president’s message
Poised Between Past and Future
Change is hard.
We generally
consider change
when we feel
we need to —
otherwise what’s
the motivation to
do so?
For an organi
zation it involves
strategic planning
that includes bravely questioning basic as
sumptions and premises, perceptions and
beliefs. And while this is challenging and
growthful, it is not always as delightful as
one might hope — the process also involves
uncertainty and decisions.
The past can represent certainty, but not
necessary sustainability.
Our Society was born out of the special
needs of clinical social workers not met
elsewhere. A respectable body of work led
up to independent practice founded on cer
tification then licensure, and to independent
reimbursement. Our Society had and contin
ues to provide a professional home to clini
cal social workers across the state. A place
to meet colleagues and friends who share
IN THIS ISSUE
3 Register Now: May 7th
Annual Conference!
9 The Last Taboo:
Talking About Money
12 The Artful Brain:
Survival Through Creativity
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
Jonathan Morgenstern,
MSW, LCSW
TH E N EWSLETTE R OF TH E N EW YORK STATE SOCI ETY FOR CLI N ICAL SOCIAL WORK, I NC.
SPRING 2011 | VOL. 42, NO. 1
I
t was a quirk of fate that brought me to
NYU’s social work school immediately
out of college in the early 60s. And I was
painfully aware of my youthful inexperience
when confronted with the complexities in
the lives of my clients, who were poor, ill
and uneducated in the immensity of urban
New York.
As a way of mitigating my uneasiness,
my casework teachers and field supervisors
assured me that, as a social worker, I would
always have a supervisor to turn to and
the mission of whatever agency employed
me would determine the services I would
provide. The setting I worked in would de
termine how I would expand my knowledge
and use my skills, and supervision and con
sultation would be perpetually available, if
not required. Practice autonomy was not to
Licensing Clinical Social Workers,
Not Clinical Social Work Practice
By Marsha Wineburgh, DSW, Legislative Chair, President-Elect
be expected, with the exception of private
practice, which was openly frowned upon.
This was common clinical social work
practice then and, understandably, it
reflected an earlier stage in the history of
social work’s development as a profession.
We were the handmaidens of the social
agencies, working under expert psychiatric
consultants who made the diagnoses, ap
proved treatment plans, and reviewed cases.
The setting where clients were served has
historically determined the type of casework
that social workers provided. The mission of
the agency, whether it is a settlement house,
religious charity program, or a psychiatric
clinic, structured the services offered and,
appropriately, still does, in as much as fund
ing and other resources are directly tied to
the type social services delivered.
Newly-Elected Board
Members and others: Front,
l. to r., Linda Wright, new
Member-at-Large; Sandra Jo
Lane, Suffolk Pres.; Beverly
Goff, new Rockland Pres.,
and Lorraine Fitzgerald,
new Nassau Pres. Back row:
Monica Olivier, new Member-
at-Large, Dore Sheppard,
new 2nd Vice Pres.; Robert
Berger, new 1st Vice Pres.
Not pictured: Marsha
Wineburgh, new President
Elect and Elizabeth Ojakian,
new Board Secretary.
Newly-Elected Board Members (See article page 5)
Photo: Sandra Indig
2 The Clinician
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NEW YORK
STATE
SOCIETY
FOR
CLINICAL
SOCIAL
WORK,
INC.
President’s Message
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
a world view, a professional commitment and a professional
language. A community that offers technical and educational
supports for the challenges of independent practice. A voice
in relevant matters of policy and practice.
Our past has formed our identity. But what is our identity?
This issue keeps returning in discussions by the State Board,
the Strategic Planning Committee and the By Laws Revision
Committee. Are we a society of clinical social workers in
private practice, or are we a Society of clinical social workers
in all professional settings? Having accomplished independent
licensure and practice, how do we as a Society move into the
future in the absence of a major unifying focus? Are the Society
purposes stated in our by laws sufficient to sustain ongoing
and future membership — maintaining standards of practice,
promoting education and training, interorganizational collabo
ration, and support to members in their practice?
The answer, of course, is a resounding “of course.” The
purposes of the Society remain viable and provide direction
for its work in both present and future. With that we must
also recognize the impact of changes to our field and make
some adjustments so that we remain welcoming to new mem
bership and new leadership.
Leadership is entrusted with looking ahead and consider
ing issues of past, present and future. How do we remain
loyal to our foundation while charting a course into the
future? How do we remain relevant and necessary?
It behooves us to prepare the way for our successors.
Recent elections to State Board positions and state commit
tees included a growing number of candidates for leadership
positions — the help and support of our membership is
essential to moving us into our future.
We welcome Marsha Wineburgh as President Elect, Robert
Berger as First Vice President, Dore Sheppard as Second
Vice President, Monica Olivier and Linda Wright as Members-
at-Large, and David Phillips as Chair of the State Ethics and
Professional Standards Committee. We acknowledge the
contributions of Shannon Boyle, immediate past Second Vice
President, of Fred Mazor, immediate past Member-at-Large,
and prepare to bid farewell to Judy Crosley, Chair of the State
Strategic Planning Committee, whose list of contributions
to the Society took up a considerable amount of time at our
recent Annual Membership Meeting.
The process of strategic planning and change is challeng
ing but ultimately necessary and rewarding. The leadership
appreciates the support of the membership in its work.
Published twice yearly by the
New York State Society for Clinical Social Work, Inc.
243 Fifth Avenue, Suite 324, New York, NY 10016
Website: www.ClinicalSW.org / Tel: 1-800-288-4279
Ivy Miller, Newsletter Editor
301 East 45 Street, Apt. 8d, New York, NY 10017
E-Mail: IvyMiller@hotmail.com / Tel: 917-620-3460
Helen Hinckley Krackow, Newsletter Chair
Ad Deadlines: February 15 and October 15
State Board Members 2011
STATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President
Jonathan Morgenstern, MSW, MED, MA, LCSW MjonathanM@aol.com
President Elect
Marsha Wineburgh, MSW, DSW, LCSW, BCD mwineburgh@aol.com
First Vice President
Robert S. Berger, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW rsb111@columbia.edu
Second Vice President
Dore Sheppard, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW doreshep@yahoo.com
Treasurer
Helen Hinckley Krackow, MSW, LCSW, BCD hhkrackow@aol.com
Board Secretary
Elizabeth Ojakian, MSW, LCSW e08@nyu.edu
CHAPTER PRESIDENTS
Brooklyn
Carol Kamine-Brown, MSW, LCSW c.kbrown@cohme.org
Manhattan (Met)
Ariane Sylva MSW, Ph.D., LCSW drsylva@drsylva.com
Mid-Hudson
Rosemary Cohen MSW, LCSW rosemarycohen@gmail.com
Nassau
Lorraine M. Fitzgerald MSW, LCSW lorraine@grieflistener.com
Queens
Fred Sacklow, MSW, LCSW freds99@aol.com
Rockland
Beverly Goff MSW, LCSW bevgoff@optonline.net
Staten Island
Mary FitzPatrick, MSW, LCSW fitzrodal@aol.com
Suffolk
Sandra Jo Lane MSW, LCSW sjlsunshine@aol.com
Westchester
Martin J. Lowery, MSW, LCSW mlowery@maryknoll.org
MEMBERS-AT-LARGE
Metropolitan
Chris Farhood, LCSW chrisfarhood@yahoo.com
Mid-Hudson
Roberta L. Faulk, MSW, LCSW srfaulke@juno.com
Nassau
Linda Wright, MSW, LCSW lwrightlcsw@aol.com
Rockland
Monica Olivier, MSW, LMSW Mo444@nyu.edu
Westchester
Sheldon Blitstein, MSW, LCSW sabhidhammab@optonline.net
COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Annual Education Conference Susan A. Klett, LCSW-R, BCD suzannneklett@aol.com
Creativity & Transformation
Sandra Indig, LCSW, ATR-BC psych4art@hotmail.com
By-Laws
Beth Pagano, MSW, LCSW bethpagano678@msn.com
Chapter Development
Helen Hinckley Krackow, MSW, LCSW, BCD hhkrackow@aol.com
Disaster Preparedness
Fred Mazor, DSW, MSW, LCSW, BCD fredm25@aol.com
Ethics & Professional
Standards
David Phillips, DSW, LCSW dgphillips@nyc.rr.com
Independent Practice
Sheila Peck, MSW, LCSW sheila2688@aol.com
Leadership
Beth Pagano, MSW, LCSW bethpagano678@msn.com
Legislative
Marsha Wineburgh, DSW, LCSW mwineburgh@aol.com
Listserv Committee
Robert S. Berger, PhD, MSSW, LCSW rsb111@columbia.edu
Mentorship & Peer
Consultation
Helen Hinckley Krackow, MSW, LCSW, BCD hhkrackow@aol.com
Newsletter
Helen Hinckley Krackow, MSW, LCSW, BCD hhkrackow@aol.com
Nominations & Elections
Beth Pagano, MSW, LCSW bethpagano678@msn.com
State Membership
Shannon Boyle, MSW, LMSW shannonboyle@hotmail.com
Strategic Planning
Judy Crosley, MSW, LCSW crosleyj@yahoo.com
Vendorship & Managed Care Helen T. Hoffman, LCSW helenhoffman@verizon.net
CORRECTION
Barbara Tholfsen, LCSW, was omitted from the list in our last issue
of workshop presenters at the 41st Annual Conference.
We regret the error.
