The Harlem Family Institute

Coming up on Saturday, September 28: our online series "The State of the World" continues with an exploration of community psychoanalysis in Colombia. Clinicians Maria Cecilia Sanchez, Camilla Gutierrez Cardoso, and Silvia Rivera Largacha will present their own personal experience of subjects including the power of community psychoanalysis to help populations suffering from violence and conflict, and lessons to be learned from Indigenous resistance. More info and registration here:

The State of the World, Part 4: Colombia & Psychoanalysts in the Community Camila Gutierrez Cardosa, Silvia Rivera Largacha and Maria Cecilia Sanchez discuss the experience of community psychoanalysis in Colombia.

Registration is now live for our upcoming installment of the ongoing series "The State of the World", welcoming three experienced clinicians from Colombia in conversation on their experience of the challenges and promise of community psychoanalysis, its role in helping individuals and societies heal from violence and trauma, and its implications for Indigenous communities. Read more and register to attend on our Eventbrite page:

The State of the World, Part 4: Colombia & Psychoanalysts in the Community Camila Gutierrez Cardosa, Silvia Rivera Largacha and Maria Cecilia Sanchez discuss the experience of community psychoanalysis in Colombia.

The virtual discussion series "THE STATE OF THE WORLD" continues at the Harlem Family Institute on Saturday, September 28, with three highly respected clinicians from Colombia presenting on the issues facing community psychoanalysis, with a particular focus on responding to the needs of marginalized and Indigenous communities. Save the date - more info and registration coming soon!

Join us this Saturday, June 8, for our annual Virtual Open House, and learn more about our training programs to become a community-based psychoanalyst. More info and registration link at our website:

2024 VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE: Saturday, June 8 - Harlem Family Institute We’re seeking applicants with advanced degrees in any discipline and the self-awareness, intuition, curiosity and passion to become Licensed or Certified Psychoanalysts through our psychoanalytic training programs.   *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *   LEARN MORE ABOUT ...

TODAY AT 11 AM! Join us online for Ankhi Mukherjee and Neil Altman in conversation on Prof. Mukherjee's new book, "Unseen City: The Psychic Lives of the Urban Poor". More information and registration here:

The State of the World, Part 3: Unseen City-Psychic Lives of the Urban Poor HFI welcomes Prof. Ankhi Mukherjee in conversation with Dr. Neil Altman, exploring the lives of the urban poor through a psychoanalytic lens

Join us THIS SATURDAY, April 27, with Ankhi Mukherjee and Neil Altman in conversation on Prof. Mukherjee's new book "Unseen City: The Psychic Lives of the Urban Poor." More details and registration information at the link below!

The State of the World, Part 3: Unseen City-Psychic Lives of the Urban Poor HFI welcomes Prof. Ankhi Mukherjee in conversation with Dr. Neil Altman, exploring the lives of the urban poor through a psychoanalytic lens

The Harlem Family Institute continues its Saturday Talks series "The State of the World", with Prof. Ankhi Mukherjee in conversation with Dr. Neil Altman about her new book Unseen City: The Psychic Lives of the Urban Poor.

This presentation will explore the psychological defensive purposes served by "selective inattention" to the suffering of poor and marginalized people in cities around the world. Using literary examples and clinical illustrations, we will take a “deep dive” into life in these cities that is often unseen by people unconsciously intent on avoiding psychological pain and disturbance. The hope is that engagement with “unseen” people will ameliorate the current epidemic of alienation.

