Lou Ormont, CGS Founder and Group Therapy Pioneer, Leaves This Life
The death of Louis Ormont on November 15, 2008 leaves us saddened, but grateful for the time we had with our gifted mentor and cherished friend. Ormont was 90 when he succumbed to complications of heart surgery performed in July.
Lou frequently encouraged people with the words of Anatole France, to “Go to where the cannons are!” Courageously confronting difficult matters, he believed, is a vital way of achieving growth and emotional healing—and also of illuminating the resistances that block our way.
Now we march on without Lou, processing the sad fact of his death as well as the joyful knowledge that he lives on in all of the people whose lives he touched, and through his superb writings. Again, as ever, Lou is giving us the opportunity to experience a full range of emotions.
An obituary detailing Lou’s background and achievements has been posted on the Center for Group Studies’ website since just a few days after his passing. If you would like to see what other people have written about Lou’s impact on their lives, and perhaps contribute a memory or note of your own, please visit the Notice for Louis Ormont on the website of the New York Times.
A Memorial Service is scheduled for Saturday, January 24 from 3-5pm at St. Paul's Chapel of Columbia University, 117th Street and Broadway
Weekend Training Program: January is All About Transference & Termination
The Weekend Training Program welcomes a new calendar year of learning and growth at the Warwick Hotel in New York City, January 23-25. The theme of this weekend is “Resolving Transference Resistances and Termination Issues.” The session’s process group leaders are Ronnie Levine and Janet Resnick, while the workshops will by facilitated by Jacqueline Fish and Susan Frankel. Ellen Wright will provide supervision.
Our usual program structure is shifting during this weekend, so that participants can attend the Memorial Service for Louis Ormont on Saturday, January 24th. Indeed, the Memorial was deliberately scheduled at this time, so that students who come to the Center from across the country and around the world can attend.
CGS Conducts Winter Training in St. Petersburg, Russia
CGS faculty member Harold Stern and the Russian program team, returns to St. Petersburg, Russia, in January to conduct training in modern psychoanalytic group techniques for over 30 Russian mental health professionals including psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. Accompanying Harold in this adventure are Joan Wittig and Chris Dolin, advanced and accomplished students in both the weekend and local training program. 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 training session running from January 30th through February 1st is the third of nine blocks; the topic is “Introduction to Group Resistances.”
This winter’s training weekend in St. Petersburg will again include Evgenie “Jenya” Belov and Lena Somova, both of whom treat patients in St. Petersburg and who are instrumental in facilitating the CGS training program there. Jenya and Lena made their first trip to New York in October as guests of CGS to participate in the NY training weekend, and were generously hosted by Rudy Lucas at his elegant town house in Harlem. Written evaluations of the weekend made plain that the warmth, openness and emotional honesty of this pair made them especially welcome participants in the program. The Center looks forward to a return visit by Jenya and Lena at some point during the three-year training period—perhaps even in 2009. Ultimately, the Center plans to welcome the entire class of 35 students from St. Petersburg to New York for the ninth and final block of their training.
AGPA Conference in Chicago Features CGS Affiliates
The 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Group Pyschotherapy Association (AGPA) takes place in Chicago, Illinois from February 16-21. This year’s theme is “Strong Group Foundations: Building Lasting Communities.” The conference will feature numerous presentations by affiliates of the Center for Group Studies—faculty, alumni and students.
The 2nd annual “Louis R. Ormont Lecture” will be presented by Ronnie Levine, PhD, CGP, FAGPA (New York, NY). Her talk, “Progressing while Regressing in Relationships” will explore some of the challenges individuals confront on the ever-difficult journey to mature relating, and why regressive episodes can in fact be productive.
Elliot Zeisel, PhD, LCSW, CGP, FAGPA (New York, NY) will kick off the conference with a Special Institute presentation entitled, “Developing the Interpersonal Ego in the Group.”
