Diversity and Social Work Training Program 2013 Clinical Presentations

This year’s Diversity and Social Work students described their clinical cases in an enlightening series of multimedia presentations on May 1, 2013, to an audience of Ackerman faculty, students, and alumni. This annual presentation from students is not an only an opportunity for them to summarize the family therapy work done at Ackerman, but also a celebration of the completion of their year-long internship. 



(Left to right): Tiyanna McFarlene, Ashley Larkin, Faculty
Laurie Kaplan, Luis Ramirez, Faculty Sippio Small,
Amber Belle, Rebekah Adens

The goal of the Diversity and Social Work program is to increase the number of professionals of color in the family therapy profession who will be able to provide culturally relevant services to the increasingly diverse communities of New York. Despite the growing number of minority families in the United States, only 4% of family therapists are from minority backgrounds.



The interns in the program are second year graduate students from the social work schools at Hunter College, Columbia University, and New York University. During their one-year at Ackerman, students take part in live supervision and family treatment, foundational classes in family therapy, and community outreach, where they integrate their training into an outside organization. 


The five students in this year’s class included: Rebekah Adens, Amber Belle, Ashley Larken, Tiyanna McFarlane, and Luis Ramirez. Rebekah talked about her experience counseling dynamic three African-American sisters and Amber spoke about working with an alienated mother and her adolescent daughter. Amber described her time at Ackerman saying, “My experience at the DSW program this year has been one of academic, professional, and personal growth.”

Tiyanna talked about male role models with a mother and her sons, Luis described his experience of working with several families and determining what to share with each of them about himself, and Ashley discussed her therapy experience with an aggressive couple. At the end of her presentation, Ashley talked about her journey, saying, “I’m finding my voice, in hopes to help others find theirs.”

The Diversity and Social Work Program is made possible by private support from individuals and family foundations.

A Special Performance to Benefit Ackerman Institute

Q&A with producers Sarah Nedwek
Phillip Chavira, cast, and Ackerman
President/CEO Lois Braverman

On May 14, 2013, Ackerman Institute’s friends, alumni, faculty, and staff attended a special performance of Tigers Be Still, a play addressing the profound impact of depression and grief on a family. A conversation with the producers, Sarah Nedwek, Phillip Chavira, the cast, and Ackerman President & CEO, Lois Braverman followed the performance at the Drilling Company on the Upper West Side. 

Tigers Be Still is produced by Partly Cloudy People, a theatre company creating performances to raise awareness and support for non-profit organizations. We are delighted that the producers chose the Ackerman Institute as the first organization to benefit from this production. Learn more about Partly Cloudy People.

On the set of Tigers Be Still

The New York Times describes the subject matter of the play, "A big cat is actually on the prowl in Tigers Be Still, an endearing new play by Kim Rosenstock, but nobody's paying much attention to this alarming problem. A fiercer foe is the grief clawing at the hearts of all the characters, whose afflictions come in many stripes, from debilitating illness to a mother's death to a father's abandonment. The possibility of being eaten by a wild animal might be greeted with indifference, if not actually welcomed, by the benumbed, bewildered and bedridden characters in this quirk-addicted but heartfelt comedy."

In a review by Nicholas Linnehan on the website theaterthatmatters.wordpress.com, he says, “The production finds the perfect balance of humor, vulnerability, and honesty. The nuances found in this production are superb, making this off-off Broadway show feel like it should be deserving of the accolades given to Broadway and off Broadway productions. At its current ticket price of $18 it’s an absolute must-see.”

Visiting Ackerman Students from
South America at the performance

Tigers Be Still is playing at the Drilling Company through May 25th.

To learn more about the play or buy tickets, go to the website: www.partlycloudypeople.com.

Our Thoughts are with the Boston Community

Our hearts go out to the families who lost loved ones, to the many who were injured, and to those who were there to help during the senseless bombings in Boston yesterday during the Marathon. We try to make sense of violence but the truth is that it is incomprehensible.

We do know and do understand from our work with families that we are strong of spirit and resilient by nature. We will pray for our neighbors in Boston to heal and to move forward with confidence and strength. The words of Rabbi David Thomas from Boston below moved me, and I’d like to share them with you.

With warmest regards,
Lois Braverman
President and CEO, Ackerman Institute for the Family
The Boston Marathon - April 15, 2013

"More than 20,000 people ran. Everyone hoped to finish. Most ran for the personal challenge. Thousands ran for charity - to beat cancer, or Parkinson's or Autism. Very few ran hoping they would actually win the race.

More than 500,000 people watched and cheered. They were witnesses to strength, perseverance, grace, rhythm, sweat and tears and triumph. They came to celebrate the power of the human body, mind and spirit. They came to honor human kindness and generosity. They came to support friends, family members and strangers who were doing something extraordinary.

