A Pocketful of Miracles | Kristallnacht at HERC
2024-11-09 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | The Challenger Learning Center, 200 S. Duvall Street, Tallahassee, Florida, United States
Aviva Kempner. Photo: Brian Guthrie

Join us for Kristallnacht Film!HERC is pleased to welcome filmmaker, director, and producer Aviva Kempner, who creates successful and critically-acclaimed documentaries about social justice.

In A Pocketful of Miracles: A Tale of Two Siblings, she chronicles her mother Hanka and uncle Dudek Ciesla’s lives before and during World War II.

The mission of the Holocaust Education Resource Council works to build hope and silence all hate, including antisemitism, by providing instructional guidance, support and resources for educators who teach the history of the Holocaust, and other educational programs for the community at large.

A Pocketful of MiraclesMichael BerenbaumSurvivors’ Memoirs are often divided into three chapter Before, During and After and the story of the Ciesla family so beautifully told in Powerful of Miracles is no exception. Aviva Kempner, the award-winning filmmaker whose work ranges from the Partisans of Vilna to the Hank Greenberg Story, the Detroit Tiger slugger who came close to beating Babe Ruth iconic record of 60 home runs and who achieved the enduring admiration of his fellow Jews for sitting out a Yom Kippur game, gets most deeply personal in this film. She tells the story of her mother and her uncle. Cutting between the two narratives of two privileged siblings, each telling their story to the Shoah Foundation. Though taken separately, Kempner weaves them successful into a single narration, each sibling building on the other, seemingly responding to each other.Children of privilege Helen and David were born to a wealthy family living in a marvelous villa in Sosnowiec filled with books, decorated with marble, a garden, tennis court and stables. Their mother, a linguist taught them many languages including Hebrew. They had loving parents who not only dotted on them but uncharacteristically for that time and culture were deeply and openly affectionate with each other. They rode horses and lived a life of comfort before. Their father understood the dangers that were looming and prepared for them with Swiss bank accounts and papers for emigration, yet their mother refused to go. She would not. she could not, leave her mother behind.And then!The story of before always ends with and then!And then the Germans invaded: their home was confiscated by the Germans even before the Jews were ghettoized. For the Ciesla family this was a rude awakening, privileged no longer they were forced to move to a walk-up apartment in the center of town with a communal toilet in the hall. Worse were certain to come. Deportation. The family was deported but not before their maternal grandmother was shot. Helen’s words still startle: “that was the best thing that happened to her. She wasn’t tortured.” David completes her sentence: “she was better off. Auschwitz was waiting for her.”For David, his parents, and his younger sister Fanya, their destination was Auschwitz-Birkenau and selektion. Mother and daughter sent to their death. Father and son survive the selektion and are sent to work expanding the camp. David only tells part of the story, omitting some moments of extreme brutality, highlighting a moment of rare courage when he faced the barrel of cocked gun but would not betray his father. He also speaks movingly about the kindness of a fellow prisoner. Hearing his testimony, one again understands a most basic truth of human suffering. It certainly better not to suffer, but if you must suffer It is better to suffer with someone and not alone. David’s father continued to take care of his son even in the shadow of death. They sustain each other And when David is taken to the sick bay after a bout of dysentery, his father who believes that his son is lost, loses his own hope and his will to survive.Helen was taken from the deportation place where her family boarded their death train back into the ghetto to sort what was left behind – the Germans not only wanted to kill the Jews but also to loot their property, to enrich themselves and the Reich. This provided her an opportunity to escape. She is hidden by Poles whom her family knew but cannot stay with them for fear of being identified and endangering them. She is able to get false paper identifying her as a Polish non-Jew and is incarcerated in a Polish work camp.While Helen’s language is colorful, David is restrained.The story of the siblings takes a fascinating turn after. For David there is the driving desire to go back home and to find if Helen is still alive – that was the most urgent need of so many survivors. Helen’s linguistic skills gets her a job with UNRRA, and after a time and a struggle the siblings are reunited with Helen and her soon to be husband, an Jewish American reporter having an important role in the DP camp and David joining in.The ending is storybook. David comes to the United States penniless and with drive and desire gets an education, high school and college, rags to riches, he creates a financial empire and Helen becomes a world class artists whose works hang in US Embassies and even in the Plains Georgia home of Roslynn and Jimmy Carter. Only in America. David speaks of his gratitude, recalling his status as arriving in the United States as a DP, Displaced Person, he speaks of himself as a DP. Delayed Pilgrim.As survivors Helen and David have a story to tell, a legacy to transmit. And Helen’s daughter Aviva weaves it together into a moving tapestry. Before was whole, full, joyous. And then During, shattering, brokenness, death, destruction and loss. And After is the long journey back from that place to a world that is whole again. The great Hasidic master Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Kotzzk once said: “nothing is a whole as a heart that has been broken and mended.”Pocketful of Miracles is a film not to be missed. Michael Berenbaum is an American scholar, professor, rabbi, writer, and filmmaker, who specializes in the study of the Holocaust.