Spring 2011 3
1. “Narcissism and the Sibling Relationship”
Joyce Edward, LCSW, BCD, Distinguished Practitioner,
National Academies of Practice
2. “My Patient, My Stalker:
Occupational Hazard and Cautionary Tale”
Sharon K. Farber, Ph.D., LCSW, BCD,
Adjunct Faculty, NYU School of Social Work
3. “Learning to Love in an Intimate Attachment:
Addressing Avoidant Attachment Dynamics
in a Narcissistically Self-Preoccupied Man”
Marc Wayne, LCSW, BCD, Senior Supervisor, Training Analyst
and Faculty, Training Institute for Mental Health
4. “Uncovering the Lost Self:
Expanding Positive Narcissism in a Neurotic Patient”
Roberta Ann Shechter, DSW, Faculty, Supervisor and
Training Analyst, Washington Square Institute
5. “Narcissism as a Defense”
Leah Pittell Jacobs, LCSW, LP, NCPsyA, Faculty and Senior Mem
ber of The National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis
6. “Reconsidering An Elusive Concept:
Narcissism As Superegotistical Attack”
Barbara Tholfsen, LCSW, Founder of the online-resource group
Lacanian Foothold
7. “Narcissistic Injury in a Marriage Stung by an Affair:
An Integrative Approach for the Clinical Situation”
Gildo M. Consolini, Ph.D., LCSW, Director of Behavioral Health
and Social Services at Personal Touch Home Health Care;
Tripp Evans, Ph.D., LCSW-R, Faculty/Supervisor, 2-Year Couple
Program, Training Institute for Mental Health
8. “Shattering the Mirror of Narcissism:
Treatment of an Adolescent Male”
Janice Michaelson, LCSW, Founder and First President,
New Jersey Society for Clinical Social Work
The 42nd Annual Conference of the New York State Society for Clinical Social Work
The Multiple Dimensions of
Narcissism and How to Survive them
Saturday, May 7, 2011, 8:00am – 4:00pm
The Nightingale-Bamford School
20 East 92nd Street, New York, NY
Judith Siegel
“Breaking Through: Helping the Narcissistically
Vulnerable Couple Engage”
Dr. Judith Siegel is an associate professor at the NYU Silver School
of Social Work and the author of over 20 works on marriage
and relationships, including four books: Repairing Intimacy,
Countertransference in Couples Therapy, What Children Learn from
their Parents Marriage and Stop Overreacting. Her work integrates
object relations and systems theories with emotional regulation.
She has presented at conferences throughout the U.S. and Canada
and is in private practice in Mamaroneck.
Jane S. Hall
“The Hidden Pain in Narcissism”
Jane S. Hall, LCSW, FIPA, is past president of the New York Freudian
Society, a member of the IPA, ApsaA, AAPCSW, Div. 39. A training
and supervising analyst, she has taught, lectured, and consulted
for over 25 years on how to deepen psychoanalytic work. Hall is
the author of Roadblocks on the Journey of Psychotherapy and
Deepening the Treatment. A founder of the New York School for
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, she is on the
faculties of three New York institutes, and in private practice in
New York City.
KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS
REGISTER TODAY! See reverse side >
CHOICE OF EIGHT AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS
4 The Clinician
Name:
Address:
Telephone:
E-mail:
CHOOSE AFTERNOON WORKSHOP PREFERENCES BY NUMBER (Please refer to list on reverse side.):
1st Preference
2nd Preference
3rd Preference
I have enclosed a check for
.
CEU CREDITS ARE AVAILABLE: CEU credits will only be granted for the workshop for which participants have registered.
For information call (516) 627-3383.
CANCELLATION POLICY: Refunds granted on or before April 24, 2011
MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: NYS Society for Clinical Social Work
MAIL TO: Susan A. Klett, LCSW-R, BCD, 157 East 57th Street, 6D, New York, NY 10022
ANNUAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE COMMITTEE:
Chair: Susan A. Klett, LCSW-R, BCD. Committee Members: Meryl G. Alster; Gildo M. Consolini, Ph.D.; LCSW, Tripp Evans,
Ph.D. LCSW-R; Gail Grace, LCSW-R; Susan A. Klett, LCSW-R, BCD, Chair; Marie Mchugh, LCSW; Ashanda S.Tarry, LMSW
The 42nd Annual Conference of the New York State Society for Clinical Social Work
THE MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF NARCISSISM AND HOW TO SURVIVE THEM
SATURDAY, MAY 7, 2011, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM. NIGHTINGALE-BAMFORD SCHOOL, 20 EAST 92ND ST., NEW YORK, NY
SCHEDULE
8:00 am
Registration and Refreshments
9:00 am
Welcome
Jonathan Morgenstern, LCSW
President, NYSSCSW
9:15 am
Opening Remarks and Introductions
Susan A. Klett, LCSW-R, BCD, Chair of the
Education Committee, NYSSCSW
9:30 am
Keynote Presentations
12:00 pm
Luncheon
1:45 – 3:45 pm
Choice of Eight Afternoon Workshops
An All-Day Book Fair Will Feature Society Authors
ADVANCE REGISTRATION: Return by April 25, 2011
ADVANCE
REGISTRATION
REGISTRATION
AT DOOR
Member
$115
$125
Non-Member*
$130
$140
MSW Students**
$ 60
$ 65
*Non-member registrants will receive a $10 rebate if they join
the NYSSCSW within 30 days of the conference.
For information, please visit www.Clinicalsw.Org
** Include photocopy of student I.D.
Spring 2011 5
CONTINUED ON PAGE 17
We congratulate our newly elected officers and applaud all the candidates who ran in
this year’s election. Your dedication and contributions to our Society and to the field of
clinical social work are very much appreciated.
President-Elect Marsha Wineburgh, MSW, DSW, LCSW, BCD
President-Elect Wineburgh wrote: “In retrospect, it seems I was destined to participate
in the professionalization of clinical social work. It was certainly nothing I sought to do;
it was only accidental that I applied to social work graduate school. Awareness of the
NYSSCSW began in the early 70s, when Helen Goldberg, an esteemed member even then,
cajoled me into attending a meeting of the organization, then known then as the NYS
Society for Clinical Social Work Psychotherapists. This was six or seven years after the
Society was founded, way before the establishment of chapters.
As a founding member of the National Federation of Societies for Clinical Social Work,
our Society actively participated in initiating efforts to pass legislation for insurance
reimbursement and licensing for qualified social workers on the federal and state levels.
Exciting times! Our meetings were intense, chaotic, very lively — and I was hooked.
First, I worked on the newsletter, then served on the Board in various positions, becom
ing president in 1980–81. As president, I was honored to testify at federal hearings for
clinical social work Medicare privileges, and helped develop the strategy for social work
inclusion in FEBHA and CHAMPUS health care programs.
Interested in legislative work, I became the State legislative chair in 1981, and with my
most effective committee and the brilliant Hillel Bodek, LCSW, launched the legislation
for mandated insurance reimbursement for social work mental health services — the
“R.” When New York State finally opened the door to licensing, we developed and intro
duced a series of bills to license clinical social workers. We have spent three decades
pressing for state legislation to recognize clinical social workers and we have succeeded.
Over time, I rotated through many different elected positions on the State Board and
the Executive Committee, actually serving as all but treasurer… a very big job. And now,
I am honored to have been elected president once again. We are an important voice in
the social work community calling for meaningful standards for clinical education and
experience, often alone. Note the recent NASW articles on pursuing students in two year
AA programs who are interested in social work (NASWNews, Vol. 56, #2, February 2011)!
I welcome your input: ideas, participation in programs, or planning programs. I can be
reached at mwineburgh@aol.com.”
First Vice President Robert S. Berger, Ph.D., MS, LCSW
Robert S. Berger holds an MS in Social Work from Columbia University School of
Social Work; Ph.D. in Clinical Social Work from the New York University Silver School
of Social Work (Dissertation: “A Study of the Self-Perceptions of Children with
Familial Dysautonomia, the Severity of Their Disorder, and the Childrearing Attitudes
of Their Parents”); and a Certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy from the NYU
Psychoanalytic Institute. He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at NYU Silver School of
Social Work (1986–present); and formerly was an Adjunct Lecturer at Hunter College
School of Social Work (1986–1996) and Caseworker & Casework Supervisor at JBFCS
(1979–1988). He also is in private practice.
He is the current State & Met Chapter Listserv Committee chair and the former State
& Met Chapter Website Committee chair (2007–2010).
He wrote: “NYSSCSW has worked long and hard to carve out, protect and promote
professional social work licensure in New York State, as well as advocate for a high
Welcome to the
Newly Elected Officers
I
am writing this after the fourth snow
storm in eight days. I know that each of
you is probably as sick of snow as I am
(except for the skiers among us). Perhaps
by the time you receive this, spring will be
just around the corner.
We have had a very exciting few months.
The Society’s new website was launched on
December 6. If you have not already done
so, I hope you will visit the site:
www.clinicalsw.org. There is a page for
each chapter announcing meetings and
events, a searchable directory to find an
LCSW, and a full membership directory in
the Members Only section which allows
members to sign in and edit their profiles
easily. There also is a history of the Society
and other interesting and in-depth informa
tion. In the future, we will archive past
issues of The Clinician in the Members
Only section as well.
Possibly the best part of the website is
the fact members have the ability to pay
their dues on- line. Since the dues bills
were sent out in December, we have had
almost 200 members take advantage of this
service — saving them time and postage.
If you have not yet paid your dues, please
try this method. If you have forgotten your
password, please call the office and Robin
will be happy to assist you.
Speaking of dues, we hope all members
have renewed by now.
As the new Board of Directors begins
its work, many exciting programs are being
planned both on the chapter and state
level. We hope that you will take advantage
of everything that your Society has to offer
and invite colleagues who are not members
to join.
If there is anything that we can do for
you, please feel free to call the office,
1-800-288-4CSW.
Cordially,
Sheila Guston, CAE
Administrator
The New York State Society for Clinical Social
Work is managed by Total Management Solutions,
Inc. Sheila Guston is the president of TMS.