We will mourn the dead. We will cry with those who lost loved ones or limbs. We will help them heal. And as we do, we will rededicate ourselves to everything the Marathon stands for - strength and power and courage, generosity and kindness and mutual support."
--Rabbi David Thomas

The Ackerman Institute is Moving!

Ackerman Institute for the Family is excited to announce that in August of 2013, we will be moving to a new location at 936 Broadway, in the Flatiron District. This is an exciting area of town, filled with many attractions and also easily accessible via public transit. It is within 1-3 blocks of N, R, 6, 1, F, and M subway stations.

Exterior of new location at 936 Broadway

The Architect for the project is board member Arnold Syrop, who has worked tirelessly with faculty and staff to design a space that is both inviting and practical. The result will be a workplace uniquely suited to needs of Ackerman Institute’s clients, trainees, faculty, and staff.

Construction is currently underway inside the new building. The Institute will occupy the entire second and one third of the third floor of the building. The second floor will house the majority of the therapy offices, 4 studios, a waiting room, several administration offices, and a staff room. The third floor will contain two conference rooms and a few more offices.

Exterior of current location

President and CEO, Lois Braverman, says, “While I think everyone is sad to say goodbye to our current building, my hope is that the new location will offer a lot of wonderful amenities. Arnold has designed a space that will not only be impressive to our clients and comfortable for our staff, but also incorporates the latest technologies to aid us as we continue to grow and evolve.”

One of the highlights of the space will be the state-of the art classrooms, with a seating capacity of up to 100 people. In addition, the studios and offices will contain updated technology for recording sessions and projects.

The Institute’s current home was established in 1960, when a group of families treated by Dr. Ackerman established a non-profit institute to allow him to expand his training activities. The building retains the charm of bygone days, creating a sense of nostalgia and a reluctance to say farewell. The site will be missed, but everyone is very excited to be part of the expansion of the Ackerman Institute.

Spotlight on Gender and Family Project

The Gender and Family Project began a couple of years ago, and it has already been met with a lot of interest and enthusiasm because of the unique assistance and perspective it offers. The Project provides outpatient clinical services to families with gender nonconforming and transgender children and adolescents. The therapists involved in the Project provide family therapy, multi-family groups, and support in the community and the environment where the child interacts. Faculty member Jean Malpas is the director, and in the following interview, he discusses the meaning and impact of the Gender and Family Project.

Gender nonconformity has received a lot of attention in the media lately. Can you talk a little about what gender nonconformity and transgender means?

Gender and Family Project

Indeed, the issues faced by gender nonconforming children, transgendered youth and their families have been more widely discussed in mainstream media and in our profession. It is important to distinguish 2 groups of children.

The first group is the gender nonconforming group who might or might not be transgender. They might be people like you and me, who don’t fit neatly in the pink or blue box. Their gender expression doesn’t conform with the social stereotypes of masculinity and femininity.

The second group refers to transgender children or youth. These children experience a strong gender dysphoria, a discomfort with the gender they were assigned at birth. For instance, we work with biological boys who not only like girls’ toys, clothing, and hairstyles, but also identify as girls, and vice versa. For these children, it is not a phase, and they may express a desire to socially transition from boy to girl, which means changing the name and pronoun by which they are referred to, the way they are perceived by the world, and the way they are treated by their family.

 Can you talk about the Gender and Family Project here at the Ackerman Institute? 

The Gender and Family Project has been up and running for just under two years. It consists of outpatient clinical services and community groups for children, youth, and families with gender nonconforming and transgender children. Once a month we have two group meetings, one is a support group for parents and the other is a playgroup for pre-teens up to the age of 13.

Gender and Family Project Team, Jean Malpas, LMHC, LMFT
and Andrea Blumenthal, LCSW

I had several families consulting around the issues presented by their children, and I wanted them to meet one another. I believed they had a lot to learn and share with each other. Initially, only a couple of families met, but today the group has expanded to 14 families, so we now have more than 20 parents in the family group and 12 children in the play group.

When parents first attend the group, they are often distressed and uncertain about what to do for their child and how to handle the issues. The group really normalizes the situation. It shows them that other people have gone through similar challenges and found ways to raise their children in a safe and empowered way. Families exchange resources and experiences, like how to talk to schools, how to talk to other children, teachers, and grandparents. So, it is really an enormous source of relief and support.

The gender nonconforming children have often felt ostracized and socially anxious in other contexts. However, within a couple of meetings, they relax and literally blossom. Children who previously were shy or did not socialize, are eager to return to the group because they feel like they are not the odd one out, instead they can be with other children like themselves. Then it very quickly becomes just a playgroup, a space for kids to get comfortable, know each other, and have fun. It is not particularly about gender, but the group is affirmative of whatever gender expression the child might have. The impact on the children and their families is very positive.