See also: Jody Blecker. Interview | Aviva Kempner’s ‘A Pocketful of Miracles’. 9 May 2024. Moment Magazine. https://momentmag.com/aviva-kempners-pocketful-of-miracles/

Kindertransport Commemoration
2024-12-01 14:00 - 16:00 | Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280, United States
The rescue network known as the Kindertransport saved the lives of nearly 10,000 children between the years of 1938 and 1940 by transporting them from Nazi Germany to England. This year marks the 85th anniversary of the Kindertransport.

To commemorate the arrival of the first Kindertransport in England on December 2, 1938, the Museum and the Kindertransport Association present a screening of the short films 256,000 Miles from Home and Dreyfus Drei. 256,000 Miles from Home follows four Kindertransport survivors as they retrace the route they took from their homelands to England and Dreyfus Drei tells the story of Australian Jewish artist Ella Dreyfus and her quest to unearth her family’s lost Holocaust history.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Dreyfus; Melissa Hacker, Executive Director of the KTA and director of 256,000 Miles from Home; Ilse Melamid, Kindertransport survivor; and Eva Yachnes, Kindertransport survivor. The program will be moderated by Dr. Eva Fogelman, renowned psychologist and author of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated book Conscience and Courage: Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust.

Opening of the Judith S. Kestenberg Papers at the Library of Congress
2025-01-19 14:00 - 17:00 | 2211 Broadway, 10024 New York, NY
Eva Fogelman will give a talk and participate in a panel discussion: Interviews with Holocaust Child Survivors as it Relates to the Field of Psychohistory

Join us in celebrating the legacy of Judith S. Kestenberg, a Jewish-Polish-American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. Renowned for her pioneering work on the psychodynamics of bodily movement and her psychohistorical studies on the Holocaust, Dr. Kestenberg’s contributions have left an indelible mark on fields of mental health, movement behaviour research, dance/movement therapy and Holocaust studies.

Please RSVP to: kestenbergarchive@gmail.com

This archive, now part of the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress, provides unparalleled insights into Dr. Kestenberg’s life-work offering a resource for scholars and the general public alike. The event will include opening addresses and a panel discussion from life-long collaborators and students of Kestenberg and a presentation of select items from the archival collection. We look forward to welcoming you to this special event celebrating a life dedicated to community, creativity, prevention of trauma and healing.

Date: 01/19/2025Time: 2pm – 5pmLocation: 2211 Broadway, 10024 New York, NY

This event is made possible by the generous support of the Hungarian Fulbright Foundation.

Program:14:15 – 14:25Janka Kormos: Making of the Judith S. Kestenberg Archive & Kestenberg’s Legacy within the History of Psy-sciences14:25 – 14:35Janet Kestenberg Amighi: The Kestenberg Movement Profile and the Question of Cultural Diversity14:35 – 14:45Susan Loman: Inspirations from Judith Kestenberg’s Center for Parents and Children applied to Dance-Movement Therapy14:45 – 14:55K. Mark Sossin: The Aspiration of Primary Prevention Throughout the Work of Judith Kestenberg14:55 – 15:05Silvia Birklein: The Kestenberg Movement Profile and the Embodiment of Emotions in Social Justice, Politics, and Social Transformations15:05 – 15:15Eva Fogelman: Interviews with Holocaust Child Survivors as it Relates to the Field of Psychohistory15:15-15:25Helene Bass-Wichelhaus: Working with Judith Kestenberg on the Psychoanalytic Understanding of the Coding Process in Psychohistorical Studies on the Holocaust

15:35 -15:55Panel discussion on personal recollections of working with Judith S. KestenbergParticipants: Janet Kestenberg Amighi, Susan Loman, Helene Bass-Wichelhaus, K. Mark Sossin, Eva FogelmanChair: Janka Kormos

Organizer:Janka KormosCommittee: Janet Kestenberg Amighi, Susan Loman, K. Mark Sossin and the Hungarian Fulbright Foundation

See also: Eva Fogelman. Echoes of Children’s Survival: Opening the Kestenberg Archive Online

See also: History of Science Society website.

