The Center for Group Studies

20th Anniversary – Save the Date

Mark your calendars for 6:00pm, Sunday, May 2, 2010 when we will be celebrating our 20th Anniversary with an Appreciation dinner. This momentous occasion will be held at the historic Riverside Church on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

CGS Holiday Party a Festive, Intellectually Stimulating Event

Once again, faculty, students, graduates and friends of the Center for Group Studies gathered to toast the holidays in Manhattan on Sunday, December 13th. The festive occasion was hosted by the CGS Board of Directors; Janet Resnick graciously offered her home for the warm and welcoming event. For the third consecutive year, Sally Henry & Wilma Selenfriend did the planning, organizing and executing of the festivities. The catered buffet included a generous table with tasty sandwiches, cheeses, satays and other small bites, plus cookies and Italian pastries, sparkling water, soda and wine. Savory contributions were also provided by Alice Brown, Lena Furgeri and Lucy Holmes. The conversation was sparkling too, as guests discussed subjects they’ve been researching, writing and speaking about, as well as new types of work they’re embarking upon. Old friends re-united and new acquaintances were made. In attendance were three of our recent graduates from the two year program, Arlene Quiyou-Pena, Howard Jones & Eva Fyer. They were introduced to enthusiastic applause.

This holiday celebration was the second since the passing of our beloved Lou Ormont, and the abundant happy energy surely reflected not only successful integration of grief over his loss, but also the healthy selves and social abilities he helped many attendees develop.

Hail and Farewell: Faculty Changes at the Center

Faculty changes first announced during the Sunday session of the October weekend training program (WTP) are noted anew here. The Center for Group Studies is pleased to announce the instatement of a new Faculty Coordinator, Jackie Fish, who assumes responsibilities previously handled by Rhoda Shapiro. We also have a new WTP student coordinator, in the person of Judy Charnet, who is taking the reins last held by Myrna Kortlander. Going forward, Janet Resnick has agreed to serve as Faculty/Board liaison.

All faculty work with CGS as volunteers and we welcome with thanks the individuals now stepping up to serve our students and community this way. We are especially grateful for the dedicated service given to our organization by Rhoda and Myrna, whose tireless efforts over many years helped the training program thrive and evolve into the award-winning educational experience we are proud to provide today.

Register Now for Weekend Program: January Brings Introduction to Group Resistances

The Center for Group Studies is pleased to note that 2010 marks its 20th anniversary and 19th year of our Weekend Training Program. Originally begun as an offsite pilot program for training students who live outside of New York City, the program now welcomes local learners as well as individuals from all over the world, to share in an interactive psychodynamic learning experience.

The theme of the weekend training scheduled for January 22-24 is, “Introduction to Group Resistances.” The session’s process group leaders are Michael Brook and Jack Kirman, while the workshops will by facilitated by Ellen Wright and Lou Levy. Jackie Fish and Alice Brown will provide supervision. The Sunday morning training group will be led by Gail Brown.

You may be interested to know that our conference facilities are now considerably fancier than they were when we first began offering weekend trainings: these days we meet at the lovely Warwick Hotel in mid-town Manhattan. Many program participants take advantage of the central location just blocks from Rockefeller Center and the theatre district to enjoy fine dining, theatre and shopping New York City style while in town for the training—or for a day or two before or after.

CGS Channels Dr. Zhivago: Winter Training in St. Petersburg, Russia

Our next training in St. Petersburg will be this coming January when we will once again send three talented instructors – faculty member Harold Stern, Janice Morris, an alumna of our Weekend Training Program and Joseph Acosta, a senior student in the weekend program. The team will provide training in modern psychoanalytic group techniques for over 30 Russian mental health professionals including psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. Together the three will conduct an intensive three-day training consisting of workshops, process groups and supervision groups.

This intercultural program follows the model of the Center’s Weekend Training Program, and as such calls for students to attend three weekend sessions a year for three years. The upcoming training session is the sixth of nine blocks; the topic is “Working with Pre-Oedipal Conditions.”

Dr. Stern observes that, “Mental health professionals in Russia are extremely knowledgeable about Lou Ormont and his techniques—even more so than people in the United States.” CGS has been very warmly welcomed, he says, because Ormont’s ideas are particularly suited for the kinds of problems prevalent in Russian society. Many Russians were raised in families with only minimal acknowledgement of emotions, and have not yet learned how to identify feelings let alone communicate them, Stern points out. “In a society with a divorce rate of approximately 82%,” he adds, “many people have troubles with second, third and fourth marriages and the family complications that go with that.”

AGPA Conference in San Diego Features CGS Affiliates

The 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA) takes place in San Diego, CA from February 22-27. This year’s theme is “A New Decade: Sustaining our World Through Groups.” Again this year we are proud to note that the conference will include numerous presentations by faculty, alumni and students of the Center for Group Studies. Go show ‘em how we do it!