More information and registration here:

The State of the World, Part 3: Unseen City-Psychic Lives of the Urban Poor HFI welcomes Prof. Ankhi Mukherjee in conversation with Dr. Neil Altman, exploring the lives of the urban poor through a psychoanalytic lens

How can creativity become a tool for surviving and overcoming conflict? Coming up this Saturday, February 24: Dr. Deborah Nathan joins us as part of our Saturday talk series "The State of the World." More info and registration at: https://buff.ly/42JwHH7

Coming up on Saturday, February 24, Dr. Deb Nathan joins us in our continuing series on "The State of the World," part of our virtual "Saturday Talks" program. Dr. Nathan will discuss developing relational resilience and the role of creativity and the arts in overcoming trauma and conflict. More info and registration here:

The State of the World, Part 2: Relational Resilience in Times of Trauma HFI welcomes Dr. Deborah Nathan for a conversation on relational resilience, art therapy, creativity and living through traumatic times.

Our co-presentation of Dr. Gil Kliman's Forensic Psychoanalytic Seminars with the Social Justice Division of Harlem Family Services continues on Tuesday, February 20, with Dr. Hasani Baharanyi returning as guest speaker.

HFS Forensic Seminars: Trauma through a Psychoanalytic Lens Harlem Family Services' Social Justice Division presents Dr. Gil Kliman and Dr. Hasani Baharanyi on analytic-forensic approaches to trauma.

The new Social Justice Division of Harlem Family Services announces a seminar series led by forensic expert Dr. Gil Kliman, focusing on “Trauma through a Forensic Psychoanalytic Lens.”

These monthly virtual sessions will explore the theory and practice of forensic psychoanalysis as applied to cases of trauma. The first session will take place on Tuesday, January 23, 2024, at 11 AM EST via Zoom. Guest instructor Hasani Baharanyi, MD will be the featured speaker.

More information and registration at our website:

Harlem Family Services announces online Forensic Seminar Series with Dr. Gil Kliman - Harlem Family Institute The Social Justice Division of Harlem Family Services announces a seminar series in forensic psychoanalysis as applied to trauma.

The deadline of Dec. 31 is approaching to have your tax-deductible donation FULLY matched by a super-generous benefactor! Click here to donate online: https://buff.ly/47YEZwt

We are raising seed funds for our new Margaret Morgan Lawrence Family and Child Development Center in Harlem, designed to be a multicultural and welcoming community center for counseling, life coaching, education, and eventually full clinical mental health services. Our benefactor has announced she will match your donations on a one-for-one basis up to a total of $50,000 of her funds until Dec. 31. This offers the possibility of raising a much-needed $100,000 by the end of next week as we launch the Center. We need to hire a clinic director and other licensed clinicians & staff, cover rent & insurance, acquire furniture & equipment and advertise our new, family-focused, mental-health services.

SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, January 27 at 12 PM EST, the Harlem Family Institute and New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute will co-host a symposium on "The State of the World: Facing Our Hatreds, Uncovering Our Humanity." Further details and registration information to follow.

Freud espoused our human leaning toward Eros and Thanatos and had a brief exchange through letters with Einstein on "Why War?". Bion developed a Tavistock group-relations model out of work with the military and Volkan studied large group identity trauma and intergenerational conflict. Nevertheless, psychoanalysts have felt conflicted and limited in their attention to the increasing need for reflection, theory, and analysis of our "being human" in groups.

This symposium will focus not only on what is clearly horrific and destructive in the world today but, also, on how, within a psychoanalytic frame, we might understand what could shift in our social unconscious to put an end to the repetition of these destructive events. Panelists will explore what we can do on this global human journey to build the emotional strength and readiness to engage the lives of those different from ourselves to realize adaptive and generative responses to resolving our hatreds. What does it mean to share power? How might we better expand on understanding of our interconnectedness? These and other questions will be the basis for the presentations and discussions taking place at this meeting.

We are excited to announce that, as the financial year is ending, a super-generous benefactor has offered to match on a one-for-one basis donations thru Dec. 31 to seed-fund our brand new Margaret Morgan Lawrence Family & Child Development Center in Harlem. As HFI is a 501(c)(3), your donations are tax-deductible. Click here to donate online: https://buff.ly/47YEZwt

The benefactor will match your donations on a one-for-one basis up to a total of $50,000 of her funds until Dec. 31. This offers the possibility of raising a much-needed $100,000 by the end of next week as we launch the Center. We need to hire a clinic director and other licensed clinicians & staff, cover rent & insurance, acquire furniture & equipment and advertise our new, family-focused, mental-health services.

