, Ph.D., is a long-time WMAAPP member, who spent his clinical career at the Austen Riggs Center. He is a Distinguished Faculty member and former director of the Erikson Institute, a Fellow of the American Board and Academy of Psychoanalysis, a Distinguished Member and past president of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations, a founding partner of College Health and Counseling Services Consulting, and the current president of the International Dialogue Initiative, which works to bring a psychological understanding to societal conflict. Jerry has taught at and consulted to a number of psychoanalytic institutes across the US, and currently maintains a consulting practice. Dr. Fromm’s books include: Taking the Transference, Reaching toward Dreams: Clinical Studies in the Intermediate Area and, most recently, Traveling through Time: How Trauma Plays Itself out in Families, Organizations and Society.
EVENT DESCRIPTION
“Bullets don’t just travel through skin and bone. They travel through time.” These words were tattooed onto the shoulder of a young woman whose father was shot during “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland. This wrenching, volatile but also binding truth is the subject of this presentation. It’s a truth about traumatic experiences that happen to a family, but also to a society and to the organizations that link these intimate units with the larger context of history and culture. It’s also a truth about the way trauma plays out over time, including between generations. Dr. Fromm’s focus will be on stories of trauma at the societal level, with consideration given to a number of topics: radicalization, large group identity, societal repair, and a group intervention into a societal crisis. These stories come largely from his experience at the Austen Riggs Center and its Erikson Institute. Named for Erik Erikson, the Institute’s job is to bring the deep and broad clinical data from Riggs into dialogue with others to see what all of us can learn in the overlap of our interests. The work of the Institute – and of this presentation – links the clinical with the societal in what he hopes will be an illuminating dialogue.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the conclusion of the program, participants will be able to:
1. Formulate ways that historical trauma
leads to societal conflict.
2. Identify the role large group identity
plays in regressive societal dynamics.
3. Identify the elements of a group
intervention designed to explore
societal conflict.
4. Formulate the role of the mourning
process in moving past societal
trauma.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alderdice, J. (2010). Off the couch and round the conference table. In: A. Lemma & M. Patrick (Eds.), Off the Couch: Contemporary Psychoanalytic Applications (pp. 1-15). London: Routledge.
Erikson, E., (1959). Identity and the Life Cycle. In: G.S. Klein (Ed.), Psychological Issues, (pp. 1-171). New York: International Universities Press.
Fromm, M.G. (2022). Traveling through Time: How Trauma Plays Itself out in Families, Organizations and Society. Bicester: Phoenix Publishing House.
Rifkind, G. (2019). Preparing the psychological space for peacemaking. New England Journal of Public Policy, 31(1), Article 7.
Volkan, V. (2020). Large Group Psychology: Racism, Societal Division, Narcissistic Leaders and Who Are We Now. Bicester: Phoenix.
CE CREDITS: 
2.5 CE credits are available to psychologists, psychoanalysts, and social workers upon complete attendance of this intermediate level event. 2.5 CEUs are offered to LMHCs.
CONFIDENTIALITY AND WMAAPP POLICY
In order to protect the confidentiality of the clinical material, and to adhere to APA ethical guidelines, it is required that those attending the program be either currently licensed mental health professionals, psychoanalysts, or currently matriculated students in mental health programs (psychology, social work, psychiatry, psychoanalysis). Students are required to provide the name of their program. There will be no exceptions.
Division 39 is committed to accessibility and non-discrimination in its continuing education activities.
Division 39 is also committed to conducting all activities In conformity with the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles for Psychologists. Participants are asked to be aware of the need for privacy and confidentiality throughout the program. If program content becomes stressful, participants are encouraged to process these feelings during the discussion periods. If participants have special needs, we will attempt to accommodate them. For questions, concerns or complaints, please Contact Us.