Contemporary poets respond to the Holocaust
2025-01-28 19:00 - 22:00 | Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan (L2 Auditorium), 334 Amsterdam Ave, New York, New York, 10023, United States
AFTER: Poetry Destroys Silence: Screening followed by Q+A with producer and poet Janet R. Kirchheimer, poet and actor Géza Röhrig, and poet Edward Hirsch, moderated by Eva Fogelman. Tue, Jan 28, 7 pm, Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan (L2 Auditorium). $18AFTER: Poetry Destroys Silence is a deep dive into the creative responsibility of writers when faced with holocaust, catastrophe and genocide. Do they bury their heads in the sand or do they reach out to the world with their creative gift?

The first of its kind, where poetry and cinema combine and transcend, AFTER is an exploration of poetry written about the Shoah. Contemporary poets respond to the Holocaust and talk about the importance and necessity for poetry in a world that still grapples with genocide. Weaving a narrative, each poem has its own story, main character(s), and point of view, each acting as a short island with the entire film. AFTER also interlaces sequences of music, archival footage, personal photographs, and documents. The power of the words, performances, commentary, cinematic interpretations, sounds, and silences bring the poems to life on screen, offering a modern chronicle of poets examining history and the current day.

AFTER Trailer

Richard Kroehling. Photo Provided.

Director Richard Kroehling is a multidisciplinary artist, film director, multi-media maker, painter and poet. At university Kroehling was a student of iconic Hollywood director Nick Ray and avant-garde Austrian cinema artist Peter Kubelka, Kroehling’s works include feature films, mainstream television, non-fiction, video art, photography, poetry and installation media art.

See also: Nell Minow. After: Poetry Destroys Silence. 1 Nov 2024. RogerEbert.com

The poet Alicia Suskin Ostriker tells us what only poetry can do: “Poetry goes below the surface….in a way that journalism and academic language can never do. Poetry is what poets do with trauma.” She explains that the economy of poetry, the very aspect that can initially seem obscure, invites us to engage. “What is not said is just as important because it pulls the audience in and makes them be co-creators of the poem.” In the same way, this film immerses us and makes us participants in sharing the poets’ words.

Hannah Senesh
2025-10-21 08:00 - 17:00 | Theater Row, 410 W 42nd Street, New York, New York, 10036
“Hannah Senesh” premiered last night (October 19th) and will run until November 11th at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street.)

Click on this link for info about performances: https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/hannah-senesh/.Talkbacks of Note for the Minyan M’at Community:

October 26th at 5 pm: Eva Fogelman

November 4th at 1 pm: Matti FriedmanNovember 5th at 1 pm: Rabbi Viktoria (Viki) Bedo

Nominated for a Drama Desk Award for best solo performance (Lori Wilner), this electrifying solo play with music brings to life the extraordinary true story of Hannah Senesh — a fearless young Hungarian woman whose courage defied tyranny. As World War II looms, Hannah leaves her home to help build a Jewish state, only to later parachute behind Nazi lines on a daring rescue mission to save her fellow Jews — including her own mother — from the horrors of the Holocaust. A stirring portrait of resistance, resilience, and hope, this one-woman tour de force is as inspiring as it is unforgettable. More information at nytf.orgStarring Jennifer Apple as Hannah SeneshPlease note: Jennifer Anna Marie Medley will be performing as Hannah Senesh on 10/26 at 5PMPlease contact groupsales@nytf.org for group pricing

