Courses offered in Clinical and Counseling Psychology Department

Please find a list of courses you may like to take this Fall in the CCPX and CCPJ Programs.

We will be posting Spring courses soon.

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***Seats still left in this small Friday seminar***

Gender and Sexuality in the Clinical Encounter

Fall 2014, Fridays 9-10:40am

Jane Caflisch, Ph.D.

This discussion-based seminar will examine the ways in which gender and sexuality have been conceptualized by psychiatry, psychoanalysis and society more broadly, placing these views in historical context and considering their evolution through the present day. It will consider modernist vs. postmodernist views of gender and sexuality (i.e. views that understand the self as unitary and essential, vs. as fluid and socially constructed), and will explore the roles of multiplicity and fluidity, as well as the roles of loss and mourning, in the formation of gendered and sexual identities. Because this is a course intended for clinicians in training, discussions of theory and research will be interwoven with examples from clinical practice, as well as discussions of particular clinical dilemmas and opportunities that may arise when issues of gender and sexuality come to the fore. We will address issues related to intersectionality, self-disclosure, same-sex parenting, transgender issues, and group treatment, among others. In each of these contexts, we will explore the ways in which varying theoretical and cultural understandings of gender and sexuality may affect the lived experience of individuals who present for treatment, and may shape the way we intervene as therapists.

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Mother-Child Matrix: Developmental and Clinical Implications

Fall 2014, Thursdays 3:00-4:40pm

Aurelie Athan, Ph.D.

Few areas in psychology have developed as slowly as research and theory about mothers.  The purpose of this course is to explore the biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors that influence a mother's well-being, and therefore her child's. We will cover topics as diverse as:  family planning and infertility, pregnancy, birthing practices, perinatal psychopathology and maternal distress, social policy and childcare, global motherhood and maternal mortality, anthropological views of "motherhood,” trends in parenting recommendations, and positive psychology/spiritual reconceptualizations of maternal experience--among others. Theories of maternal development from conception through pregnancy and the postpartum period will be critically examined. Readings include empirical, descriptive, theoretical, literary and popular readings. 

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Women and Mental Health

Fall 2014, Thursdays 9:00-10:40am

Nancy Nereo, Ph.D.

 The purpose of this course is to explore the biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors that influence women’s well-being.

 

May clothing drive for Hour Children

Hour Children is an organization that helps incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and their children successfully rejoin the community, reunify with their families, and build healthy, independent and secure lives.

Spring cleaning (and graduation) is a time where we purge belongings we no longer need, but could be of need by others. Why not connect the two?

When: May 5-8 (add to calendar)

Where: Zankel Lobby

Please donate clean, gently used women's, men's, and children's clothing for the Hour Children Thrift Store.

If you are interested in doing more, Hour Children is eager to receive volunteers for their mentoring programs and beyond.

For further information contact Student Development & Activities: 212-678-3690 or studentactivities@tc.edu

Women's History Month: March Movie Selections

Women's History Month in March is an opportunity to explore social and psychological challenges faced by women with two powerful documentaries on the subjects of sexual trauma in the military and the experiences of mothers in the prison system. Please join us for these documentary screenings followed up by in-depth discussion facilitated by leading thinkers in the field. This is an excellent line-up not to be missed!

Please download digital posters (right click & save) below to forward to your communities.

MOTHERS OF BEDFORD

  • Monday, March 24
  • Screening: 5:00-6:30pm
  • 177/179 Grace Dodge
  • Post Screening Discussion
    • Mary W. Byrne, Ph.D., DNP, MPH, FAAN - Stone Foundation & Elise D. Fish Professor of Health Care for the Underserved, Faculties of School of Nursing and of Medicine and Professor of Clinical Anesthesiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Columbia University.
    • Sister Tesa Fitzgerald - Executive Director of Hour Children
      • Video - "Justice-Involved Mothers: Saving Families with Housing"
    • Aurelie Athan, Ph.D. - Lecturer, Clinical & Counseling Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University
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THE INVISIBLE WAR

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Additional Resources:

 

'KHORAI LIVE' talk on Menstrual Activism with Chris Bobel

Marco Puccini, oTo

Marco Puccini, oTo

Keeping Girls in School: Taking a Closer Look at the Promises and Perils of Menstrual Health Campaigns in the Global South

Girls, Girls, Girls. Everybody is talking about girls….From Nike and Procter & Gamble to the UN and tiny start ups sprouting all over the world, keeping girls in school in the world’s poorest communities is the new ‘It Girl’ of global development. Capitalizing on the little known fact that girls’ periods often keep them home from school, a growing number of social entrepreneurs are focused on finding creative ways to get menstrual care products in the hands of girls who need them most.

