Interest Groups
By Betty Pristera
Near Ground Zero and the unspeakable horror, loss and courage of the tragedy of September 11, 19 interest groups joined forums, roundtables and a stellar program of plenary sessions for AFTA's Twenty-fourth Annual Meeting in New York City. The theme, Reflection, Connection and Action in a Changing World, formed the foundation for evocative, disturbing and healing meetings beckoning the membership to open their hearts and minds wider still to the issues of human rights, regard and justice. Under the superbly able leadership of Jeri and Ivan Inger, the meeting went forth in support for the city of New York and its residents and in thanksgiving for the blessing of life itself. Woven into the fabric and the heart of this AFTA meeting were the unmistakable themes of redemption and reconciliation. Blessed by and empowered by the stunning and awe-inspiring account of Linda Biehl and the late Peter Biehl's responses to the death of their daughter, the membership was a witness to and was challenged by the breath and depth of human suffering, to stretch mightily, as the Biehls have done, for the very far reaches of the capabilities of human forgiveness and the tenderness of mercy.
Several interest groups dealt directly with the events of September 11. John Rolland chaired the Illness and Disability Interest Group focusing on the complexities of the grieving, recovery and healing process, especially in the face of lack of physical evidence of death. Pauline Boss, a leading expert in this area, joined this interest group presenting her work with families of labor union members employed in the World Trade Center. The Postmodern and Narrative Interest Groups held a joint meeting this year, chaired by Janet Adams-Westcott, Thorana Nelson and Joellyn Ross. The impact of September 11 on our thinking, teaching and clinical practice was explored through case examples inviting reflection on the impact of our changing world on our work as family therapists. Healing Groups for Relational Trauma, chaired by Marcia Sheinberg, highlighted a group the Chair and Fiona True have been facilitating for family members who lost loved ones on September 11. This interest group examined therapist reactions, relational trauma and also community building as an aspect of healing. In The Narrative of the Therapist—Creative Uses of Writing as a Therapeutic Tool, Robert Carroll, poet extraordinaire, chaired this interest group which dealt with creative uses of the written voice in the grieving, transformation, healing and growth of both therapist and client. In addition to this interest group and acting on the confidence of the written word to console and heal, Robert facilitated a linked poem, a collective of members' written reflections generated by the tenor and focus of the meeting.
Reaction to violence formed a predominant theme in this year's annual meeting. The Jewish Families Interest Group, chaired by Rosalind Edelstein, focused on the changes violence has brought to family constellations in Israel. Don-David Lusterman joined this interest group presenting on the effects of suicidal violence on Israeli families. In this same group, Charlotte Speigelman gave a descriptive presentation on attempts for dialogue between Jews and Muslims in Los Angeles, with special emphasis on how the relationship has affected children and their families.
Many other interest groups also addressed issues specifically affected by our changing times. Scott Browing directed the Stepfamilies Interest Group with an emphasis on adult stepchildren. Peggy Penn and Susan McDaniel chaired the Writing as Therapeutic Conversation Interest Group exploring the uses of writing and e-mail in the clinical setting. In Families and Technology, Evan Imber-Black directed this interest group which generated many diverse feelings and thoughts on the applications for the effective uses of multiple technologies—computers, the Internet and cell phones—on and with couples and families.
Continuing with an emphasis on the changing landscape of clinical practice, Hinda Winawer chaired the Substance Abuse in Context Interest Group, dealing with the interface of systems and addictions with attention to biopsychosocial phenomena including traumatic stress. Jane Ariel and Anne Bernstein directed the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender People and their Allies Interest Group with an emphasis on the therapeutic challenges presented by cross-household families including shared custody and co-parenting arrangements which do not involve co-residence. In the Couples Therapy and Psychoanalysis Interest Group, Fred Sander led an exploration of how the rapidly changing psychoanalytic landscape can be integrated with couples' therapy. Also addressing clinical perspectives on couples' work, Susan Johnson and Mona Fishbane chaired the New Relational Perspectives—Applications for Couple Therapy Interest Group. New models and their direct implications for practice were contrasted with more traditional models and interventions, inviting dialogue regarding their therapeutic uses. The Brief and Short-term Interactive Psychotherapy Interest Group, chaired by Piero De Giacomo, looked at the difference between being in the interaction and defining, ranking, and reflecting on the interaction.
Issues relating to our role as teachers formed the focus of two interest groups. Ellen Berman, Ellen Landau and Betsy Wood chaired the Teaching Systems in Psychiatric Residencies Interest Group which invited collaboration on what should be taught, what residents should be competent to do and how these issues impact training in psychiatry and family therapy. In the Collaboration Between Family Therapy and Narrative Practice Interest Group, Kilian Fritsch and John Brendler directed attention to the reflections of a narrative study group on viewing clinical work involving a family with an eating disorder. Upon the family's viewing of the narrative group's reactions, conversation was stimulated regarding the potential benefits of this collaborative process between the family and the therapists.
Inherent in the focus of this meeting, issues of power were highlighted. Racial Domination and Privilege, chaired by Jacqueline Hudak provided a forum for conversation about privilege, oppression, domination and justice. Charlotte Spiegeman and Don-David Lusterman led the Gender Dialogue Interest Group which stimulated reflection and connection on the experience, perception and meaning of power and powerlessness.
The consideration of the interrelation of science and social process stimulated an interest group chaired by Martha Edwards. The Interplay of Nature and Nurture: A Conversation with David Reiss, highlighted David Reiss as discussant of two studies examining the interplay of genetic influences and family and social processes as they mutually affect one another. With a related perspective on the interplay of medicine and clinical work, Ema Genijovich, continuing as chair of the ethics interest group, focused this year's attention on Ethical Dilemmas: The Medicalization of Therapy. This presentation involved the ethical considerations raised by the use and abuse of medication and the concerns generated by the impact of medical approaches on systemic perspectives.
Interspersed throughout the meeting was the inevitable and palpable backdrop and reminders of the issues of safety and security. However present these concerns may have been for the membership, there was a stronger presence of the resilience of the human heart and spirit. It came clear in the regard and the careful listening for the strains of our human connection. It came clear in the utter joy in seeing one another again, safe and sound. Though tattered and worn by the times, we go forward, not as one, but as all, with the remembrance of our collective history and with the promise of the future we will all create together.
Betty Pristera MSS, LCSW, is a Marriage and Family Therapist in Private Practice in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and a Charter member of AFTA. She was formerly Coordinator of Marriage and Family Therapy Training in the Duke University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry before going into private practice in January 1974.
