Upcoming Conference. War, Torture and Terror: The Role of Psychology
The Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University is sponsoring a conference:
War, Torture and Terror: The Role of Psychology
Friday, June 22, 2007,
9 AM – 4 PM at the
Geraldine Schottenstein Center
239-241 East 34th Street, NYC
Schedule:
9 – 9:35 AM Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:35 – 10 AM Welcome
Shara Sand, PsyD, Chair;
Assistant Director of Clinical Training,
Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University
Opening Remarks
Lawrence J. Siegel, PhD
Dean,
Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University
10 – 10:45 AM Invited Address
The Development of Psychological Torture: A Modern
History of Coercive Interrogation and Its Effectiveness
Shara Sand, PsyD *
Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychology;
Assistant Director of Clinical Training,
Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University
10:45 – 10:55 AM Questions and Answers
10:55 – 11 AM Abraham Givner, PhD, Conference Co-Chair;
Director, School-Clinical Child Psychology Program,
Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University
11 – 11:45 AM Invited Address
The Role of Psychologists in the Global War on Terror;
Professional and Ethical Considerations
Michael Gelles, PsyD *
Consultant, Washington, DC; Former Chief Psychologist,
Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)
11:45 – 12 NOON Questions and Answers
12 NOON – 1 PM Lunch
1:15 – 2 PM Invited Address
Torture, Ethics and the Consequences of Complicity
Leonard Rubenstein, JD
Executive Director, Physicians for Human Rights
2:15 – 3:30 PM Concurrent Workshops:
I. Torture Across the Generations: The Chilean Project of
Theater Arts Against Political Violence
Steven Reisner, PhD, International Trauma Studies Program,
Columbia University; New York University, Psychoanalytic Institute
This workshop will present videotapes and discussion from a theater Arts Against Political Violence project addressing the experience of two generations of Chileans who experienced torture under Pinochet. Theater Arts Against Political Violence consisted of a psychoanalyst, a director, and an international group of actors; its mandate was to work with survivors of severe human rights violations to create works of theater derived from such experiences. In the material presented, the needs of the younger generation for revenge are positioned along with the needs of the older generation to find meaning. The presentation will offer a live performance
attempting to represent and give meaning to the complex interface of trauma between generations. It will also offer tapes of the dialogue
between the members of the two generations of survivors
that inspired the artists.
II. Human Rights Violations in Homophobic Persecution
Leanh Nguyen, PhD, Senior Psychologist at the Bellevue/
NYU Program for Survivors of Torture; Candidate at the
NYU Postdoctoral Program for Psychoanalysis; Independent
Practice in NYC
Homophobic persecution is a global epidemic that has not been discussed in the context of torture or human rights violation. Often categorized as a “bias” crime, it is treated as having cultural/religious roots and is not considered in the politics of human rights advocacy. The author, who has been involved over the past five
years with victims of homophobic persecution, will present clinical data on homophobic violence from various parts of the world, on the psychic injuries sustained by its victims, and on the implicit conceptions of their human rights in the hands of advocates, law enforcers, and healthcare providers.
III. Therapeutic Responses to Displaced African Female
Survivors of Sexual Violence
Adeyinka M. Akinsulure-Smith, PhD, Assistant Professor,
The City College of New York; Psychologist at the Bellevue/
NYU Program for Survivors of Torture
Sexual violence against women has been used as a weapon in numerous recent conflicts (Bosnia, Sierra Leone, Darfur). This workshop will focus on the nuances and extent of the crime of rape. Establishing an environment of trust and safety is essential, and because individual therapy can be a foreign concept, group therapy is frequently employed. Clinical aspects of working with survivors of sexual violence, war trauma survivors, refugees, asylees and asylum seekers will be explored.
IV. Riding Two Horses: The APA’s Support for Interrogations,
Psychological Ethics, and Human Rights
Edward J. Tejirian, PhD, Independent Practice,
New York City
In 2005, the APA Presidential Task Force on Psychological Ethics in National Security Investigations (PENS) was formed and opposed any participation by psychologists in torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The report also said that psychologists could play a vital role in interrogations in settings such as Guantanamo that have been denounced as being in violation of the UN Convention Against Torture. The APA Board of Directors invoked a little-used rule to adopt the PENS report as APA policy without consultation with the membership, resulting in a complex controversy within the APA. This workshop will invite participants to
look at and discuss both sides of that controversy.
V. From Trauma to Tragedy: How Holocaust Survivors
Rebuilt Shattered Lives
Carl Auerbach, PhD** and Shoshana Mirvis, PsyD*
During the Holocaust, six million Jews were systematically annihilated in Nazi-run concentration camps and ghettos. Despite enduring years of incomprehensible horror, many survivors managed to begin anew and lead apparently normal lives. This workshop will focus on exploring this question of survival and resiliency. The survivors’ experience will be explored through the lens of a theory of structural dissociation.
VI. Defining Evil, the Depravity Standard and War Crimes
Michael Welner, MD, Chairman, The Forensic Panel;
Associate Professor of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine;
Adjunct Professor of Law, Duquesne University School of Law;
Special Consultant, ABC News
Judges and juries both across the United States and in other countries who decide that a crime is “depraved,” “heinous,” or “horrible” can assign more severe sentences. There is no standardized definition for such dramatic words. The Depravity Scale research aims to establish societal standards of what makes a crime depraved, and to develop a standardized instrument based on specific characteristics of a crime that must be proven in order to merit more severe sentences. This instrument distinguishes not who is depraved, but rather what aspects of a given crime are depraved and the degree of a specific crime’s depravity.
3:30 – 4 PM Open Forum Discussion
Shara Sand, PsyD, Moderator
Download a brochure here, register online here.
1 comment June 12th, 2007