In this talk combining video, photos, and qualitative data from a new research project, Chris Bobel, author of New Blood: Third Wave Feminism and the Politics of Menstruation, shifts her focus on challenging the menstrual taboo in North America to  a probing look at NGO interest in girls’ menstrual care innovations in the global South. Join Bobel in her exploration  'under wraps' of this emergent form of menstrual activism.

Chris Bobel is Associate Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She is the author of The Paradox of Natural Mothering, New Blood: Third Wave Feminism and the Politics of Menstruation and co-editor of Embodied Resistance: Breaking the Rules, Challenging the Norms. 

Presented by: KHORAI seeks to bridge the gap between clinical science, mass media, and the personal experiences of contemporary women. For more information visit: www.khorai.org 

Saturday April 12th, 2014
10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Jefferson Market Library
425 Ave of the Americas
(6th Avenue & 10th Street)

NYPL Registration:  Email MarieHansen@nypl.org. 

Book Reading & Discussion with Author on Stillbirth - 3/12 at 7pm: "Ghostbelly"

GHOSTBELLY published by the Feminist Press is Elizabeth Heineman’s personal account of a home birth that goes tragically wrong—ending in a stillbirth—and the harrowing process of grief and questioning that follows. It’s also Heineman’s unexpected tale of the loss of a newborn: before burial, she brings the baby home for overnight stays.

Does this sound unsettling? Of course. We’re not supposed to hold and caress dead bodies. But then again, babies aren’t supposed to die.

In this courageous and deeply intimate memoir, Heineman examines the home-birth and maternal health-care industry, the isolation of midwives, and the scripting of her own grief. With no resolution to sadness, Heineman and her partner learn to live in a new world: a world in which they face each day with the understanding of the fragility of the present.

 

The Feminist Press promotes voices on the margins of dominant culture and publishes feminist works from around the world, inspiring personal transformation and social justice. We believe that books have the power to shift culture, and create a society free of violence, sexism, homophobia, racism, cis-supremacy, classism, sizeism, ableism and other forms of dehumanization. Our books and programs engage, educate, and entertain.

Wednesday | March 12 | 7 pm

BLUESTOCKINGS BOOKSTORE

172 Allen Street, NYC

GHOSTBELLY
With Elizabeth Heineman & Aurélie Athan

Lisa Heineman has been at the University of Iowa since 1999 and teaches courses in Germany, Europe, women, and gender. Her past research has examined gender, war, and memory in Germany; welfare states in comparative perspective (Fascist, Communist, and Democratic); and the significance of marital status for women. Out of this research came a book, What Difference Does a Husband Make: Women and Marital Status in Nazi and Postwar Germany (University of California Press, 1999) and many articles, including "The Hour of Women: Memories of Germany's 'Crisis Years' and West German National Identity" American Historical Review (1996).

Aurélie Athan from the Maternal Psychology laboratory and Sexuality, Women, & Gender Project of Teachers College, Columbia University will facilitate Q&A and discussion post reading. Seating at 7pm.

 

 

Pier Kids the Life: Documentary about Queer Youth of Color

Film Screening & Discussion with Director

March 3, 2014

10:00-11:40am
136 Thompson Hall
Teachers College, Columbia University

Pier Kids: The Life examines the legacy of Stonewall and the Gay Rights Movement it ignited by following the lives of DeSean, Krystal, and Casper, three gay and transgender youth of color who, after being pushed out of their home because of their sexuality, have become homeless on the same street the riots took place more than forty years ago.

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Today, white upper-class families make the West Village their home; but as day turns to night, Christopher Street and its adjacent piers also become home to a transient yet vibrant street community known as the Pier Kids. This invisible network of queer and transgender youth of predominately Black and Latino descent represents nearly four thousand of New York City’s sixteen thousand registered homeless youth.

Left to wander and with few economic opportunities, the lives of these social refugees are beset with limited and harrowing options as money and food are everyday struggles. Through it all – or, perhaps, because of it all – hope still exists in the shadows of their neglect and abandonment.

Come see their story firsthand!

The SWG Project is screening parts of the pre-production, highly anticipated documentary, Pier Kids: The Life (http://pierkidsthelife.com/). Pier Kids: The Life has been featured in The Huffington Post (twice), Buzzfeed, OUT Magazine, Queerty, Slate and on GLAAD’s website. 

The director, Elegance Bratton, will be giving a talk on identity intersectionality, queer youth of color, and his experiences making the film. 

WHEN:
Monday, 3/3/3014 from 10am-11:40am

WHERE:
136 Thompson Hall
Teachers College, Columbia University
525 W 120th Street
New York, New York 10027-6696

Anyone is welcome to come, they will just have to check in with the the security booth in Zankel Hall (this is the main entrance to TC between Broadway and Amsterdam; the only entrance with a large stairwell and wheelchair ramp).