Lena Furgeri, LCSW, ED.D.,CGP, FAGPA(New York, NY) and Gil Spielberg, Ph.D., CGP, FAGPA(Los Angeles, CA) will each be offering Process Group Experiences
Gail Brown, MA,LP, CGP, the Center for Group Studies’ Director of Academic Training (New York, NY) will host a workshop entitled, “Using the Power of the Moment in Understanding the Past.”
Phyllis Cohen PhD, CGP, FAGPA (New York, NY) will lead a workshop called, In the Beginning: Working with Non-Verbal & Symbolic Communication in Group.”
David J. Dumais, LCSW, CGP (Brooklyn, NY) will run a workshop entitled, “Authority and Authenticity: Issues in Adolescent Group Treatment.”
Janice Morris, Ph.D.,CGP (Austin, TX) will lead a specific interest section entitled "Shaken, Rattled and Rolled:Preserving the Emotional Health of the Group Leader."
Jeffrey Hudson, MEd, LPC, CGP, FAGPA and Andrea Pully, MEd, LPC, CGP (both of Austin, TX) will co-facilitate a workshop, “ " Examining the Need to be Liked and Working with Anger and Conflict in Groups.”
Nancy Kelly, PhD, LCSW, CGP, and Robert Murphy, MA, LPC, LMFT, CGP (both of Austin, TX) will co-chair a workshop entitled “Sexual Feelings? What Sexual Feelings? Therapist Erotic Countertransference in Group Therapy.”
Michael Hegener, MA, LPC, CGP (Austin, Texas) and Mary Nicholas, PhD, MEd, LCSW, CGP, FAGPA (New Haven, CT) will co-lead a workshop on “The Meaning of Money In Our Personal and Professional Lives.”
With so many affiliates of the Center for Group Studies presenting in Chicago this year, it’s clear that we ourselves exemplify the theme AGPA has chosen to spotlight. Yes, we have laid strong group foundations. Yes, we continue building—and enjoying—lasting community. Way to go, presenters! You do the Center proud.
There is still time to register to attend what promises to be a nourishing professional event. Visit the AGPA website to get it done.
HealthCare Chaplaincy Training: So Nice, We’re Doing it Twice
Back in September, CGS fulfilled a contract to teach a course about modern group process to HealthCare Chaplaincy, a non-profit organization that was founded in 1961 and remains dedicated to the advancement of pastoral care. The 11-week course was successfully taught by faculty member Janet Resnick. CGS and Janet have been invited back to continue to enhance the professional development of this group of trainees, beginning in the Spring.
CGS has conducted trainings in group process for many venues throughout the years, including educational institutions, mental health settings, substance abuse facilities and hospital settings. If you are interested in having CGS tailor a program to the needs of your organization, contact Gail Brown at the Center for Group Studies. You can reach Gail by phone at (212) 246-5055, or by mail to: info@groupcenter.org
Grand Rounds Presentation on “Dreams” at the Brooklyn VA
Senior faculty member, Jackie Fish has been scheduled as the CGS representative to make a Grand Rounds presentation on “Working with Dreams in Groups” to staff of the Brooklyn Veteran’s Administration center on January 30, 2009. The group consists of 20-30 mental health professionals including psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. This 3-hour presentation will address techniques for working with dreams in various groups including substance abuse groups and individual sessions and how approaches differ.
CASACs, Get Your CEUs Here!
Good news bears repeating. Here’s a reminder that CGS was recently 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. Come on down! And please, pass on the good news.
Establishment of the Lou Ormont Scholarship Fund
In these difficult economic times, we try to meet the needs of students wherever possible. 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 by mail to: info@groupcenter.org
When You’re Considering Charitable Donations, Consider CGS
Did you know? The Center for Group Studies is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that gratefully accepts contributions that help sustain our programming. All donations to the Center are fully tax-deductible as allowed by law and very much appreciated. When you reflect on the causes you wish to support, we hope you’ll consider writing a check to CGS. Your generosity will help us expand our teaching about group process, and thereby promote healing in many settings—all while earning you a tax deduction.
