The document available at this link holds a collection of summaries of a lecture series entitled “Our Parents, Ourselves, Our Changing Lives” for children of Holocaust survivors. The ten meetings took place monthly in Boro Park, Brooklyn, between May 2016 and June 2017, and were made possible by Bikur Cholim Chesed Organization, with support from the Center for Advancing Holocaust… READ MORE>>
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Summaries of Lecture Series for Children of Holocaust Survivors: “Our Parents, Ourselves, Our Changing Lives”
Posted by on October 16, 2017
Presentation for the Speakers Bureau at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in NYC on Oct. 19
Posted by on October 15, 2017
For several years now I have had the pleasure and the honor of meeting annually with the people who volunteer their time and energy to speak to students in schools, as well as to other audiences in the museum and in the community, as part of the programs organized by the speakers’ bureau of the Museum of Jewish Heritage. This… READ MORE>>
Video of My Lecture “Child and Adolescent Holocaust Survivors” Available on Youtube
Posted by on October 7, 2017
On July 21, I gave a lecture to teachers in New York, as part of a program offered by the Museum of Jewish Heritage about the impact of the Holocaust and its aftermath on survivors and their descendants, and what we learn from survivors about the impact of trauma suffered in childhood and adolescence on the functioning of the adult… READ MORE>>
Las Vegas Tragedy: The Hidden Trauma
Posted by on October 3, 2017
The mass shooting that left over fifty people dead and hundreds of others injured will leave many more direct and indirect victims. Brian Calypool survived the attack in Las Vegas. He appears to have not been physically injured. Yet the video clip of him speaking to CNN’s Chris Cuomo is a heart wrenching expression of the terrible impact of such… READ MORE>>
Holocaust Memories in Art: Slides of My Lecture from September 16, 2017
Posted by on September 22, 2017
Last Sunday, I gave a lecture about the expression of Memory in Art related to the Holocaust at the opening of the exhibit “Generations” at the JCC in Whippany, NJ. The artists who present their work in this exhibit represent individuals at different distances from the epicenter of the cataclysmic catastrophic events of the Holocaust. Milton Ohring and Hanna Keselman… READ MORE>>
REMINDER: “Generations” Art Reception and Exhibit on September 17/2017 at the JCC in Whippany, NJ
Posted by on September 15, 2017
On September 17, 2017, just before the Jewish New Year, the Holocaust Council of Greater Metro West will open “Generations”, an art exhibit consisting of paintings, sculpture, conceptual art, and photographs created by artists Hanna Keselman, Milton Ohring, Joanie Schwarz and Lev Gal Wartman. The exhibit will be open from September 17 through the end of November. As part of… READ MORE>>
Videos of My Lecture “The Impact of Early Trauma on Holocaust Survivors” Available on Youtube
Posted by on September 13, 2017
On June 22, I gave a lecture in New York for community professionals and healthcare providers of the MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care, as part of a program about the impact of the Holocaust and its aftermath on survivors and the Second Generation. Videos of the event are now available online. The videos can be found by following this link… READ MORE>>
Loneliness – What Do Studies Teach Us About How to Fight It
Posted by on September 10, 2017
Why is it that certain people struggle with the effects of chronic loneliness, while others do not? A recent article in Psychology Today called “Solutions for the Solitary” offers an interesting perspective about the subjective contribution to feeling lonely. The article concluded that feelings of loneliness are not directly tied to objective measures such as a person’s number of relationships… READ MORE>>
“Generations” Art Reception and Exhibit on September 17/2017 at the JCC in Whippany, NJ
Posted by on September 4, 2017
On September 17, 2017, just before the Jewish New Year, the Holocaust Council of Greater Metro West will open “Generations”, an art exhibit consisting of paintings, sculpture, conceptual art, and photographs created by artists Hanna Keselman, Milton Ohring, Joanie Schwarz and Lev Gal Wartman. The exhibit will be open from September 17 through the end of November. As part of… READ MORE>>
Starting teaching again at Yeshiva University, for Fall 2017 Semester
Posted by on August 20, 2017
The Fall 2017 semester at Yeshiva University in the Bronx is about to get underway. This semester I am teaching a graduate level psychology course at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology. The course is “Couples and Family Counseling” (Course #6440), and starts on Wed. Aug. 30. Irit Felsen
“Atypical”: A New TV Series About an Autistic Adolescent and His Family
Posted by on August 19, 2017
The Netflix TV series “Atypical” (here is a link to the trailer) centers around the life of a suburban middle-class family, and particularly of Sam, a high school senior on the autistic spectrum who has recently decided that he wants to start dating. The show follows Sam as he warily confronts a host of new challenges, from learning how to… READ MORE>>
Hate, bigotry and discrimination don’t solve problems, they make bigger ones- Lessons learned from the Holocaust
Posted by on August 15, 2017
As I got on the treadmill at the gym this past Saturday, I watched in disbelief the pictures that met my eyes. For a moment I was hoping I clicked on the wrong TV channel and was watching a movie, rather than the breaking news. The sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach informed me, even before the fully… READ MORE>>
Sinead O’Connor’s Viral Video: #OneofMillions – Mental Illness Doesn’t Discriminate
Posted by on August 13, 2017
I recently came across “Nothing Compares 2 U” singer Sinead O’Connor’s viral video, in which the tearful musician describes her years-long struggle with mental illness and her feelings of profound isolation and abandonment left in its wake. The 12-minute video, which was uploaded with the hashtah #OneofMillions, can be seen from this link. The video, which has since been viewed… READ MORE>>
Slides Posted from Presentation on “War-Related Traumatic Reactions in Veterans and Their Impact on Families”
Posted by on August 12, 2017
Some time ago, I gave a presentation entitled “War-Related Traumatic Reactions in Veterans and Their Impact on Families” at a conference for an audience of directors of nursing homes and directors of social services in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The presentation focused on the impact of war trauma on veterans and their family members, especially as the veterans… READ MORE>>
Audiorecording Now Available: Lecture on Sibling Relationships in Holocaust Survivor Families
Posted by on August 9, 2017
I just posted on my Youtube channel an audio recording of a lecture I gave on March 30, 2017, under the auspices of the Claims Conference in partnership with JF&CS, Atlanta and the Bikur Cholim Chesed Organization in Brooklyn. This lecture, on the topic of Sibling Relationships in Holocaust Survivor Families, took place in the form of a teleconference, and… READ MORE>>