Headquarters Update
6 The Clinician
Vendorship and Managed Care Committee
By Helen T. Hoffman, LCSW, Chair
CHAPTER/NAME
E-MAIL
OFFICE PHONE
metropolitan
Helen Hoffman
helenhoffman@verizon.net
212-873-3052
Ruth Washton
rwashton@verizon.net
917-584-7783
Virginia Lehman*
LehmanV117@aol.com
212-674-2984
Mary Freeman**
bullpen@mindspring.com
212-348-0004
Judy Adelson
judyadelson@rcn.com
212-222-4486
Henni Fisher
info@hennifisher.com
718-646-7001
queens
Shirley Sillekens
ssillekens@aol.om
718-527-7742
northeast
Doris Tomer
tomerd@juno.com
518-271-1862
westchester
Linda Plastrik
LPtunedin@aol.com
914-631-6342
rockland
Lorraine Schorr
lorrainesara@aol.com
845-354-5040
nassau
Susan Kahn
shkahn@verizon.net
516-482-1269
staten island
Colleen Downes
eve114@aol.com
718-816-0712
*Medicare Liason; ** National Health Insurance Observer
T
he Vendorship and Managed Care Committee contin
ues to meet by teleconference and communicates by
e-mail, gathering and sharing information through the
listservs. The committee consists of representatives from
the various chapters. Some issues addressed are:
Medicare Webinar
A seminar on Medicare with teleconference, Power Point
presentation and question and answer session took place
February 28 at One Liberty Plaza in Manhattan. National
Government Services presented an overview of provider
enrollment and provider responsibilities and discussed the
future direction of Medicare, including the issue of elec
tronic billing. This seminar was tailored for members of the
Society.
Parity Issues
Many clients became subject to the Federal Parity Bill for
the first time in January 2011. Since most policies renew in
January, this is when changes took effect. Congress has not
decided whether all diagnoses will be covered by federal
parity. At the moment, we expect that only the biologically
based diagnoses will be covered under parity by most insur
ance companies, unless an employer decides to be more
generous. We advise providers with a new patient to call the
insurance company and determine whether the patient’s plan
falls under parity.
Although under parity laws patients may be told they have
“unlimited benefits,” providers will still have to show medical
necessity for the patient to access these benefits. Providers
are advised to familiarize themselves with criteria for showing
medical necessity, which are usually posted on the website
of the insurer. Often obtaining authorization comes down to
demonstrating two points: symptoms and impaired function
ing. Plans often distinguish between acute care and mainte
nance, with less frequent sessions authorized for the latter.
Some MCOs No Longer Require OTRs
The good news is that more and more plans have discontin
ued the use of Outpatient Treatment Reports, for example,
MHN, some GHI plans and some Value Options plans.
However, plans may fall back on telephone reviews to manage
the benefit more closely. The Committee has been discussing
appropriate responses to requests for in-depth medical in
formation by telephone. Patients and the public are unaware
that their personal information can be used in this way and
need to be educated by therapists.
New Vendorship and Managed Care Webpage
With the installation of a new Society website, the Vendorship
and Managed Care Committee has been able to mount an
improved webpage. For recent informational bulletins,
announcements, articles, lists, and alerts go to clinicalsw.org
>About Clinical Social Work>Vendorship and Managed
Care Committee.
If you have questions or need information about an insurance
issue please contact one of the members of the committee
listed here and on our website.
Spring 2011 7
Chapter Reports
WESTCHESTER • SUFFOLK • STATEN ISLAND • QUEENS • MID-HUDSON • METROPOLITAN
CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
Westchester Chapter
Martin J. Lowery, President
We began the first General Membership
Meeting of 2011 by announcing a “Year of
Transition,” in which we will have the pleasure
of welcoming a new president and vice
president. As a first step, a call was made
for volunteers to take on some of the non-
presidential tasks the president had assumed.
The response was encouraging. With more
and newer people involved, we hope to see
continued chapter vitality.
In response to the Westchester County
Executive’s proposed closing of five
Community Service Centers under the
Department of Mental Health as part of the
2011 county budget, members of the chapter
shared their opposition, which resulted in a
letter to the county executive signed by both
the chapter president and the State president.
The chapter meets on the first Saturday
of each month from September to June.
The monthly General Membership Meeting
consists of a business meeting followed by
an invited speaker, who addresses topics
of interest to members. Prior to the meet
ing, the following interest groups gather
and share: Group Therapy Practice, Career/
Private Practice Building Mentorship, Child
and Adolescent Peer Consultation, Peer
Consultation, Spirituality and Therapy. In
addition, the following committees serve the
needs of the chapter: Education, Legislation,
Membership, Disaster Preparedness and
Vendorship / Managed Care. We keep connect
ed by a well-edited newsletter and listserv.
Martin J. Lowery, mlowery@maryknoll.org
Suffolk Chapter
Sandra Jo Lane, President
Reports of “Demise” Decidedly
Premature!
The dissemination of the totally inaccurate
news that the Suffolk County Chapter was no
longer going to be in existence contributed to
our determination that the chapter would, in
fact, thrive! The Three Village Inn was the ven
ue chosen for the First Annual Suffolk County
Chapter Brunch. Society members (and a few
non-members and yet-to-become members)
gathered on the beautifully sunny, but cold,
morning of January 16th to share in a delightful
and delicious repast. A significant amount of
chapter business was undertaken. The chapter
now has a membership chair, Sharon Greaney-
Watt, a mentorship chair, Charles Greco, a vice
president, Diane Freedman, a treasurer,
Kathy LaFemina, and we are in the process
of filling the positions of secretary and
newsletter editor.
We are committed to having fun and
learning and have already determined that one
of our priorities is including students from
Suffolk County’s SUNY at Stony Brook, and
welcoming new professionals and prospective
members.
We’ve lots of options for meetings, and our
group will be delighting in a repeat, but better
(!) Three Village Inn gathering. on March 27.
The real treat of the day will be our own Sheila
Felberbaum making a presentation on “life and
connection, separation and death, and all that
is between.” In addition to her career in social
work, Sheila has experienced life as an R.N.
The presentation promises to be educational,
informative, and moving.
There will be postings on the Nassau-
Suffolk listserv providing additional informa
tion about registering. Please look at what you
need to do if you have an interest in joining
us! Keep your eyes open for other exciting and
valuable opportunities you may have through
the Suffolk Chapter.
Wishing all warm regards as we slog
through the balance of winter and anticipate
with pleasure the imminent arrival of a beauti
ful and productive spring!
Sandra Jo Lane, 631-586-7429
Staten Island Chapter
Mary FitzPatrick, President
Our small bur dedicated chapter has
had a very interesting and successful year.
We continue to strive to keep our chapter thriv
ing, open and relevant to old and new members.
Since fall 2010, we have had several inter
esting and informative presentations, “Internal
Family Systems Theory and Techniques,”
Jaime Wasserman, LCSW, “Psychotropic
and Clinical Treatment of Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder,” Michael Zampella,
LCSW and Christina Vaglica, MD, and “Stroke
and Epilepsy: Psychiatric Manifestations and
Co-Morbidities,” Aaran Tansy MD.
The ADHD seminar introduced Dr. Vaglia
to our community. She is knowledgeable about
a problem we all come across, no matter what
our practice is, and promises to be a good
resource. Dr. Tansy was also very informative
about strokes and epilepsy, and made it clear
that we can work hand-in-hand. Most stroke
patients and patients with epilepsy suffer from
depression and need therapy.
We have several interesting presenta
tions to come, including one by Hillel Bodek,
LCSW, who will speak on “Ethics and Legal
Considerations in Psychotherapy.”
In March we will again host Jaime
Wasserman, LCSW, for a half-day confer
ence. She will present “Using Internal Family
Systems To Heal the Dissociated States
Caused by Trauma.” As we learned in the fall,
she is an excellent presenter as well as a
gifted therapist.
Other presentations will be:
“Understanding Clients and Families of
Domestic Violence,” “New York State
Evidence-Based Prosecution, “ and last but
not least, Cristina Casanova, LCSW, will pres
ent “Utilizing Somatic Experience Techniques
within the Therapeutic Setting.”
All of our members contribute a great
deal of time and energy to our chapter. Janice
Gross, LCSW, deserves special mention. She
is a long-time member who is not only our
treasurer, but the voting delegate to the Board.
After her weekend trips to Manhattan, she
carefully and diligently shares important infor
mation with the Executive Committee and the
group as a whole. Her dedication is absolute.
Mary Fitzpatrick, fitzrodal@aol.com
8 The Clinician
T
he State Membership Committee is comprised of mem
bership chairs representing the various chapters of the
NYSSCSW. We hold regular meetings via conference calls
to coordinate our efforts across the state. Our focus has been
twofold: to increase our overall membership, while continuing
to ensure that the needs of our current members are met. Over
the past few years, our membership numbers have been decreas
ing for many reasons, including retirement and relocation. The
Membership Committee is working to reverse this trend, one that
is being experienced by most professional associations.
In November 2010, the Membership Committee put a proposal
before the State Board to lower the cost of membership dues
for student members. The proposal was approved, and effective
December 2010, the new cost for students in an MSW or DSW
program is $48 a year (more specific details are available on the
Society website). We know that many social work students would
welcome the opportunity to belong to this organization, but the
previous fees may have been too prohibitive.
Numerous Society members have connections with students
through direct teaching, on-site internship supervision, or other
such settings. We hope that you will take the opportunity to
spread the word about the Society and all the benefits social
workers have from membership. It is now easier than ever to be
come a member — applications and payments can be submitted
directly through our new Society website at www.clinicalsw.org.