We hope that you can join us. Please see poster below for details and distribute (download here) to interested students and networks.

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The Business of Being Born - Take Home Resources

Jennifer Bruni, center, with a midwife, Melanie Comer, right, and a nurse in “Being Born.”

Jennifer Bruni, center, with a midwife, Melanie Comer, right, and a nurse in “Being Born.”

The United States maternity care system is one of the costliest in the world, yet among industrialized countries, the U.S. ranks among the worst globally for both maternal and perinatal outcomes (Childbirth Connection, 2014).

While many births in the United States historically occurred at home, birth practices have become more medicalized since the early 1900s. This is depicted in trends such as the rising cesarean rate. Although the World Health Organization considers 85-95% of pregnancies to be low risk - without the need for excessive medical intervention - the current c-section rate in the U.S. is 32.8% (up from 4.5% in 1965) with many hospitals in the New York Metro area and across the country reaching far above this percentage (Lothian & DeVries, 2010; Childbirth Connection, 2013). The World Health Organization recommends a c-section rate of between 5-10%, with rates above 15% doing more harm than good for maternal and infant health (Childbirth Connection, 2013). 

Find out specific hospital's c-section rates here.

On Monday, November 4, 2013, the non-profit organization Choices in Childbirth, a national leader in consumer advocacy and education for women and families, and the Sexuality, Women, & Gender Project of Teachers College, Columbia University co-hosted a screening of The Business of Being Born: Classroom Edition (www.classroombobb.com) in the Russell Hall Library of the Teachers College campus.

The Business of Being Born: Classroom Edition seeks to both educate young people about birth options and engage students in dialogue around maternity care issues, ideally before they make their own birth-related decisions. Choices in Childbirth has brought hundreds of screenings of the film to universities and high schools to paint a different picture of maternal health care than is typically portrayed in the U.S. media. The film reaches out to young audiences to encourage and empower them to seek out woman-centered maternity care.

The screening was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Aurelie Athan, PhD, co-founder of the SWG Project, full-time lecturer and Program Coordinator for the Masters Program in the Department of Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. Panelists included scholars and professionals from the fields of health education, narrative medicine, reproductive justice, midwifery, doula support, social work and advocacy.

The panel discussion covered a variety of themes related to reproductive health, women-centered care, body literacy and informed choice among young women, the status of midwifery today, as well as the challenging decisions and societal judgement often facing new mothers and families. 

Panelists shared their thoughts and experiences regarding obstetrical trends and costs in the United States, explored comparisons and contrasts between the midwifery and medical models of care, and dialogued with audience members about birth-related trauma as well as resources for support and healing.

The event concluded with a call to action for both national advocacy as well as collaborative, community-based efforts to secure greater access to safe, fulfilling birth experiences and postpartum support for diverse women and families.

Interested in learning more?


References:

Childbirth Connection. (2014). Understanding and navigating the maternity care system. Retrieved from http://www.childbirthconnection.org/printerfriendly.asp?ck=10182.

Childbirth Connection. (2013). Why is the national U.S. cesarean section rate so high? Retrieved from http://www.childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ck=10456.

Lothian, J., & DeVries, C. (2010). The official Lamaze guide: Giving birth with confidence (2nd ed.). New York: NY, Simon and Schuster.

Panelists:

Elsa Asher, CD(DONA), MS candidate, Columbia University Narrative Medicine program (www.elsaasher.com).

Shawnee Benton-Gibson, LMSW, FDC, Founder and Executive Director of The Griots' Healing Circle and co-founder and director of Spirit of A Woman Rites of Passage & Leadership Development Institute (http://www.sowleadership.com/LeadershipProfiles.html).

Amy Liss, CD(DONA), LCCE, CLC, EdD Candidate, Health Education, Teachers College, Columbia University (www.amy-liss.com).

Melissa Madera, PhD, DONA International trained labor and postpartum doula, childbirth educator, and founder of The Abortion Diary Podcast (www.empoweringthebody.com).

Chanti Smith, CPM, pre- and perinatal birth therapist, hypnobirthing instructor, prenatal yoga and embodied anatomy yoga teacher, infant massage instructor, lactation specialist, and western trained herbalist (www.embodiedbeginnings.com).

 

The Business of Being Born: Free Screening & Panel Discussion

Interested in Maternal Health? 

Did you know the World Health Organization recommends that the c-section rate to be between 5 and 15%, but the current rate in the US is 32.8% and many hospitals in the NYC Metro area reach above this. Find out each hospital's rate here.

The US maternity care system is one of the costliest in the world, yet among industrialized countries, our maternal & perinatal outcomes are consistently among the worst.

