Newsletter & Events

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Four Challenges for Children Amid Our World’s Traumas

By Gilbert Kliman, MD, HFI Trustee
Saturday June 6, 2020

The Harlem Family Institute knows that recently there was a great day for space when Spacex launched two astronauts to the International Space Station from Florida, but it wasn’t such a good day for the Earth.

In fact, it was another bad day for all of us on the ground. That is the truth. Children, families, and whole populations in our own and many nations are facing four mental-health challenges. They are called crises because all are dangerous. All four crises require children to face very painful truths.

Read Dr. Kliman’s full article.


Studies of Treatment Effectiveness: Comparing
Psychodynamic Therapies with CBT, Medication

January 23, 2016 — Psychologist and psychoanalyst Mark Winborn examines recent studies comparing the efficacy of different treatments in this January 2016 paper:

Winborn Paper on Studies Comparing Treatment Effectiveness

British Psychoanalytic Council Presents
Continually Updated List of Studies
On the Efficacy of Psychoanalysis

January 23, 2016 — Follow the latest studies, papers and book chapters on the efficacy of psychoanalysis as presented by the British Psychoanalytic Council:

The BPC’s continually updated News & Events page
The BPC’s library on the evidence base for psychoanalytic psychotherapy.

Therapy Wars: The Resurgence of the Psychoanalytic

January 11, 2016 — The Guardian newspaper of the U.K. presents an in-depth January 2016 article by writer Oliver Burkeman on the reascendance of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapies as some major recent studies show their superior efficacy over cognitive-behavioral therapies:

The Guardian: Therapy Wars – The Revenge of Freud

Studies Show the Effectiveness of Psychoanalytic Treatments

January 23, 2016 — To learn about the effectiveness of psychoanalytic treatments — the kind offered and taught by the Harlem Family Institute — you can explore and follow recent research. This is important because there is a misconception that psychoanalytic treatments aren’t evidence-based. Please explore rapidly growing list of the studies presented here:

American psychologist and psychoanalyst Mark Winborn’s January 2016 article examining recent studies comparing the efficacy of different treatments.
Jonathan Shedler’s seminal 2010 study on The Efficacy of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

American Psychological Association News
Scientific American

For studies of related Jungian analysis:
University of Berlin – Jungian Study

Schizophrenia Sufferers Do Better With Talk Therapy Combined
With Support From Family Than With Traditional Drug Therapy

October 20, 2015 — A landmark U.S. Government-funded study showed that schizophrenia patients who received a program intended to keep dosages of antipsychotic medication as low as possible while emphasizing one-on-one talk therapy and family support made greater strides in recovery over the first two years of treatment than patients who got the usual drug-focused care.

The report, published in The American Journal of Psychiatry and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, comes as Congress debates mental-health reform and as interest in the effectiveness of treatments grows amid a debate over the possible role of mental illness in mass shootings.

Read the New York Times report on the findings.

Long-Term Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Can Help
Depressed Patients Where Other Treatments Fail 

October 3, 2015 — The Tavistock organization in London has this week announced the results of a ground-breaking study providing important evidence of the efficacy of long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy for people suffering from chronic depression.

The research study, conducted by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and published in the October issue of World Psychiatry, is the first randomized controlled trial in the U.K. National Health Service to establish whether psychoanalytic psychotherapy can provide relief for those not helped by the treatments currently provided: antidepressants, short-term courses of counseling or cognitive behavioral therapy.

The study, begun more than 10 years ago, followed participants for two-years post-intervention to look at long-term therapeutic effects. It found nearly half of patients still saw major improvements two years after therapy had ended.

Please take a look at the study for yourself.

NY State grants HFI licensure-qualifying status

August 12, 2015 — The NY State Education Department granted the Harlem Family Institute so-called licensure-qualifying status, a major advance in the Institute’s 25th year. This means the Institute can accept applications for psychoanalytic training from suitable unlicensed individuals who hold a master’s degree, recognized by NY State, in any field.

HFI is now accepting applications from such candidates to train in our psychoanalytic program and clinical settings. Upon completion of the four- to five-year part-time program, candidates will sit a state licensing exam to become Licensed Psychoanalysts.

We exist to train especially people from underserved communities, such the neighborhoods of Harlem and Washington Heights and other less privileged parts of New York City. We are aware that African-Americans especially are very much underrepresented in the field. We offer training in our free and ultra-low-fee clinical settings in these same communities.

New Publication From Merle Molofsky, HFI Faculty Member and Supervisor

Merle Molofsky’s new novel, Streets 1970, has been published by International Psychoanalytic Books.  It can be ordered online at www.ipbooks.net. You can also explore Merle’s website: www.merlemolofsky.com.