Social workers have always been agents of change. The Society
is also an agent of change, helping to strengthen clinical social
work practice in the state. Strong membership is necessary for us
to continue to advocate effectively for clinical social work.
The Membership Committee will hold an in-person workshop
to bring together members of our committee along with other
representatives of our chapters to coordinate efforts for the
continued growth of the Society. We will share the outcome
with all members. Please contact your chapter president or
membership chair if getting more involved in the work of the
Membership Committee interests you. We can certainly use the
help and welcome more members to be actively involved in this
important work.
Membership Committee
By Shannon Boyle, LMSW, Chair
However in 2002 a quiet revolution occurred. For the first time,
individual social work professionals were licensed by New York
State as autonomous professionals, increasing consumer protec
tion and furthering our professional identity, public recognition
and social prestige by limiting practice to those who could estab
lish their qualifications by education, experience, and examina
tion. Scopes of practice for LMSWs and LCSWs now define our
functions, establish our authority over our own work and require
each licensed social worker to be responsible for acquiring the
knowledge necessary to provide services to the public.
Although the workplace (setting) continues to have adminis
trative authority over social work employees by virtue of em
ployment contracts, LMSWs and LCSWs are now legally granted
autonomy by the state. Prior to licensing, the authority to practice
was granted to the social worker by a social agency (setting);
the final authority rested with the agency. Licensing empowers
individual professionals, so that the final authority and responsi
bility rests with the licensed practitioner who is legally account
able to the State. This is not to diminish the value of consultation,
administrative supervision, advanced training, and/or continuing
education, but accountability for practice decisions squarely rests
with the individual licensed professional.
Recently, in the January/February 2011 issue of Currents, the
New York City Chapter of NASW raised the question, “What is
clinical practice?” It offered articles reflecting several different
settings where clinical social work knowledge is essential for
effective interventions. Who would disagree with the premise that
the broader one’s professional knowledge base, the less likely it is
that one will oversimplify the complex situations facing clients?
The intent of this Currents issue is to question again why
supervised clinical experience in assessment, diagnosis and
treatment is required for the LCSW, the only social work license
granting the right to offer psychotherapy services. If one under
stands the gift of autonomy granted to a social worker licensed
to offer these specialized services (LCSW), it is obvious that
supervised clinical experience in psychotherapy is an essential in
gredient in building necessary clinical expertise. Who would hire
a brain surgeon who did not have special training and experience
in brain surgery in addition to a medical degree?
Isn’t it time to conclude these discussions about licensing
clinical social workers and focus our collaborative efforts on edu
cating licensed social work professionals to be better informed
about the advancements in the clinical social work fields where
they have chosen to work?
We would welcome ideas for joint educational programming
from all parts of our professional community: the institutes,
professional associations, social agencies and the unions. Please
contact me at mwineburgh@aol.com or call 212-595-6518.
Licensing Clinical Social Workers
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Spring 2011 9
In 1986 a psychoanalyst, David Krueger, edited a
collection of articles, The Last Taboo: Money
as Symbol and Reality in Psychotherapy and
Psychoanalysis. As the first part of its title
implied, he considered money a taboo subject
which was not being adequately dealt with in our
clinical work. He contended that, because of this
taboo, patients and therapists were colluding to
avoid discussion of money in treatment.
After reading Krueger’s book, I became interested the idea
of the money taboo and I started paying attention to money
as an issue in my work with clients. In fall 1999, in Clinical
Social Work Journal, I published an article called “The
Money Taboo: Its effects in everyday life and in the practice
of psychotherapy,” in which I claimed that: A cultural taboo
regarding discussion of money affects psychotherapists as
well as the lay public. As a result, the psychological literature
regarding money is sparse while issues relating to money are
seldom addressed in our training, our self-analyses or the
treatment of our patients.
When we do talk or write about money, we focus primarily
on the fee we charge for our services and tend to ignore the
psychological importance of money in shaping our clients
intrapsychic and interpersonal lives. In response to this
trend, in 2008 I wrote an article, “Beyond the Fee: Addressing
Non-Fee, Money-Related Issues.”
A most recent example of avoidance of talking about
non-fee based problems occurred during the discussion
period after the presentation upon which this paper is based.
Although the presentation did not focus on the fee, every
question or comment offered by an audience of 26 therapists
focused only on issues such as how to set the fee, why so
many of us find it difficult to ask for payment, what to do if
a client does not pay, or how to raise the fee or respond to
requests to lower the fee.
This continued even when I pointed out what was happen
ing. No doubt our ability to earn a good living is of significant
importance. But, to focus only on money issues that affect
us and not those that affect our clients, represents one type
of money based countertransference, characterized by an
avoidance which diminishes our ability to truly understand
our clients. Other money based countertransferences are
BEYOND THE LAST TABOO:
Talking About Money In Psychotherapy
CONTINUED ON PAGE 18
Richard Trachtman, Ph.D., LCSW, has been
a psychotherapist and social worker, both in
private practice and for mental health clinics and
social work agencies, since 1964. In addition, he
has been an administrator and has supervised
and taught social workers, psychologists
and students in a variety of schools, training
institutes and clinics. This article is based in
part on a presentation made to the Metropolitan
Branch of the New York State Society of Clinical
Social Workers on February 6, 2011.
For more information: richardtrachtman@aol.com
or www.moneyworkandlove.com
described in my book, Money and Psychotherapy: A Guide for
Mental Health Professionals (NASW Press, forthcoming).
After completing this article, the reader is asked to take
this challenge: think of your own clients and try to identify
the role money has played in their identity and character
formations, their intrapsychic and interpersonal problems
and their adaptations.
My Work
A large part of my clinical work, as well as the workshops I
have run and what I have been writing about, has been aimed
at getting us beyond the last taboo, and talking and thinking
more freely about money. By “us,” I mean us as a profes
sion and us as the whole society. I created MORE Services
for MOney and RElationships (www.monwyworkandlove.
com), which offers clinical services and provides educational
and clinical resources including copies of the two articles
mentioned above, two bibliographies and a sample of a book
published last year, Money and the Pursuit of Happiness in
Good Times and Bad (which I refer to as a psychologically
sophisticated self help book).
How To Think About Money
Money can be thought of as a blank screen onto which we
project our wishes and fears. If we think money is security,
we are really hoping it will allow us to provide for ourselves
or our families at some time in the future. If we think of
money as power, we believe it will allow us to buy favor or to
influence events in the future.
But the idea of money is so powerful and pervasive in our
culture that we tend to forget that it is only a stand-in for
By Richard Trachtman, Ph.D., LCSW
10 The Clinician
This January, I was invited to return as Chair
of the Society’s Committee on Ethics and
Professional Standards, a position I had previ
ously held during the decade of the 1980s, when
we wrote the Society’s original Code of Ethics.
My return to the Ethics Committee has led me
to think of developments that have taken place
over the three decades during which I have been
studying, teaching, and writing on legal and
ethical issues in professional practice.
When health care professionals are surveyed, they
will usually say that the responsibility to maintain
confidentiality over information received in a professional
context is the most important ethical obligation that they
owe to their patients. In recent decades, however, the
requirement to maintain confidentiality has been subject
to intense debate in a variety of situations in which the
welfare of the individual patient was weighed against the
needs of the wider society. The general trend has been to
limit confidentiality more and more, with the one major
exception being the Jaffe vs. Redmond case decided by
the United States Supreme Court in the 1990’s. This case
affirmed the importance of confidentiality in developing
the relationship of trust that was basic to effective
psychotherapy and favored the recognition of a federal
psychotherapist-patient privilege.
This column will serve as an introduction to the topic
of growing limitations on confidentiality, and in future
columns I will review in more detail the changes that have
taken place in this key area of professional responsibility.
The first known official statement on confidentiality was in
the original Code of Ethics of NASW, written in 1960. It stat
ed, in total: “I respect the privacy of the people I serve.” The
dual implication of this precept was both that confidentiality
was an absolute right of the client, and that the responsibility
to maintain confidentiality arose in the service relationship
between the social worker and the client.
Committee on Ethics and Professional Standards
By David G. Phillips, DSW, LCSW, Chair
When we review current codes of ethics, however, we
find that the statements on confidentiality are filled with
the many ways in which patient confidentiality might be lim
ited and the conditions under which confidential informa
tion might be revealed. These columns will review how we
got from there to here, how an absolute right of patients in
psychotherapy became a highly limited one.
We will begin by discussing the child abuse reporting
laws, which began to be passed by various states in the
1950s, and which now are in effect in all 50 states. This was
the first situation in which the rights of individual clients to
absolute confidentiality in a psychotherapy relationship was
limited because of the concern for the welfare of others.
We will then move on to the well known Tarasoff
case from California, which was decided in the 1970s
and extended the concept that psychotherapists seeing
patients in confidential relationships might have a more
powerful responsibility to protect a third party, even
though that third party might have nothing to do with the
psychotherapy.
We will also discuss the controversy over revealing HIV
status that erupted when AIDS became a national crisis in
the 1980s. This development raised the question of whether
professionals had an obligation to reveal HIV status to pos
sibly endangered third parties, an intense debate in New
York, which is one of the national centers of that disease.
We will continue by discussing the impact on patient
confidentiality that took place when clinical social workers
in New York State first became reimbursable providers for
private insurance plans with the passage of the “P” law in
1978 and the “R” law in 1984.
We will finish by talking about the development of
modern technology for transmitting and storing data,
and the current popularity of social media sites such as
Facebook and Twitter.
These latter developments might prove to be the biggest
threats to confidentiality of all and perhaps, by the time
we’re finished, you’ll understand why I’m only half jok
ing when I tell my students that, “I’ll be glad to teach you
something about confidentiality, but it’ll have to be from a
historical perspective, because in the modern world there
is no such thing.”