Read more about it: 

This is a student organized event. A 30-minute classroom edition of the movie will be shown followed by a panel discussion. Dr. Aurelie Athan, of the Maternal Psychology Laboratory and SWG Project, has been invited to moderate. Light refreshments will be served. Click here for more information. To RSVP, please use this library reservation system, here.

  • Monday, November 4, 2013
  • 7:00pm – 8:00pm
  • Teachers College, Columbia University
  • Russell Library, Rm 306

 

Domestic Violence Resources to Share

Thank you to all for a wonderful evening! For those unable to benefit from being at our panel discussion in person, stay tuned... we will upload video soon!

  • You may read a journalistic summary of the event by a student reporter here:
  • Due to popular demand: please find last night's Prezi Presentation (full of useful links, statistics, and visuals)!
  • Please download a list of NYC and NYS organizations that work with domestic violence issues if you would like to inquire more or to volunteer.

 

 

To hear a Domestic Violence survivor speak about her experience firsthand including some powerful statistics, this TEDx talk is a good resource.

 

 

Leslie Morgan Steiner: Why domestic violence victims don't leave

 

In need? Curious to learn more? Find out what our main National and New York organizations are doing to combat domestic violence. On campus here at Teachers College, learn more about the role of the Title IX Coordinator.

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Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 is a federal law that prohibits sex and gender discrimination, including sexual harassment and gender-based misconduct, in educational programs and institutions.  Students, staff, or faculty can report issues related to the above to the Teachers College Title IX Coordinator.

The Office of the Vice President of Diversity and Community Affairs

To establish Teachers College as an institution that actively attracts, supports and retains diverse students, faculty and staff at all levels, demonstrated through its commitment to social justice, its respectful and vibrant community and its encouragement and support of each individual in the achievement of his or her full potential. 

SWG Project & Panelists

SWG Project & Panelists

AGAPW & Panelists

AGAPW & Panelists

Special thanks to Teachers College photographer Heather Van Uxem Lewis for our lovely photos! Please find the full album, including photos from others as well, here.

Domestic Violence, Gender, & Culture: Shining a Light

Program: Media Presentation, Panel Discussion, Wine Reception

As a part of our series on Violence Against Women, join us for an important gathering to raise awareness of domestic/intimate partner violence and the role of culture and gender-inequity.

When: October 17, 2013,  Thursday, 6:00-9:00pm.

Featuring: Sujata Warrier, Ph.D.   – Director of the NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence; Jennifer DeCarli, Esq., LMSW – Executive Director Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence; and many more.

Click for more details and to RSVP. Seats are limited!

Check out the new NYC campaign press release for "That's Abuse" here.

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Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence has unveiled a multi-layered public service campaign that will empower victims of intimate partner violence to seek they help they need. "That's Abuse" will appear at bus shelters, subway cars and platforms, grocery store circulars, community-based organizations, businesses throughout key neighborhoods, and common areas at numerous City agencies.  

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Victims of domestic violence, or their friends and family, can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233), 24 hours a day, anywhere in the U.S. to speak to a counselor and find local support services.

 

Homosexuality, Kinky Sex, & the DSM

Program: Colloquium presentation

From what do we suffer? Is it from a disordered psyche, iatrogenic disorder, or violations of societal rules? This lecture will discuss the Sexual Disorders section of the new DSM-V, particularly the paraphilias, gender identity disorders, and their justification and validity for treatment. 

Where: Thompson 136

When: Monday, April 22, 2013
Time: 10:00am – 11:45am

Charles Silverstein, Ph.D. 

Charles Silverstein, Ph.D. 

Who: Dr. Charles Silverstein is best known for his activism within the radical gay movement of the 1970s, his publications, and his founding gay-affirming psychotherapy services for the LGBT community. He was the psychologist who made the presentation for the deletion of homosexuality as a mental disorder from the American Psychiatric Association’s manual of disorders called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. He also led the attack upon any attempt to change the sexual orientation of gay people, and particularly the use of electrical aversion therapy.

Flyer: Download

How to Survive a Plague

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Program: Movie Screening; Discussion/Q&A with Director & Sexual Health Psychologist; Reception to Follow

Come watch this Oscar-nominated documentary about the early years of the AIDS epidemic and speak firsthand with the director and co-writer of the film which earned him the John Schlessinger Award. The author of The AIDS Generation: Stories of Survival and Resilience and faculty of Applied Psychology, Public Health & Medicine at NYU will also dialogue about the history and its impact today. Survivors and interviewees from the documentary and book will be in attendance.

When: March 13, 2013, 5:00 -9:00pm

Featuring: David France, Director & Co-writer; Perry Halkitis, Ph.D., Researcher & Author