Theatre Three10/19/2025-11/09/2025

Written and directed by David Schechter

Developed in collaboration and originally performed by Lori Wilner

Composed and arranged by Steven Lutvak

Additional songs by Elizabeth Swados and David Schechter

Based on the diaries and poems of Hannah Senesh

@National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene@folksbiene

Stories Survive: “Family Treasures” Book Talk
2025-10-22 19:00 - 21:00 | Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280, United States
In her memoir, Family Treasures Lost and Found, journalist Karen A. Frenkel investigates her relatives’ unspoken stories of survival and the extremely unlikely odds of escaping the Nazis. Family Treasures is her detective story; an intergenerational sleuthing adventure using journalistic and genealogical research techniques to fill gaps in her family’s unspoken wartime tales.This memoir is more than a personal story, though; Karen provides historical and cultural context to her parents’ and sole-surviving grandfather’s unusual plights. They were not interned in concentration camps and survived through cunning and luck, which underscores their renewed relevance to displaced persons today. Her astonishing revelations document her family’s travails while enslaved or hounded across Europe, Cuba, Mexico, and to New York and Palestine. They illuminate the hidden truths surrounding tragic losses. Family Treasures also covers the pre-war culture of assimilated Polish Jews, enabled by an inherited collection of family portraits in oil and pastel, hundreds of photographs, documents and artifacts brought here by her great-grandparents, who escaped Berlin in late 1940. Karen also details ferocious antisemitism, key moments in WWII, resistance to fascism, altruism, serendipity, and great loss. Ultimately, Karen solves many mysteries, honors her parents and the lost, and is rewarded with a deep sense of connection to those she never met.

Frenkel will be in conversation about her book with Dr. Eva Fogelman.

Dr. Eva Fogelman is a licensed psychologist, author, filmmaker. She is a founder of the Second Generation movement as well as the Hidden Child Foundation. Fogelman wrote and co-produced the award-winning film Breaking the Silence: The Generation After the Holocaust and is author of the Pulitzer Prize nominee, Conscience and Courage: Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust.

This program is co-presented by Descendants of Holocaust Survivors and is part of their Transforming Moments: Second Generation of Holocaust Survivor program.

Eva Fogelman in Conversation with Sandee Brawarsky
2025-10-30 12:00 - 13:00 | Online Zoom RSVP
Join us in conversation with prominent psychologist and 2G Eva Fogelman and award-winning journalist Sandee Brawarsky, as they explore the legacy of the 2G experience from a personal and psychological perspective.

Click here to register and get a Zoom link.

Dr. Eva Fogelman

Sandee Brawarsky

This Ordinary Thing | Q&A with Eva Fogelman
2025-12-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Cinema Village, 22 East 12th Street, New York, New York, 10003, United States
Haunting and unforgettable, This Ordinary Thing tells the story of non-Jews who helped save Jewish people across Europe during The Holocaust. The film combines never-before-seen archival footage with the testimonies of over forty different people who, working independently and at great risk to themselves and their families, saved thousands of Jewish strangers from almost certain death. Narrated by an all-star cast, the film is a timely reminder of the pockets of goodness that can rise in a sea of evil: everyday people helping others who were “different” from them.

Screening Firday December 5 to Thursday December 11 at the Cinema Village, 22 East 12th Street, NYC. For more information:

212) 924-3363 (Movies schedule)(212) 924-3364 (Box Office)info@cinemavillage.com

• Q&A on Friday 12/5 after 7pm show, with Director Nick Davis and composer Adam Guettel.

• Q&A on Saturday 12/6 after 7pm show, with Eva Fogelman, Psychologist, Filmmaker and author of Conscience and Courage: Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust.

• Q&A on Sunday 12/7 after 1pm show, with Editor Josh Freed.

• Q&A on Sunday 12/7 after 7pm show, with Executive Producer Albert M. Tapper.

• Q&A on Thursday 12/11 after 7pm show, with Director Nick Davis and actor Bill Irwin.

Notably, none of the people featured in the film thought of themselves as heroes. And yet the film, with immense contemporary resonance, causes each of us to ask ourselves “What would I have done?”

From Emmy-winning filmmaker Nick Davis comes This Ordinary Thing — a powerful and deeply moving documentary about ordinary people who performed extraordinary acts of courage during the Holocaust.

Through never-before-seen archival footage and the testimonies of over forty individuals, the film tells the stories of non-Jews who risked their lives—and the lives of their families—to save Jewish strangers across Europe.

Narrated by an all-star cast including Helen Mirren, F. Murray Abraham, Carrie Coon, Jeremy Irons, Ellen Burstyn, and Stephen Fry, the film explores how compassion and humanity can prevail even in a sea of darkness. None of the rescuers thought of themselves as heroes, yet their bravery echoes across generations, asking us all: What would I have done?

