Upcoming Events in New York City

Scientific Programs

Tuesday, April 20, 2010
8:30 – 10:00 pm
Mt. Sinai Medical Center, Hatch Auditorium
Madison Ave & 100th Street

Admission is free. No reservations are required.


NYFS dedicates this Scientific Program to the
100th anniversary celebration of the
International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA)

Picturing the Implicit Realm:
The Art of an Adult Survivor as a Window into the Trauma Response and Its Treatment

Presenter: Ani Buk, MFA, MA, LP, LCAT, FIPA
Discussant: Laurie Wilson, PhD, LP

In this presentation, nodal sessions from the case of a profoundly traumatized woman in psychoanalytically-informed art therapy are examined in the context of recent findings from the field of neuroscience. The functioning of the mirror neuron system, and the related process of 'embodied simulation,' can be seen as identifying some of the neuroanatomical mechanisms that contribute to: (1) the trauma survivor's capacity to express the implicit, dissociated realm of experience and memory in a work of art, and often to go on to put into words what had previously been unspeakable; (2) the art therapist's ability to interpret the many possible meanings of the art work made in the psychotherapeutic setting; and (3) the efficacy of particular art therapy interventions with survivors of trauma, and how the clinical implications of these interventions can be used by all psychotherapists working with traumatized populations.

Ani Buk, MFA, MA, LP, LCAT, FIPA, is a psychoanalyst and art therapist in private practice in Manhattan, a Fellow of the IPA, and a graduate of the Psychoanalytic Training Institute of NYFS. She has been on the faculty of the Graduate Art Therapy Program of NYU since 1993, and was a faculty member of the Department of Psychiatry of Albert Einstein College of Medicine from 1996–2007. A nationally recognized trauma specialist, her work and recommendations have been featured in a wide range of newspapers and periodicals. Ms. Buk is the author of "The mirror neuron system and embodied simulation: Clinical implications for art therapists working with trauma survivors" [The Arts in Psychotherapy: Special Issue on Trauma, 36 (2009), 61–74], and a co-author of Human Rights Clinic: Training Manual for Physicians and Mental Health Professionals, and A Facilitator's Guide: Training Health Care Providers to Work with Refugees, published by Doctors of the World and the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Laurie Wilson, PhD, LP, earned her Master's degree in Fine Arts and Fine Arts Education from Columbia University, and her PhD in Art History from City University of New York. She received her psychoanalytic training at The NYU Psychoanalytic Institute. Dr. Wilson is currently Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at NYU Medical Center, on the faculty of The Psychoanalytic Institute affiliated with the NYU School of Medicine, and practices in New York City. She is also Professor Emerita of Art Therapy at New York University where she directed and taught in the Graduate Art Therapy Program for twenty-three years. She has published extensively in three fields. Her book, Alberto Giacometti: Myth, Magic and the Man, was published in 2003 by Yale University Press. She is currently completing a book on Louise Nevelson.

flyer : NYFS-NY Scientific Program 4/20/2010 (PDF:94KB)

Tuesday Evening Presentations
8:30–10:00 pm
Location: TBA

Admission is free. No reservations are required.

The Impact of Trauma: The Mind in Times of Social Violence and Social Change

This year's Scientific Meetings focus on the psychological consequences of social disruption and social violence, a topic especially relevant in these times of economic hardship and political upheaval.

These meetings will provide a forum to study how psychoanalytic thinking contributes to the understanding and to the work of psychological and sociological repair of traumatized individuals and communities. We look forward to having an active dialogue with the audience.


Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Impact of Waiting, Not Knowing and Knowing: When a Parent is Deployed
Presenter:Vivian Eskin, PhD
Discussant:Nancy Heather Wolf, LCSW

Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Listening to Children Under Siege: Reflections on the Problem of Resilience
Presenter: Elsa First, MA, LP
Discussant: Rogelio Sosnik, MD, LP

Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The Anna Freud Lecture
The Trauma of Actualized Unconscious Phantasies:
Internal and External Fields of Reference
Presenter: Maurice Apprey, PhD, FIPA

Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Picturing the Implicit Realm: The Art of an Adult Survivor as a Window into the Trauma Response and its Treatment
Presenter: Ani Buk, MFA, MA, LP, LCAT
Discussant: Laurie Wilson, PhD, LP

flyer : NYFS-NY Scientific Programs 2009-2010 (PDF:45KB)

NYFS-NY Scientific Program Committee
Christa Balzert, Chair, Rogelio Sosnik and Nancy Wolf