Spring 2011 11
By Richard B. Joelson, DSW
I
n the course of my years as a teacher, consultant, and supervi
sor to clinical social workers and other mental health profes
sionals in various stages of their independent practices, I have
taught these clinicians everything I know about how to develop and
maintain a successful private practice. I have also learned a great
deal about why so many of them struggle in their efforts to launch a
practice and to succeed.
All of us who see clients privately are likely to hear stories about
why some left treatment and came to us, or, why they did not return
to the former psychotherapist. We also learn why we were chosen
to be their therapist as opposed to others with whom they had
consulted.
I believe that there are many ways in which clinicians, unknow
ingly, self-defeat in the course of their efforts to build and suc
cessfully maintain a private practice. Two major areas with which
many of us have difficulty were identified and described in the first
two articles for this column in The Clinician: problems concerning
money and fees (Spring, 2010) and marketing issues (Fall, 2010).
There are many other attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that serve
to undermine clinicians who practice independently of an agency or
clinic setting. This article will address self-defeating issues having
to do with telephone behavior. In Part 2 (Fall 2011) I will discuss
ways to avoid self-defeat in relation to your office (clean that bath
room!), communicating with referral sources (do so!), marketing
your practice (do so!), and handling termination (with a more flex
ible approach to the process, if necessary).
Telephone Behavior
New clients who were given several names of therapists have re
ported that one of the reasons they came to see me was that I was
the only one who returned their phone calls, or that I returned their
calls on the same day rather than two, three, or more days later. I
am astonished every time I hear this.
Another set of comments concerns the phone manner of the
therapist who does return the call: Unfriendly; Cold, Abrupt; I felt
like I was bothering him; S/he didn’t really seem to want to answer
my questions; S/he sounded to me like I must sound to the sales
person who calls me at dinnertime; and more. It seems that some
therapists are not any more comfortable talking with strangers than
they are talking with us.
Prospective clients who have been referred by a known source
may simply be calling to make an appointment. For many prospective
clients, however, it is a fragile moment when they finally make that
often-long-delayed call to begin the process of entering therapy.
This is the first opportunity to engage the client and establish an
initial connection to him or her. Many prospective clients who feel
uncomfortable or even put off during the first call will never make it
to the first visit with that clinician.
Some potential clients call to arrange an appointment and save
their many questions for the first visit. Most of us, undoubtedly,
hope for and prefer this caller. However, many prospective clients,
especially those who are ambivalent, fearful or seeking help under
duress, will require answers to their questions on the phone before
ever coming in for a session. How this conversation is handled by
the therapist might well make the difference between a new client
and a non-client.
If a therapist is uncomfortable or unhappy with a prospective
client needing a lot of information during the first phone contact, it
is likely to be evident and affect the quality of the encounter. Some
callers ask difficult questions that must be handled sensitively, e.g.,
What is your fee?; What is your orientation?; How long will it take?;
Should I bring my spouse?, Now that I’ve told you a little about
my problem, do you think you can help me? Many therapists find
handling questions about the fee to be quite a dilemma, for there is
probably no really safe or “good’ answer,” at least on the phone.
Some therapists dodge the question by saying they do not dis
cuss fees on the phone and attempt to postpone the fee discussion
until the client agrees to come in. The caller may find this answer
evasive and permanently end the encounter. With a direct answer,
arguably a superior response, the therapist also runs the risk of an
abrupt end to the encounter. The prospective client may be com
parison-shopping and the stated fee may eliminate a therapist right
away, or the client may make an appointment, then not show up.
It is important to remember and utilize well the social work
“rules of engagement” we learned those many years ago. The first
phone contact is, possibly, the beginning of treatment. Be attentive,
receptive, steady, ready to be of service, and generous, so that the
person who seeks you out feels recognized and accepted sympa
thetically as a person in trouble. One approach includes responding
directly to the question of fee and also inviting the client to come in
to discuss the various parameters of treatment including time and
frequency, as well as fee. This conveys an interest in developing a
working alliance and a flexible approach which might include a fee
reduction, if necessary.
Private Practice Matters
The Self-Defeating Private Practitioner
Part 1: Telephone Behavior
12 The Clinician
On the 9th day of the first month of the New
Year, 17 of us attended a lively and highly infor
mative presentation, “The Artful Brain: Survival
through Creativity,” by George Hagman, LCSW.
To quote from our committee’s Internet posting,
“We will explore enhancement of brain function
ing and the psychological nature of art, as well
as subjective states, including survival through
creativity. Art developed to compensate for the
limitations of the brain’s capacity for conscious
thought, permitting a focused, sustained means
to elaborate subjectivity. Through art people
represent, elaborate, and perfect subjectiv
ity. This view of art has implications for a new
understanding of art and creativity.”
This most memorable presentation was everything you
wanted to know about what it means to recognize and de
velop an artful brain. All appeared to be mesmerized by hear
ing secrets only known to active artists and neuroscientists.
Layer by layer the “veils” fell away as each section of George
Hagman’s workshop progressed through a mixture of reading
and interactive discussion.
George Hagman (after referred to as GH) proposes a new
definition of art. Art is generally seen as a product of certain
activities, or a type of discipline or skill. GH argues that the
defining feature in art is the psychological processes involved
in art creation and appreciation. He doesn’t minimize the art
object but regards the defining element as the psychological
work that the artist engages in as he creates the artwork.
Whenever this particular psychological process occurs,
there is art.
The creation of art and the valuing of art is a fundamental
human need. This need is supported by recent scholarship in
evolutionary theory, neurobiology, and cultural studies. Art’s
early adaptive function is linked to basic elements in attach
ment and self-experience (Dissanayake, 2009, p. 153 – 154).
Presentation by George Hagman, LCSW / Review by Sandra Indig, LCSW-R, LP, ATR-BC, Committee Chair
The Artful Brain: Survival through Creativity
Art helped communities be more cohesive and therefore
more viable. Individuals developed an instinct for art because
the function of art in human life increased the probability
of survival.
The definition of art which was proposed by GH involves
the integration of psychoanalytic with more recent theories
for associated fields. He identified the following assump
tions in the psychoanalytic perspective: art involves the
expression of subjectivity (e.g., fantasies, mental imagery,
conscious and unconscious thoughts) into something exter
nal, an object that as a result contains subjective elements
(e.g., symbols). Simultaneously the externalized subjectiv
ity (the art work) is manipulated according to a dynamic
relationship that it has to the artist’s ever changing subjec
tive experience. One crucial aspect, generally overlooked by
psychoanalysts is the artist’s perfection of the artwork, and
the relationship of the quality of the artwork to the artist’s
inner life, especially his aesthetic needs and motivations. He
believes that it is the element of “perfecting” that distin
guishes art making from other psychological processes such
as dreaming, symptom formation, and other psychological
defenses and mechanisms.
Art and the Brain
The speaker noted the remarkable consistency between
the psychoanalytic understanding of art and the findings
of other sciences. Current research into the biological
and evolutionary sources of art were mentioned, notably,
the role of brain function and structure in the production
and enjoyment of art. Of special note was that the brain
actively constructs perception and seeks to organize forms
of experience according to some limited set of principles.
Several neuroscientists mentioned in this talk were credited
with beginning to develop models of art as an activity of the
brain and mind that seeks to organize thinking, feeling and
experiencing in special ways that enhance adaptation and
optimize creativity.
One neurologist, Semir Zeki (1998), argues that the hu
man brain is designed to construct a sense of order in the
midst of an ambiguous and ever changing environment. The
artful brain develops conceptual ideals, cognitive forms that
are felt to capture the essence of certain expectable, familiar
experiences. “One of the functions of art is an extension of
the major functions of the visual brain.” (Seki, 1998)
Committee for Creativity & Transformation in Clinical Practice
Spring 2011 13
George Hagman, LCSW, is a
psychoanalyst in private and public
practice in New York and Connecticut.
A graduate and member of NPAP, he is the
author of Aesthetic Experience: Beauty,
Creativity and the Search for the Ideal
(Rodopi, 2005) and The Artist’s Mind:
Creativity, Modern Art and Modern Artists
(Routledge, 2010).
Sandra Indig, LCSW-R, LP, ATR-BC, Chair of the Committee for
Creativity & Transformation, is an exhibiting painter and Artistic
Director of the Abingdon Square Painters, associate of Dances for
a Variable Population, and writes for E-Zine, Manhattan Arts.
She maintains a private practice in New York City.
Another brain researcher, Erich Harth (1995), offers
an explanation for why art developed and its function in the
evolution of the human brain. We noted Harth’s argument
that the origin of art is the same as that of language: the
human brain had evolved such an ability and capacity for
cognition and various levels of memory that there was a
need for thinking to be aided by special symbolizing func
tions. GH emphasized Harth ‘s observation that the tension
between new perceptions and the memory based images
that are structured into the brain — in many instances what
the brain wants to see, or thinks it should see — powerfully
influences what a person believes he or she perceives. In this
process internal fantasies and external realities interpen
etrate and co-construct.
Harth believes that early Homo sapiens began to engage
in making art as a result of the expanded complexity of the
frontal lobes. This more powerful neural circuitry had enor
mous adaptive value. In particular it allowed for the creation
of mental imagery (based on perception but elaborated and
structured in the mind). However, the features of selectiv
ity and exclusivity of attention, which allows us to focus and
understand specific items, also limits the range of cognitive
tasks we are able to perform. In other words, flooded with
“ghostly and evanescent mental imagery” (Harth, 1995: 75),
we also had trouble sustaining our thought processes, or
thinking about more than one thing at a time. As a result,
people needed to develop a means to sketch ideas and store
them externally.