Featuring a haunting original score by Tony Award–winner Adam Guettel (The Light in the Piazza, Floyd Collins), This Ordinary Thing is a timeless reminder that small acts of goodness can shine through the darkest chapters of history.

The film is Executive Produced by Albert M. Tapper (Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy).

Nick Davis Documentary ‘This Ordinary Thing’ Official Trailer. YouTube.

Community Yom Hashoah Commemoration
2026-04-13 19:15 - 20:30 | Jewish Community Center of Harrison, New York, 130 Union Avenue, Harrison, New York, 10528, United States
Eva Fogelman

Together as one community let us gather to remember our 6 million martyrs in a brief program consisting of readings, music and prayer. The featured speaker will be Dr. Eva Fogelman, pioneer expert on intergenerational transmission of trauma.

This year’s program will be held at the JCCH. Some of our teens will be participating in the commemoration. Registration required

yom hashoah harrison, NY 2026 programDownload

UnBroken Screening honoring the Weber Siblings' 80th Anniversary in America
2026-05-17 11:00 - 14:00 | Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280, United States
Screening of UnBroken followed by a Q&A with director Beth Lane, moderated by Eva Fogelman, PhD

In recognition of 80 years after their extraordinary journey to freedom, the story of the seven Weber siblings — among the only known group of Jewish siblings to survive the Holocaust together — will be honored with a special commemorative screening of the award-winning documentary UnBroken in New York this May.

Unbroken, directed by Beth Lane. Provided.

On May 17, 2026, the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust and The Weber Family Arts Foundation will host a landmark screening of UnBroken alongside the descendants of the Weber siblings, whose lives were forever shaped by war, separation and resilience. This will be an historic homecoming in the city where their new lives in America began — just a few blocks from Pier 64, where the first vessel to transport Holocaust survivors from Bremerhaven to the United States docked, under President Truman’s December 1945 emergency directive.

The Weber siblings’ survival is nothing short of extraordinary. After losing their mother at Auschwitz, the children were hidden for two years on a farm in Germany by Paula and Arthur Schmidt (Righteous Among the Nations), whose courage and humanity saved their lives. Bound by their father’s final instruction — to always stay together — the siblings endured unimaginable hardship before ultimately finding freedom and rebuilding their lives in America. Upon arrival at Pier 64, newspapers across the country ran photographs of the Weber siblings, one of which hangs in the final gallery of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

“This film is about the power of unity, the courage to do what is right, and the refusal to stand by in the face of injustice,” said Filmmaker Beth Lane. “It’s a tribute not only to my family, but to the individuals who risked everything to save them.”

The 80th anniversary events serve as both remembrance and celebration, honoring the lives the siblings built in the United States and the legacy they pass on to future generations and honors Jewish American Heritge Month.

“These gatherings are more than commemorations,” Lane added. “They are a testament to survival, to family, and to the enduring belief that even in humanity’s darkest moments, there is light. Our new Learning Guide, developed with Journeys in Film, offers learners the opportunity to exercise their muscles of empathy and compassion.”

UnBroken Official Trailer

Pathways to Healing Transgenerational Holocaust Trauma
2026-05-29 14:05 - 15:05 | International Psychohistorical Association
I warmly invite you to participate in our 49th Annual Conference, titled Breaking Cycles of Violence: Psychohistorical Perspectives on Individual and Collective Healing. The conference will take place May 29–31, 2026, and will explore the psychological roots of violence as well as pathways toward healing at both individual and collective levels.

Breaking Cycles of Violence. International Psychohistorical Association’s 49th annual conferenceMAY 29-31, 2026 (Friday – Sunday)

I will be presenting on Pathways to Healing Transgenerational Holocaust Trauma. This panel explores the psychological legacy of Holocaust trauma across generations, focusing on the work of Judith Kestenberg, Holocaust child survivors, second-generation survivors, identity formation, testimony, resilience, and pathways toward healing. Helene, Ira and I will examine how psychoanalytic and psychohistorical understanding may help address the enduring impact of collective trauma.

Short Bios:

Eva Fogelman, PhD, is a psychologist, filmmaker, and author specializing in Holocaust survivors, rescuers, and historical trauma.

Ira Brenner, M.D., is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Sidney Kimmel Medical School and author of numerous works on psychic trauma.

Helene Bass-Wischelhaus, PhD, is President of Child Development Research and co-chair of the International Study of Organized Persecution of Children.