What’s on the horizon for the GFP Project? 

Because of clinical demand, we are taking steps to open another playgroup geared towards younger children. The second group will be for pre-teens, and ultimately, we’d like to open a third group for teens. We want to be able to offer services to children at all ages and continue through teenage years.

"Summer's Different," an upcoming
dance piece on gender

Here at Ackerman, we think about the entire family system, so when there is a family with a child who is gender nonconforming or transitioning, we think about how to support everyone in the family. We would like to create a group for siblings, so they too can feel supported, can have their questions answered, and can move forward as their parents learn to be more accepting and creative in their solutions.

The Gender and Family Project team is also preparing to start doing school trainings in the next academic year. We are receiving training from a nationally recognized organization in the field of gender education. Soon, we’ll be able to not only support the family, but also the family in its environment. Through school trainings, we’ll support teachers and staff and provide them with guidance on how to think about gender in flexible ways.

We’re also very excited to be collaborating on our first artistic event on May 8th. We’re working closely with choreographer Tamar Rogoff on an hour-long dance piece called “Summer’s Different.” It’s about a family where the father starts to express his own gender nonconformity, a certain femininity and perhaps a desire to transition. The piece is not just about gender, but also about how every family is different, how roles change over time, and how families struggle to make room for everyone.

 Before the show, we will have a meet and greet with wine and cheese, and then after the dance, there will be a Q&A with the director and choreographer Tamar Rogoff, myself, and also the cast. It is meant to be open to the community, so I hope all professional and interested family members will come and enjoy this evening together. Buy tickets to “Summer’s Different” now.

So far, we’ve been able to operate the Project on a volunteer basis through the gracious donations of families that can afford it. As we are getting ready to expand our services, we would be grateful for any support for the Project. Thank you!

Learn more about Gender Variance in the video series, “Short Conversations with Jean Malpas.”

Diversity and Social Work Reunion

Diversity and Social Work students came together at the Ackerman Institute on Friday, February 22nd, for a class reunion and celebration dinner. The evening brought new interns into contact with alumni of the program, inaugurating them into the network of successful Ackerman graduates.

2013 Reunion of Diversity and Social Work alumni

Diversity and Social Work Faculty Laurie Kaplan and Sippio Small were in attendance helping to facilitate connections between the alumni and students

The reunion was marked by an exciting energy uniting the group, as alumni shared their professional advancements and accomplishments. One current intern, Tiyanna McFarlene, shared a recently published paper on which she was a contributing researcher, entitled “Bullying and Children in the Child Welfare Center” published by The National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections. Download the article here on their website.

Also in attendance at the reunion was Board Member Arthur Maslow, who founded the Diversity and Social Work Program in 1992. Arthur expressed his satisfaction at seeing so many successful interns in the community making a difference. Mr. Maslow was joined by Ackerman President and CEO, Lois Braverman, who talked about the importance of continuing to train therapists that reflect the diversity of the communities in which they work.

To learn more about the Diversity and Social Work program, visit www.ackerman.org.

Upcoming Alumni Lecture

Please join us for our next Alumni Association Meeting on Friday, March 29th, 2013. Reception is from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., followed by the presentation at 6:30 p.m - 8:30 p.m.

Our alumni presentation will bring world renowned meditation teacher, Sharon Salzberg, to Ackerman Institute. One of the Western world's leading and most influential teachers of Buddhist meditation practices; she is also a New York Times bestselling author.

The cultivation of attention is a major skill in Buddhist practice. Meditation is one of the central practices in developing attention and mindfulness. The cultivation of these practices can be enormously helpful to our work with clients and one of the best places to begin with these practices is with ourselves. It can help us "keep our seat," when things come up for us as therapists and give us tools to help cope with our own stress and our compassion fatigue/burnout. It can influence the way in which we work, live our lives and confront challenges.

What is the role of mindful presence in the therapy session? It can add depth and perspective in the many moments we spend with our clients. Like the breath, mindfulness comes and goes, but when difficult moments come up for both our clients and ourselves, it is particularly important to find ways to stay present. Join this presentation and learn about enriching your natural capacity for compassion as well as calmness, composure and self-possession.

Whether you already engage in meditation practice or are mildly curious to learn about it, our next alumni presentation with Sharon Salzberg is not to be missed! Sharon has been leading meditation retreats around the world for over three decades. She is often a featured speaker and teacher at a wide variety of events and has served as a panelist with the Dalai Lama and leading scientists at the 2005 Mind and Life Conference in Washington, DC.

Please register and pay your fee prior to the lecture. Alumnae/i must pay the $60 annual fee to attend. Alumnae/i dues may be paid online. The fee for students is $10 per lecture; the fee for guests is $25 per lecture. RSVP by March 25th, 2013 to Rebecca Kucsan at rkucsan@ackerman.org.