Memory traces, mental images, which are constructed
from experience and internalized in working memory, are
externalized by means of artistic expression (visual images,
language, sound, sculpture). Thus the mental becomes an
object of perception and manipulation. As a result internal
cognitive processes interact with external meaning and imag
ery, and both domains are further elaborated and refined.
In other words art is not just a reflection of the function
ing mind, it is a way that people think, feel, imagine as well
as solve problems, internally and externally. In making art
the mind expands beyond the physical brain. Externalized
thoughts become the object of the brain’s own manipulation,
which somewhat paradoxically increases the mind’s complex
ity and efficiency. When this process is communicated and
engaged by the brain and its product, the mind, the brain
becomes elaborated exponentially. In art we augment out
brain power and improve our minds.
Language and art making are linked to the physical struc
ture and operation of the brain. The production of aesthetic
experience (the role of line, shape and color recognition in
the activation of emotions), and the need to organize and
structure perception are both embedded in the design of the
brain and the process of adaptation and survival. But more
importantly, art expands cognition through the construc
tion of a transitional world of symbols, the manipulation of
which allows for an enhanced capacity to think, imagine and
problem solve.
The Evolutionary Origins of Aesthetic
Experience and Art
This segment of GH’s talk came in the form of a challenging
question, “How did art help individuals survive, and how can
an evolutionary point of view add to the psychoanalytic and
neurobiological understanding of what art is?”
A growing international and interdisciplinary research
project into the evolutionary and neurobiological sources of
art and experience has resulted in new understandings of
what art is and where it came from. Many now recognize that
human beings can be called Homo aestheticus (Dissanyake,
1992) given the important role of the arts throughout human
history, but also more importantly in the central role the arts
play in our psychological, social and relational lives.
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
14 The Clinician
GH went on to develop this line of thinking by referring to
the anthropologist Ellen Dissanayake who suggested that the
common denominator for the behavior of art is the quality of
“making special” or “elaborating.” Paraphrasing her observa
tions, GH noted how the artist transforms an ordinary experi
ence into something extra-ordinary. For example, common
behaviors or sensations are exaggerated, patterned, embel
lished, repeated, or otherwise emphasized and refined. One
can see this in the rhythms and rhymes of words turned to
poetry, the patterns and repetitions that turn speech to song,
the design and color schemes that turn visual display into
paintings, etc. In fact Dissanayake argues that making special
is the defining characteristic of all art, throughout history.
Hagman notes the similarity between the notion of “making
special” and the psychoanalytic concept of “Idealization.”
GH paused to again pose a mind expanding question,
“What are the sources of this human desire and need to
make things special?” A number of associations by the group
were considered before returning to Dissanayake’s perspec
tive on this question. She argued that at the point in evolu
tion when human beings began to make art, they drew on a
“behavioral reservoir” of innate capacities and sensitivities
that had evolved originally between adults and their babies.
She explained how the special communicative techniques
between baby and adult function even to the present day to
assist in communication, attachment, heightened emotion,
shared awareness of special events and qualities of the
world, and help to form the primary psychological bond that
becomes the well and template of social and cultural life.
Art is the elaboration and expansion of these early proto
aesthetic experiences and art’s function in the adult human
world to address and satisfy psychological and emotional
needs: to stimulate feelings of belonging, to provide a sense
of meaningfulness and cognitive order to individuals.
Given the findings of evolutionary aesthetics we moved on
to examine the matrix of art and aesthetic experience in the
early attachment relationship, and the way in which the self,
the mind, and artistic creation are interrelated.
The Importance of Attachment:
Adaptation and Survival
GH provided us with a most refreshing review of attachment
theory from an evolutionary aesthetic perspective. He began
with stating that the readiness for an aesthetic response to
attachment behaviors is biologically based. Infants are born
wanting certain visual, vocal, and movement behavior, com
monly known as “baby talk.” In response to the appropriate
stimulus the baby spontaneously experiences the interaction
according to some specific forms of aesthetic structuring
that is built into the brain and evoked and organized in re
sponse to interaction with attachment figures. These interac
tions have formal structure (shape, color, rhythm, line, tone,
etc.), which are affectively charged, formalized, repetitious,
elaborate, and manipulated for surprise (Dissanayake, 2000).
Most importantly protoaesthetic interactions increases
excitement and positive feeling between parent and child for
each other.
In summary, proto-aesthetic experiences enhance the self
and the self-in-relation to the other. They are pleasurable and
reinforcing. Over time proto-aesthetic experiences becomes
organized and elaborated into more mature forms. Hence
these early modes of experiencing do not disappear; rather
they continue to make up a set of background, procedural
memories that color all subsequent experiences. Thus hu
man life acquires and retains an aesthetic dimension that in
general is positively charged.
As the child’s sensibility comes into interaction with the
social world, he or she elaborates and organizes higher level
forms of aesthetic feeling into what will become mature aes
thetic understanding and appreciation. In the experience of
mature forms of art proto-aesthetic experience is a dimen
sion of the person’s appreciation of the artwork.
It is clear that art-making has clear adaptive value, given
the powerful impact it can have on the quality of self-expe
rience, social relations and communal integrity and vitality.
Most importantly art infuses culture with the affective charge
of secure attachment — it helps to provide the experience of
relationships in a community with a feeling of security and af
fective resonance. A society that utilizes art making through
out the community and in response to many different events
tend to be well functioning and effective. Its members tend
to have a greater probability of survival. Relationships that
share the enjoyment and/or creation of art tend to be more
stable, vital and creative — also enhancing survival. Finally
individuals who enjoy making art tend to be better integrated
into the community, receive admiration and support from
others, and enjoy a higher quality of self-experience.
The Artful Brain
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
Spring 2011 15
A
s hoped for, our modified committee name has opened
the floodgates to new and returning members. It has
been wonderfully energizing and most generative for
all to be part of a re-awakening to our well received and very
well attended workshops/presentations. Interest in new ideas
for ways of expanding our outreach efforts have increased
and members from other committees have joined in our
activities in unprecedented numbers.
Events
From this past October to this past January, the Committee
presented three very well received events.
On October 10, Dayle Kramer, LCSW, LP presented
“Observing and Seeing: The Art of Attunement with
Yourself and Your Patient.” She focused on the similarities
between the art of listening, observing the patient, and
making art. Through the use of basic drawing exercises
and discussion, participants experienced an increased
connection to their creative core and the similarities of
sitting with a patient.
Our meeting on November 14 brought us Ann Rose
Simon, LCSW on “How Can Neuroscience Inform our
Practice: Reclaiming Creativity and the Self.” This
workshop provided us with a brief but extremely well
researched overview of the recent findings in neuroscience
research which support some of the psychotherapeutic
concepts that we utilize in our practices.
George Hagman, LCSW, on January 9 presented a
wonderfully interactive talk on “The Artful Brain:
Survival Through Creativity.” We explored enhancement
of brain functioning and the psychological nature of art as
well as subjective states including survival through creativity.
(Reviewed in this issue.)
On February 21, Joy E. Sanjek, LCSW hosted “Abstract
Expressionist New York” at the Museum of Modern Art.
We saw paintings and sculpture from the 1950s which focused
on personal expression above all else. Some of the artists
central to that era are Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning
and Mark Rothko.
Upcoming Workshops and Presentations
March 13
Paul Giorgianni, LCSW, BCD: “Objects in the
Psychotherapy Environment” This workshop will explore
the use of displacement and projection by both patient and
therapist in the service of communication. Case examples of
the use of objects in the therapist’s office will be given.
May 15
Helen Hinckley Krackow, LCSW, BCD: “Mirrors of the
Soul: Evoking the Unconscious Body Image through
Hypnosis” This workshop will demonstrate the use of clinical
hypnosis and psychodynamic theory in working with clients’
unconscious representations of self. The technique for ac
cessing this material will be demonstrated and opportunities
to participate will be offered to workshop attendees.
WHERE AND WHEN:
Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
(Registration starts at 10:45 am)
150 Fifth Avenue, Suite 900
(Between 18th and 19th Streets)
Suggestion: Please leave 30 minutes for evaluation
and networking.
CONTACT:
Sandra Indig, Chair, to verify address and
to reserve a seat: 212-330-6787
Committee for Creativity & Transformation in Clinical Practice
by Sandra Indig, LCSW-R, LP, ATR-BC, Chair
16 The Clinician
Chapter Reports
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
Rockland Chapter
Beverley Goff, President
The Rockland Chapter has been trying innovative
new additions to our monthly presentations held at
St. Thomas Aquinas College.
We have been enjoying film presentations
and lunch discussions afterwards, as well as our
Clinical Case/Topic Discussions before monthly
programs, where colleagues talk about issues and
countertransference feelings and feel supported
by each other. We are continuing our mentorship
groups with advanced social work students from
NYU in Rockland.
On March 20, we will offer a Conference/Day
Training in two parts: 1) “Treating Self-Injuring
and Self-Harming Patients “and 2) “Working with
the New DSM V.” Please check the Rockland
Chapter section the Society website for upcom
ing events open to all, or feel free to contact
our President.
Beverley Goff, bevgoff@optonline.net
Queens Chapter
Fred Sacklow, President
The Queens chapter has been busy with monthly
Board meetings and monthly educational presenta
tions. Please look for your listserv notices and/
or on the website notices for news about our
presentations.
We are happy to welcome two new Board
members to our ranks. They are husband and wife
team Robert Hazelton, LCSW and Nancy Hazelton,
LCSW. They lead New Bridge Employees Assistance
Services located in Levittown. Beginning as speak
ers, they became members, and are now active on
the board. More information about them is avail
able at www.eaplife.net.
Meeting Recap
In September, 2010, Susan Klett, LCSW, spoke about
“The Transformative Experience of a Transference
Interpretation Viewed Through the Lens of an
Object Relational Perspective.” In November and
December, we heard from Brian Quinn, LCSW, Ph.D.
on “Diagnosing and Treating the Bipolar Patient.”
