ADOLESCENT MASS SHOOTINGS:
Saturday, December 14, 2024, 12pm – 3pm EST/ NYC time
NINA CERFOLIO (Presenter):
“The Psychosis of the Perverted Society:
What Loads the Guns of Unseen Adolescents“
HARRIET FRAAD (Discussant):
“American Males Are in Crisis;
They Are All of America’s Mass Shooters. Why?”
BRIAN D’AGOSTINO (Discussant):
“Beyond Punitive Families and Schools:
Reforming America’s Culture of Violence.”
Moderator: GABRIELA GUSITA
This event is free, but RSVP is required:
REGISTRATION FORM
[You will receive the Zoom link after you RSVP.]
In the developed world, lethal violence involving firearms is a uniquely American epidemic. Since 2020, deaths from firearm-related incidents have been the number one cause of death of children and adolescents in our country. Not surprisingly, states with stricter firearms regulations have lower firearm-related pediatric mortality rates. Exposure to violence committed with firearms gives rise to cycles of trauma and fear within our communities, contributing to the nation’s mental health crisis. Most American adults say that they worry about a loved one becoming a victim of an armed attack.
Similar to many of our children who have now survived two school shootings, Dr. Nina Cerfolio, while doing humanitarian work, also survived two terrorist attacks. These traumatic events catalyzed a desire within Dr. Nina Cerfolio to more deeply understand the origins of destructive aggression.
To understand mass shootings, Dr. Cerfolio and her research team studied the profiles of mass shooters. The Mother Jones database of 115 mass shootings (from 1982-2019) was used to study retrospectively 55 perpetrators in the US. In this award-winning, cutting-edge psychiatric research, they found that the majority (87.5%) of these individuals who committed mass shootings often suffered from undiagnosed and untreated psychiatric illness. Most assailants experienced childhood abuse and marginalization, which rendered them more vulnerable to their untreated psychosis and to online radicalization, which fostered their violence. Though some might label these terrorized perpetrators as monstrous, what was done to them as children is as tragic as the violence they committed.
While there are complex reasons that a person is not diagnosed, there remains a vital need to decrease mental health stigma to enable those with psychosis to receive effective treatment. There is an urgent need for more of an interdisciplinary approach involving families, school counselors, law enforcement, mental health workers, and lawyers, with a redoubling of efforts to secure appropriate psychiatric treatment for adolescents who are isolated and suffering from mental illness who may be a risk to themselves and others.
Mental health workers must better communicate how serious profound childhood abuse predicts future acts of violence and the need for families of adolescents with psychosis to obtain emergency psychiatric treatment. We argue endlessly about firearms policy in America. But the simple act of reaching out to those who are neglected may be enough to stop the next mass tragedy.
This event will serve as an important platform to address the urgent issue of firearms and adolescents. It aims to inform, engage, and empower all stakeholders involved to take meaningful steps toward protecting young people and reducing gun-related tragedies.
PANELISTS:
NINA CERFOLIO is a board-certified psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and an assistant clinical professor at the Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine. She is an internationally recognized expert on trauma and terrorism who integrates traditional psychiatric training with her decades of spiritual training. She has been published in prestigious peer-reviewed journals and presented her original work on the psychological influences of spirituality, trauma, and terrorism, nationally and internationally, and featured on numerous TV outlets. Her thought-provoking new book, Psychoanalytic and Spiritual Perspectives on Terrorism: Desire for Destruction (Routledge, 2023), weaves her team’s cutting-edge research with her first-hand experiences of being a first responder, as well as expansive understanding of the topic looked at through a spiritual lens, a powerful antidote against trauma. Find more information on the web: www.NinaCerfolioMD.com.
HARRIET FRAAD is a mental health counselor and hypnotherapist in practice in New York City. She is a founding member of the feminist movement and the journal Rethinking Marxism. For 40 years, she has been a radical committed to transforming US personal and political life. Part of Harriet’s intellectual contribution is in the field of psychohistory. She proudly served as president of the International Psychohistorical Association for several years and published her work in the Journal of Psychohistory. Harriet specializes in speaking and writing about topics in which psychology, economics, and politics overlap. These topics remain loaded with taboos, confusions, ignorance, and fear preventing us from asking big questions and daring to discuss big answers. By analyzing issues where psychology and economics collide, we can better analyze our society and our individuality as well. Her current podcast is called Capitalism Hits Home. She frequently appears on radio programs as well as on the podcasts of others. Find more information on the web: https://www.harrietfraad.com/about
BRIAN D’AGOSTINO is the former president of the International Psychohistorical Association, and editor of Disarmament Times. He is the author of peer reviewed research in political psychology, numerous articles on psychohistory and public affairs, and The Middle-Class Fights Back: How Progressive Movements Can Restore Democracy in America. Visit his website at https://bdagostino.com/
GABRIELA GUSITA is a psychologist, trained in Relational Psychoanalysis, in private practice in Athens, Greece. She serves as a forensic psychologist for the Athens Court of Justice, and she is an active member and co-founder of three Study Groups on Ferenczi’s Work. Gabriela is a member of the International Forum on Violence, and she recently was elected as the international VP of the IPhA. Her presentations at multiple local and international conferences and seminars are focused on the violent environment of trauma, the identity of the therapist, and the mutuality of emotions in therapy.
This event is free, but RSVP is required! The Zoom link will be provided right after you filled out the short form below. The Zoom reminder will be emailed to you the day before the event. Please make sure to use the email that does not have spam blockers and which you are checking often.
For questions or clarifications, please contact us via email at internationalpsychohistory@gmail.com, with the subject line “12-14-24 Conference related.”
We look forward to your contributions and participation in this exciting event!
RSVP HERE:
Loading