Please spread the word to friends and colleagues to help hundreds of children, teens, parents, parents-to-be and others in Harlem and nearby neighborhoods in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx.

We are proud to announce the launch of our sister organization, Harlem Family Services, and our Margaret Morgan Lawrence Family and Child Development Center.

Designed to be a beacon of hope and a resource for the development, healing and overall mental wellness of children and young people of all ages, for their parents, from all walks of life and sociocultural backgrounds, especially families from marginalized and underserved communities.

HFS imagines a Center where families come for assessment, treatment and life skills coaching. It also will be a place for ongoing community gatherings to provide education, consultation and coaching of parents/families, and for our community partners, including teachers, mental health community clinicians, clergy, law enforcement, the legal professions and the business community that over time will all serve as potential developmental and occupational resources for families.

Read more:

Home The mission of Harlem Family Services (HFS) is to help young children, adolescents, young adults, and families in need by offering free or affordable, trauma and socioculturally-informed short- and long-term therapy, in person or virtual, through our clinic as well as in neighborhood schools, commun...

THIS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14: Join us for our free online discussion series "Bridging the Institute and the Community", an open forum for helping professionals in our Harlem community and around the city and the world. Led by Paula Kliger, PhD; Neil Altman, PhD; and Sheila Johnson, MPS/LP, this open and welcoming series aims to be a space where our mental-health professionals, trainees and educators can listen to and engage with the concerns of people in other helping professions (medical, education, caregiving, clergy, etc) and share our voices in search of a hopeful and healing future for all. More information and registration link at our website:

Saturday, Oct. 14: Bridging the Institute and the Community: a free and open online discussion forum for helping professionals - Harlem Family Institute With Neil Altman, PhD, Paula Kliger, PhD, Sheila Johnson, MPS, LP, and other clinicians This Saturday, Oct. 14, from 11 am to 1 pm EDTBy Zoom CLICK HERE TO REGISTER VIA ZOOM For our October meeting, we’ll aim to pick up the threads we’ve been weaving. A big part of the challenge of commun...

Coming up soon! On September 30 at 11 AM Eastern time, join us as we welcome psychoanalyst Dr. Don Moss for the next installment of our virtual Saturday Talks series. Dr. Moss will lead a presentation and following discussion on internalized Whiteness, the social unconscious, and our expressions of power.

This program offers 2.5 New York State continuing-education contact-hour credits for New York State Licensed Psychoanalysts, Social Workers and Psychologists. It also offers Certificates of Attendance. See event page for full details.

Dr. Donald Moss: Reflections on Whiteness HFI is proud to present psychoanalyst Don Moss in a conversation on Whiteness, the social unconscious, and our expressions of power.

On September 30 at 11 AM Eastern time, join us as we welcome psychoanalyst Dr. Don Moss for the next installment of our virtual Saturday Talks series. Dr. Moss will lead a presentation and following discussion on internalized Whiteness, the social unconscious, and our expressions of power.

This program offers 2.5 New York State continuing-education contact-hour credits for New York State Licensed Psychoanalysts, Social Workers and Psychologists. It also offers Certificates of Attendance. See event page for full details.

Dr. Donald Moss: Reflections on Whiteness HFI is proud to present psychoanalyst Don Moss in a conversation on Whiteness, the social unconscious, and our expressions of power.

On Saturday, June 24, join us via Zoom at 11 AM Eastern for a discussion with poet David Mills and psychoanalyst Dr. Paula Kliger on the tragic history of slavery in New York City, and the unique power of poetry to create moments of deepening insights of our human journey. We will explore art, history, trauma and the mind through a psychoanalytic lens in this presentation, which is aimed both at mental health professionals and the general public.