Gail Brown, MA, LP, CGP (New York, NY) will speak about “Using the Power of the Moment.”
Ronnie Levine, PhD, CGP, FAGPA (New York, NY) will lead a Special Interest Section entitled “Managing Love and Hate in Groups.”
Elliot Zeisel, PhD, LCSW, CGP, FAGPA (New York, NY) will lead a Special Interest Section entitled, “A Modern Analytic Approach to Developing the Interpersonal Ego in Group Treatment.” He will also lead a morning open session on “Affect in Groups: A View Through a Different Lense.”
Phyllis Cohen, PhD., PsyD.,CGP.,LFAGPA (NY), AGPA (NY. NY)will present a workshop on So You Never Gave a Workshop:Banishing Professional Stage Fright and Creating New Possibilities.
- Phyllis, is also chairing an open session called To Speak or Not to Speak: Is That the Question?: A Trans-Atlantic Dialogue about the Therapist in the Group.
Lena Furgeri, LCSW, EdD, CGP, FAGPA (New York, NY) will serve as a leader for the third and final “continuous section” three-year group.
David Dumais, LCSW, CGP will present a session entitled, “Using Groups for Trauma Intervention.”
Jeffrey Hudson, MEd, LPC, CGP, FAGPA (Austin, TX) will lead a general process group experience, for people with less than four years of group psychotherapy experience.
Janice Morris, PhD, CGP (Austin, TX) will lead a Special Interest Section entitled, “Shaken, Rattled and Rolled: Preserving the Emotional Health of the Group Leader.”
Mary Sussilo, LCSW, BCD, CGP (New York, NY) will give an all-day workshop entitled “The Ties that Bind: Letting Go and Holding On in Bereavement Groups.”
Joseph Acosta, MA (Austin, TX) will give a morning workshop entitled “Fight, Flee or Engage: Working with Aggression.”
Nancy Kelly, LCSW, PhD, CGP and Robert Murphy, MA, LPC, LMFT, CGP (both of Austin, TX) will together discuss “Sexual Feelings? What Sexual Feelings? Erotic Countertransference in Group Treatment.”
Linda Eisenberg, MA, Med, CGP will discuss “Gaining and Sustaining Stamina Through Qigong.”
Ginger Sullivan, MA, LPC, CGP (DC) will lead an entry level process group experience.
Gil Spielberg, MSW, PhD., CGP, FAGPA (CA) will lead the first year of a two year process group experience.
Michael Hegener, MA., LPC., CGP (TX) will participate in a discussion entitled Conversations About Organizational Leadership.

The 3rd annual “Louis R. Ormont Lecture” will be presented by Erving Polster, PhD, selected for the honor by AGPA organizers. Not a modern analyst, Polster’s speech will concern “Life Focus Communities.”

EGPS Conference Benefitted from our Affiliates’ Presentations Too

Numerous affiliates of CGS presented at and attended the 2009 meeting of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society entitled, “Integration and Expansion: Leading Groups in A Changing World.” Thanks to all for representing us so well at the event held November 20-21 in New York City.

Patti Cox, PhD, CGP (New York, NY), made opening remarks as the Conference Committee Co-chair
Elliot Zeisel, PhD, LCSW, CGP, FAGPA (New York, NY) made two separate presentations, each fully booked, about “The Development of the Interpersonal Ego in Group Treatment.”
Gail Brown, MA, LP, CGP (New York, NY) presented on “Integrating Parallel Process and Induced Feelings in Supervision Groups.”
Phyllis Cohen, PhD, FAGPA (New York, NY) led a session entitled, “I Never Gave a Workshop: Banishing Professional Stage Fright and Creating New Possibilities.”
Lena Furgeri, LCSW, EdD, CGP, FAGPA (New York, NY) spoke about “The Leader’s Role in Containing Aggression: A Means to Conflict Resolution.”
Mary Sussillo, LCSW, CGP (New York, NY) discussed “Death and Its Aftermath: Dealing with Unresolved Grief in Group Treatment.”
Ronnie Levine, PhD, CGP, FAGPA (New York, NY) enlightened her session’s attendees about “Building Resilience in Groups.”

Can the Lou Ormont Scholarship Fund Help You?

The contracting economy continues creating financial hardships for many mental health practitioners, as many employers have frozen salaries and patients feeling the pinch have pulled back from private-pay therapy. If you’d like to receive training through the Center for Group Studies, but just can’t raise all the tuition, contact the Center and we’ll see what we can do to help. Reach out to Gail Brown by phone at (212) 246-5055, or contact her by e-mail

CSW’s, Psychologists and CASACs, Get Your CEUs Here!

Don’t forget that CGS has been approved as an education and training provider by the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS). This credentialing means that Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselors (CASACs) can now earn Continuing Education (CE) credits by participating in any of the Center’s local courses. CASACs may even qualify for a tuition discount. If you have colleagues in the field, please pass the word.

Psychologists and CSW’s can also earn credits as we are approved by APA and NASW as providers.

End-of-Year Charitable Giving Can Benefit You and CGS

As 2009 draws to a close, it’s time for compassionate and financially savvy individuals to review their charitable giving. Please, as you do your own taxes, remember that the Center for Group Studies is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that depends on your contributions to help sustain our programming. All donations to the Center are fully tax-deductible and very much appreciated. Your generosity can help us increase our available scholarships and expand our teaching about group process, and thereby promote healing in many settings—all while earning you a tax deduction. Download and print our donation form to send in your contribution.