In January, our own Jeanne Friedman,
LCSW, shared her knowledge about
“Dissociative Disorder. “ For more informa
tion visit www.sidran.org. In February, Crayton
Rowe, MSW, BCD, presented “Undifferentiated
Self-Object Transference.”
We have more exciting presentations to
come on March 20, April 17, May 15, and June
12. As always, we meet at Holliswood Hospital
from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Light refreshments
are served, and there is plenty of parking.
Certificates of attendance are provided. Our
listserv is active and we have time during every
meeting for members to network and share.
Fred Sacklow, Fred99@aol.com
Metropolitan Chapter
Ariane Sylva, President
The Met Chapter continues to enjoy robust
activity, with events generously offered by and
for members.
By popular demand, the Membership
Committee has provided encore presentations
of three events:
A workshop, offered by Committee Chair
Richard Joelson, DSW, on the development
of a private practice, has filled up through
March. These are intimate gatherings of
seven, maximum.
The Food for Thought event, again at
Carmine’s Restaurant, was a presentation
by Kenneth Neumann, Ph.D., on January 25,
“Techniques for Working with Your Divorcing
Clients,” and was delicious and stimulating.
The next Food for Thought presentation
will be in April on “Eating Disorders,” by Maria
Baratta, Ph.D., LCSW. On February 4, had
another Member Reception, welcoming new
and existing members to mingle and meet at
Richard’s home.
Looking ahead, there will be two all-day
conferences for Met Chapter Members. Both
are free except for a $15 lunch fee for the first
conference:
Saturday, March 26: Expanding and
Sustaining a Successful Clinical Practice in
the 21st Century, with Vikram Rajan giving
the keynote address, “Essential Marketing
Skills to Build Your Practice.” There will be
six workshops to choose from. This promises
to be our largest event of the year. We hope
all Met Chapter Members will attend. Please
register early.
The second conference, presented by
the Met Chapter Clinical Ethics Committee,
will be Saturday, April 16: Professionalism and
Ethics in Clinical Social Work. Presenting will
be Hillel Bodek, MSW, LCSW-R, BCD, Chair of
the State Society Ethics Committee for over
25 years, and Eileen Ain, Ph.D., LCSW, Chair of
the Met Chapter Clinical Ethics Committee.
Members are invited to send to the leaders,
in advance, ethical issues of their practices as
material for the presenters to address.
The Clinical Ethics Committee will meet on
the second Friday of each month. The meet
ings are confidential and collaborative.
The Education Committee Brunch on
Sunday, February 6, presented by Richard
Trachtman, Ph.D., LCSW, BCD, was “Beyond
the Last Taboo: Talking about Money in
Psychotherapy.” (See page article page 9.)
The Family and Couples Practice Committee
discussed “Sex and the Older Couple,” at their
next meeting in February. The second part of
the Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples
training, by Elana Katz, LCSW, LMFT, was on
Friday, February 25, and will be presented on
Friday, March 25, from 9:00 am to 11:00 am.
To find out more about our 14 committees,
contact any board or committee member. Find
us at the Met Chapter section of the website:
www.clinicalsw.org
Lisa Beth Miller, LCSW, 917-399-6447.
Spring 2011 17
In Memoriam
T
he New York State Society for Clinical Social Work
mourns the passing of Jeffrey Seinfeld, our beloved
friend and colleague at the New York University Silver
School of Social Work. A distinguished author of many works
on object relations theory and a frequent guest speaker at
conferences, he will be sorely missed.
standard of professional social work practice. As the former Web
site Committee chair and the current Listserv Committee chair, I
have contributed to the best of my ability to this mission, specifi
cally by increasing the networking and Internet contact between
NYSSCSW members through the development of chapter listservs
and working on the on-line member directory.
As first vice president, I will continue doing what can be done
to support and promote the practice of clinical social work. This
is a very important professional and personal agenda for me, an
agenda that I have pursued in the Society, and as a clinician, teacher
and clinical supervisor. We are an old, essential profession, with a
strong commitment to service to others. As first vice president, I
will help develop and implement strategies to maintain our stan
dards, bring timely information to our membership, increase our
Internet presence and work to promote both the social work profes
sion and our professional specialization as clinical social workers.
My devotion and commitment is strong and is focused on helping
the collective us.”
Second Vice President Dore Sheppard, MSW, DSW, LCSW
Dore Sheppard is currently an Associate Professor for the New
York University School of Social Work, teaching courses in human
behavior and social work practice. He has a private practice in Nyack
and in Manhattan. He is nearing the completion of his psychoana
lytic training at the New York University Postdoctoral Program for
Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. He is a father of three and is
lives in Walden, NY.
Recording Secretary Elizabeth Ojakian, MSW, LCSW,
CASAC, CEAP
Recording Secretary Ojakian wrote: “I graduated from New York
University in 1977 with an MSW after a few years working at the
welfare department and in a methadone maintenance program.
I had relocated from California to New York.
Over the past 33 years, I have worked at an inpatient psychiatric
hospital, various outpatient mental health and substance abuse
clinics, and at a supportive apartment program. During 28 of these
years, I have maintained a private practice and worked in the
employee assistance (EAP) field, which I continue to do today.
Along the way, I attended an institute in individual psychotherapy
(MITPP, 1982), a group therapy training program (Postgraduate,
1990), and obtained training and certification as a Credentialed
Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Counselor (Adelphi University,
1986). I was an adjunct professor at Adelphi for three years and have
taught at NYU since 1995 on a part-time basis.
Although I have been a long time member of both the NYSSCSW
and NASW, I never seemed to find time to become active. A book
group colleague convinced me to fill the position of secretary for
Welcome New Officers
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
the Met Chapter two years ago. I went on to become secretary-trea
surer of the Met Chapter and secretary of the State Board.
I had been feeling that it was time for me to give back to the
profession and help guide it into the future, and my involvement
in the Society has provided that avenue. I have also met some
wonderful and hard working people along the way, and encourage
all of you to join in with whatever time you have to make this a
stronger profession.”
Member-at-Large Monica Olivier, MSW, LMSW
Monica Olivier holds a B.A. in sociology from Stony Brook
University and an MSW from New York University. She worked
for 15 years in case management with the Rockland County
Department of Social Services and Catholic Charities of Rockland.
She is currently a member of the Web site Committee and modera
tor of the Rockland Chapter listserv. Monica is also a member of
the New York State NASW.
Member-at-Large Linda Wright, LCSW-R, MSW
Linda Wright has been a professional social worker for over 15
years. She is currently in private practice in the Holliswood section
of Queens. She specializes is marital, family, individual and African
American women’s issues.
In addition, she has a wealth of experience as a medical social
worker. She has worked in several level one trauma centers in the
New York City area, dealing with the adjustment issues of acute
or chronic medical illnesses along with various levels of crisis
situations.
Wright is also an ordained, state-licensed minister and has
devoted an additional section of her private practice to working
with patients as an interfaith therapist, dealing with the issues and
concerns of the Judeo-Christian population.
In 1990, Wright graduated from the Wurzweiler School of Social
Work at Yeshiva University. She has also trained at the Albert Ellis
Institute and is a member of the NASW. She is an active board
member of the Society’s Nassau Chapter, where she serves as the
recording secretary.
18 The Clinician
something else. Physical money does not have inherent value,
but only represents the value we assign to it. A piece of green
paper with a number and a portrait of a dead president on it
is still only a piece of paper. Ideas of money are represented
with symbols such as dollar signs and certain beliefs are
attached to this representation. Then people develop certain
attitudes toward the ideas of money and, because of these
beliefs and attitudes where money is involved, people act in
certain ways. Some of these beliefs, attitudes and behaviors
are mal-adaptive and cause problems for which a therapist’s
help becomes necessary.
On the other hand, there is no denying that money affects
not only our psyches, but also our reality. Our economy is
based on our faith in this abstract idea of money, which
causes it to have powerful effects on our lives. In response
to this reality our adaptations, our way of thinking and
feeling, our very identities are formed — sometimes in
pathological ways.
We also tend to use money as a tool or strategy to deal
with other problems, in which case our use of money is our
way of trying to adapt to these problems.
Let me offer case studies which highlight differences
between a client for whom money was merely a strategy for
achieving his ends, and one for whom money itself created
a problem.
Case Study One: An Entrepreneur
Sometimes the idea of becoming rich does fuel a client’s ac
tivity. In this case, it is not the money itself, but his fantasies
about what it will do for him, that causes problems. The first
chapter of my money and happiness book, “So You Want to
Become Rich,” provides a case study of a young man who I
call Sandy, described briefly here.
Sandy wanted to become rich and famous. In an attempt
to do so, he started an entrepreneurial project which so
preoccupied him that, outside of his day job, it took up all of
his time. He invested all the money he could spare on this
project. He was so involved that he lost contact with friends
and become socially isolated. He assumed his girlfriend
would want to be part of his plan to become rich, and never
considered her needs as an individual. So she left him, which
was the precipitating reason for his coming to therapy.
One of the things we learned during his treatment was
that since childhood he had been very good at thinking up
and effecting projects which would make money, and that his
initiative in this area had gained him his father’s approval.
Part of the underlying reason for his wanting to make money
was to gain approval (now thought of as fame) as he had in
Beyond the Last Taboo
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
the past. Another reason was that he came from a family that
was less wealthy than those of his cousins and schoolmates,
and felt excluded and snubbed by them. So he also wanted to
become so much richer and more famous than his cousins
that they would have to envy him, as he had envied them. His
beliefs about what money would do for him were primary.
His attempts to make money were just strategies for gaining
approval and for getting revenge for having been snubbed.
