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Interactive Small Group Meetings for Second Generation

Presentation Date: 04/21/21
Location: Zoom

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Following our series of ten webinars, my colleague Dr. Frumer and I received multiple requests to create smaller and more intimate forums for Second Generation who wish for an opportunity to share their experiences and thoughts in an interactive discussion. In response to these requests, we scheduled a monthly meeting for the Second Generation, the second of which will take place this week on Wednesday April 21.

The workshops are separate and independent, and participants can register for one or more. The first meeting took place on March 17th, and was a fascinating and profoundly meaningful experience. The next meeting is scheduled for April 21st, and further meetings are scheduled for May 12th, June 23 and July 14.

The workshops will offer an open forum for deeper conversations among registered participants to explore and reflect on our shared 2G experience.  The workshops are offered via Zoom on each of these Wednesdays from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT. The number of participants is limited to 18 per workshop to maximize the opportunity for personal expression and engagement.

There is a fee of $60 per workshop. The workshops are sponsored by NEXT GENERATIONS, in partnership with the NOW for Holocaust Survivors Initiative, a signature program of MorseLife Health System.  The instructions to register for an upcoming meeting can be found at this link.

       Irit Felsen

Comments

  1. These small groups are great.

  2. When searching for a 2G support group 10 years ago, a former 2G group participant told me that most of the support group work occurred in the 80’s and that those who participated have “moved on” and the need for understanding or healing is not as great today. I highly disagree. I believe the inner work of most 2Gs is an ongoing process. Most 2Gs were busy raising families and didn’t have time to focus on trans-generational trauma or process the effects of their upbringing. Some avoided it. For many others, there is a daily awareness of the depths of effects where triggers or reminders exist continually.

    Thank you for making yourselves available to pursue this work. It is invaluable to many of us.
    Ida Lewis

    • Irit Felsen, Ph.D. says

      Dear Ida,

      Thank you so much for your poignant comment. I could not agree with you more. I facilitated an interactive group for 2Gs today, together with my friend andcolleague Dr. Jenni Frumer. It was the second small interactive group meeting we have been offering in response to the requests we received following the end of the webinar series that took place over the recent months. The participants in the group today, all very accomplished professionals and almost all in the helping professions, expressed in the most articulate and moving words their sense of experiencing continued vulnerabilities, albeit invisible to others, associated with being children of survivors. The two groups we have led so far have all expressed a wish and a need for a continued shared forum. Moreover, my recent empirical study showed in ‘hard data’ that there is such a need among many 2Gs at this point in our lives. The intergenerational effects have ebbed and flowed in our lives, sometimes being more salient than other times, but right now, making the most of our strengths and learning to minimize our liabilities is more urgent than ever. We now have an opportunity for psychological re-organization, with the wisdom and freedom that the current age we are in affords us.

      Warmly,
      Irit

  3. Jessica says

    Dr. Felsen,
    Thank you for participating in Liberation 75. Your research and insights are validating of my lived experience as a 3G. Might you consider creating a small group interactive meetings for 3G?
    Thank you,
    Jessica

    • Irit Felsen, Ph.D. says

      Dear Jessica,

      Thank you for your email and for the great feedback. It means a great deal to me to hear that my presentations resonated with you.

      I think it is a wonderful idea to organize an interactive group for 3G’s! Lets talk about it some more, I will send you an email to your gmail address.

      With warm regards,

      Irit

  4. Thank you for your reply and for your consideration regarding a 3G group, Dr. Felsen. I will look forward to further discussions about it. Best regards, Jessica

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