Then, on Sunday May 31 at 9:05am – 11:05 am I will be chairing a panel, Starting Violence Prevention from Birth-Three: Judith Kestenberg’s Nonverbal Approach.

International Psychohistorical Association’s 49th annual conferenceMAY 29-31, 2026 (Friday – Sunday)

Panelists: Susan Loman, K. Mark Sossin, and Janet Kestenberg Amighi

Bios:

K. Mark Sossin, PhD, is Professor Emeritus/Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Pace University and former Director of the PhD Program in Clinical Psychology, Health Care Emphasis. He is a clinical psychologist; adult, child, and adolescent psychoanalyst; couples and infant-parent psychotherapist; Training Analyst and instructor at the Contemporary Freudian Society; and Clinical Faculty/Supervisor at the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Adelphi University. He is co-author of The Meaning of Movement: Embodied Developmental, Clinical, and Cultural Perspectives of the Kestenberg Movement Profile and co-editor of Healing After Parent Loss in Childhood and Adolescence and Mothers, Infants and Young Children of September 11, 2001: A Primary Prevention Project. He is Director of the Mind, Movement, Interaction, & Development (MMID) Research Group at Pace, where he pursues research in infancy, nonverbal behavior, applications of the Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP), mind-body relations, ASD, trauma transmission, and the psychological impact of the Holocaust and state-sponsored genocide. Dr. Sossin is primarily located in Ontario, NY. He can be reached at kmsossin@gmail.com.

Janet Kestenberg Amighi is an anthropologist who has done research in cooperation with the Zoroastrians of Iran, Balinese of Indonesia, and Mexican mushroom workers in Pennsylvania. Her books include The Meaning of Movement: Embodied Developmental, Clinical and Cultural Perspectives on the KMP (ed.1 &2), with Susan Loman and K. Mark Sossin; The Zoroastrians of Iran: A History of Transformation and Survival, with Bahman Moradian). She can be reached at jkamighi@msn.com.

Susan Loman, M.A., BC-DMT (Ret), NCC, KMP certified analyst, professor emeritus, Dir, MA program in DMT and counseling (1987–2017) Antioch University; ADTA approval committee (2014–16); Co-editor of American Journal of Dance Therapy (2011-2014); AJDT Editorial Board 2014 – present); Chair Education Committee ADTA (1995-1999); The Arts and Psychotherapy Editorial Board (1996-2011). Dance/movement therapist at Judith Kestenberg’s Center (1978-1987); Co-Author of The Meaning of Movement. KMP trainings were conducted in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Argentina, China, England, Scotland, South Korea, the Netherlands, and the United States. Director of the KMP committee. Susan Loman received the ADTA lifetime achievement award (2014), and the lifetime achievement award from the European Center for Dance Therapy (2017). She can be reached at sloman@antioch.edu.

What Is This Conference About?

How do we break the cycles of violence — within ourselves, our families, and our societies — that perpetuate suffering across generations? What can psychohistory contribute to understanding and transforming these deep patterns? The 2026 IPhA Annual Conference invites scholars, clinicians, educators, and activists to explore these vital questions from both individual and collective perspectives.

This year’s theme, “Breaking Cycles of Violence: Psychohistorical Perspectives on Individual and Collective Healing,” calls for dialogue between psychology, history, and social practice. Participants are encouraged to examine the roots of violence, the dynamics of trauma, and the possibilities of repair and transformation in a fractured world.

Our program will unfold across three major strands:

Understanding Individual and Collective Psychology– The study of lives and psychobiographies– Living in an age of AI– Dealing with trauma and breaking cycles of transgenerational trauma

Social Divisions and Identities– “Why Wars?”: Overcoming state violence in a dysfunctional world– Modern social perversions: human trafficking, scapegoating, groupthink, censorship– Generational divides: social and clinical aspects– Migration and identity: psychohistorical dynamics of displacement and belonging

Pathways to Healing and Transformation– Cultural healing, resilience, and positive transformation– Social justice, human rights, and nonviolent communication– Women and leadership in our changing world

Who We Are

We are clinicians, historians and other scholars from diverse disciplines who seek to understand how history, public affairs, and culture shape and are shaped by individual and group psychology. The IPhA is open to all who wish to study, teach, and conduct research in psychohistory.

Eugene Delacroix. Liberty Leading the People. Louvre.