Case Study Two: Granddaughter of a Rich Man
A young adult woman was brought to me by her mother, who
complained that she was too rebellious. The daughter, a
Caucasian, was living with an African American man, which
the mother considered a rebellion against the family. Part of
the concern was that the daughter’s grandfather was quite
rich and she could inherit his wealth if she did not displease
him. If he knew what she was doing, however, it was likely she
would be disinherited. Because the daughter was not the one
who asked for therapy, the mother agreed to pay for her ses
sions and, on this basis, the daughter agreed to try it out.
Although this young woman had a job, she was not finan
cially independent. She had always relied on the family money
for things she could not easily afford: help with her rent, a
comfortable car, a vacation in Europe. She wanted to believe
she could be independent, but was not willing to give up her
reliance on her grandfather’s largess as a way to live a more
affluent life.
What she had not told even her mother was that she not
only lived with her African-American “boyfriend,” but was
actually married to him. Yet she could not bring him with her
on visits home for fear of causing problems. And, although
he wanted a family, she would not agree to have children for
fear of being disinherited. Although she claimed to love her
husband, her attachment to the family money was stronger
than it was to him. Unlike the case of Sandy, whose problems
were caused by fantasies about what money could do for him
in the future, in the granddaughter’s case, it was the reality of
the money itself that was a major cause of her problems. She
had grown up with a cushion of wealth that, along with the
threats of disinheritance, created in her a dependent char
acter. The best she could do in an attempt to live a relatively
independent life was to create a web of lies and deceit to get
what she wanted.
Spring 2011 19
How To Discuss Money With Clients
How can we best approach the discussion of money with our
clients? Given the possibility that, due to the money taboo,
clients may be made uncomfortable and resistant to talking
about money, how direct or circumspect should we be in ask
ing questions in this area? When and how is it appropriate to
ask such questions? Do we need to be any more careful than
we are when we ask other kinds of questions? And, are there
particular techniques we can use to assist us in addressing
money-related questions?
In the book, New Ways to Have Conversations about
Money with Our Clients, Judith Stern Peck wrote that she
believes talking about money is generally problematical. She
recommends addressing this problem by first exploring the
client’s value system in order to lay the groundwork within
the context of his values. While I agree that some clients are
resistant to talking about it, I do not believe that clients are
always so resistant to questions about their relationships to
money. I tend to be more direct, and feel comfortable asking
most clients about this relationship or pointing out some
thing about how they are relating to money whenever I think
it is pertinent and appropriate. I believe that my own comfort
in this area allows most clients to talk with me about money
without much difficulty.
Your comfort and confidence in your ability to raise
money-related questions in a way the client can accept, and
to offer clinically appropriate guidance, or even to make judi
cious use of confrontation, will depend on your having come
to terms with your own relationship to money. This is so that
you can avoid acting out countertransference having to do
with your own beliefs and attitudes about money. It will also
depend on having learned to recognize the client’s comfort
level and to understand the various ways that money can
affect a person’s development and adaptation. This requires
developing self awareness, as well as educating yourself
about money as a psychological force. There are a variety of
ways to develop your expertise in this area. Reading is one
way; a bibliography is offered on my website.
In the money and psychotherapy book, I describe six tech
niques to help clients be more comfortable discussing money
and to help them to gain insight into their “money person
alities” and money-related concerns. Briefly, I recommend
asking some questions about the client’s money history and
relationship to money during the intake interview. This is a
time when the client expects the clinician to be taking a gen
eral history, so these kinds of questions are likely to be un
derstood as being in an appropriate context. By asking such
questions at this time, the clinician also sends the message
that talking about money is not taboo within the treatment
relationship. The client’s response to such questions will also
give the clinician a sense of how comfortable the client is
about answering money-related questions. Some clients will
experience the therapist’s questions as a welcome invitation
to talk about issues they thought were taboo, and that they
may have otherwise avoided.
Where it is evident that the client’s relationship to money
is problematical and should be a focus of treatment, asking
him to write a money autobiography to be shared with the
therapist is another useful technique. It can help both of you
to become aware of how his money-based beliefs and at
titudes were formed and how this affects him in the present.
In my book, I include a detailed outline which a client can use
as a guide for writing such an autobiography. I also suggest
several questions that can be asked or exercises that can be
used, when appropriate, to draw out information about the
client’s wishes or memories having to do with money.
One technique that is often used in child therapy, but
which I use with adults as well, is to ask what the client would
wish for if a genie suddenly appeared and granted him three
magic wishes. In my experience, the client often wishes for
money. When this happens, it offers the opportunity to ask
follow-up questions such as, What would you do with the
money? or What would having the money do for you? Some
times the answers can be quite revealing. One client may
want money to help someone else, while another may want it
to support himself in splendid isolation, and a third may talk
about his desire to go to school or start a business. Thus, this
question can lead to an understanding of a client’s level of
relatedness, narcissism or aspirations.
Similarly, asking a client for his earliest memory about
money can often reveal a lot about his core concerns.
One client told me that her father held a dollar bill in his
fist and told her she could have it if she could get it from
him. She tried to pry his fingers open and begged him to
open his hand, to no avail. When, as a last resort, she tried
biting his hand to get him to open it, she was spanked.
This told me something about why she always thought of
men as withholding.
Summary
In this article, I discussed the money taboo in the clinical
work and writing in our profession, giving particular note
to how difficult it is for private practitioners to think or talk
about money except in relationship to the fee. I have empha
sized the importance of thinking about money as a psycholog
ical force affecting our clients’ development and adaptations.
I have offered suggestions about some techniques we can
use to make it easier to talk about money in psychotherapy,
and shared some brief case vignettes.
20 The Clinician
What Art Is: An Integration
GH introduced this section by sharing what he had gleaned
from his extensive research on art and survival. Namely, that
art is a psychological process that a person engages in as
part of a special type of interaction with the world. During
the initial phase of the creative process artists invest the
world with subjectivity — he does this with a particular
type of gesture (e.g. a swipe of paint on a canvas, a writ
ten phrase, a series of notes, etc). This new element, the
artist’s externalized subjectivity, becomes the focus of the
artist’s creative attention and work. Susanne Langer simi
larly describes how the artist creates “expressive form, or
apparent forms expressive of human feeling”. However this
process becomes art only when the internal subjectivity of
the artist engages the external subjectivity of the new object
in dialectic during which inner and outer subjective elements
interact and change each other — gesture follows and builds
on the previous gesture, the artwork gradually crystallizing as
a network of gestures. The direction of change in the artwork
is always towards perfecting, or “making special”. As a result
of this the artist’s subjectivity is expressed, elaborated and
refined. The artist who engages in such a psychological pro
cess does so by making use of certain types of opportunities
to create art. Art making involves the externalization of the
artist’s subjectivity. He or she accomplishes this transforma
tion through gesture.
Gesture is important to the experience of the self. Our
bodies, words, behaviors, ever changing and loaded with
emotion and intension, are observed and linked to who
we are, and most importantly who we are in the minds of
others. In other words, gestures are fundamentally implicit,
procedural forms of self-experience, and hence we may not
be conscious of the meanings of our gestures, given that
gestures are linked to emergent and preconscious expres
sions of self-in-the-world. Most importantly it is gesture in
vocalizations, body movement, and facial expressions that is
the means by which we communicate self-states, and influ
ence each other’s internal representational worlds.
Throughout life the creative person, the artist, channels
his or her unique reparatory of gestures into the disciplines,
methods, and contexts of his professional training and
practice. The artist brings to that gesture a practice of rec
ognition and selection built on a lifetime of experience. The
deepest sources of gesture are in the spontaneous, physical
processes and response to living. They come to reflect who
we are in body and mind as they are molded in the crucible of
relationships, in education, and are further refined through
knowledge, discipline, practice, criticism and appreciation.
For the artist gesture is the vehicle of meaning, fully integrat
ed into craft and elaborated by creative effort. At the same
time he/she allows her/his body and mind to respond, to
react, to make mistakes. This flexibility creates the readiness
for new, as yet unseen, gestures, and the creation of condi
tions which allow for surprise. When we say that art begins
with the externalized subjectivity of the artist we are not just
talking about feeling, or emotion.
The artist’s subjectivity is the personal experience of
being. It is the sense of self both in terms of body but also
being-in-the-world. In this sense the artist is just like us: all
human actions have a subjective signature, the unique quality
that each individual life possesses. The artist makes that
subjective signature the focus of creative work, and by means
of the creative process the artist’s being is articulated and
refined. In the best of cases, we experience the artwork as
an exquisite and powerful aesthetic experience.
A room filled with the sound of applause and the welcome
buzz of appreciation pushed us well into the time limit of
this wonderful meeting. George promised to answer many
unanswered questions and queries about the research only
lightly covered in his presentation through electronic mail.
We concluded with more applause for the lucky winners of
door prizes of current, relevant books in the field and a pass
around of the presenter’s books in print.
Selected References:
Dissanayake, E. (1992). Homo Aestheticus: Were Art Comes from and
Why. New York: The Free Press.
Dissanayake, E. (2000). Art and Intimacy: How the Arts Began. Seattle
and London: University of Seattle Press.
Dissanayake, E. (2009). The artification hypothesis and its relevance
to cognitive science, evolutionary aesthetics and neuroaesthetics.
Cognitive Semionics, #5:148-173.
Harth, E. (1995). The Creative Loop: How the Brain Makes a Mind.
Reading MA: Addison-Wesley Press.
Zeki, S. (1998). Art and the brain. Daedelus, Vol. 127.
Special thanks to Joy Sanjek, LCSW, for hosting this meeting
at her office. She and Sema Gurun, LCSW-R, are Workshop
Committee members.
The Artful Brain
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14
Spring 2011 21
22 The Clinician
Spring 2011 23
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