David Mills: Talking To The Bones - Slavery in New York City Poet David Mills reads from and reflects upon his recent collection, "Boneyarn," in conversation with psychoanalyst Dr. Paula Kliger.

Community members, helping professionals and mental-health clinicians! Join us TOMORROW MORNING, June 10, at 11 AM Eastern on Zoom for "Bridging the Institute and the Community," our monthly community discussion group. Aimed at fostering dialogue between mental health professionals, Institute leaders, and community helping professionals in Harlem, Northern Manhattan and nearby areas, we hold these monthly round-tables as an open and democratic space for thoughtful discussion on the many intersecting issues facing marginalized communities and how we can help.

REGISTER VIA ZOOM:

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: HFI Bridging the Institute & the Community Discussion Group -. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting. Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: HFI Bridging the Institute & the Community Discussion Group -. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

This year's Open House, on Saturday, May 6, will again be free of charge and held virtually via Zoom. Come learn about why psychoanalysis is gaining a new foothold in Harlem and Northern Manhattan, how it can be a positive force in underserved communities, and how anyone with a postgraduate degree in any field can study with us to become a psychoanalyst.

Email [email protected] for more information and to register for this free online conversation!

Come learn about our community clinical psychoanalytic training programs at HFI’s annual Open House, to be held online Saturday, May 6, from 11AM-1PM Eastern Time!

We’re seeking applicants with advanced degrees in any discipline and the self-awareness, intuition, curiosity and passion to become Licensed or Certified Psychoanalysts through our psychoanalytic training programs.

Since 1991 we have worked to train tomorrow’s diversity-sensitive psychoanalysts by taking training and treatment out to the community in small clinical sites that we operate in Harlem and Northern Manhattan. The candidates studying in our programs – many of African American or Latino heritage, including clergy of multiple faiths, from Harlem and the city’s most diverse communities – are able to develop careers as advanced mental-health professionals. The Institute’s more than 70 available faculty members come from many of the city’s and nation’s psychoanalytic institutes, drawn by its unique mission. The institute can admit suitable candidates, whether licensed or not, who hold a graduate degree in any discipline. Graduates of our Licensure-Qualifying Program may immediately sit the state exam to become Licensed Psychoanalysts.

May 6, 2023: Harlem Family Institute Annual Open House - Harlem Family Institute HFI presents its annual Open House for prospective applicants to its community-based, affordable progams to train as Licensed or Certified Psychoanalysts.

Coming up NEXT Saturday, July 30, join us for our online Saturday Talks series as we welcome Dr. Jodie Kliman, presenting her work on the Social Matrix Diagram.

There are many intersecting factors that influence an individual’s identity, perceived place in society, and way of moving through the world. In particular, areas of privilege and marginalization are important for clinical mental-health practicioners to be aware of: exploration of those factors can reveal blind spots, sources of shame or vulnerability, and misunderstandings and “stuck places” for patient and counselor alike.

Dr. Jodie Kliman’s Social Matrix Diagram is a visual tool for identifying and mapping individuals’ intersecting identities in a broader social context. Join us for a virtual discussion of the theories behind its development and its relevance to the modern psychologist, psychoanalyst, and social worker.

Dr. Jodie Kliman on Visualizing the Social Matrix Every individual's identity includes intersecting aspects of privilege & marginalization. How can awareness strengthen clinical practice?

Coming up on Saturday, July 30, as part of our ongoing Speaker Series!

Each individual’s identity contains intersecting areas of privilege and marginalization. For example, someone might be privileged in terms of race but marginalized due to sexual orientation. Or of a privileged gender expression, but a marginalized socioeconomic background.

Dr. Jodie Kliman has developed a visual tool, the Social Matrix Diagram, for mapping these factors in detail and exploring their relevance in a broader social context. In our Saturday Talks series on July 30, she will present her work and lead a discussion on how clinical mental healthcare providers can best use this tool to improve their practice.

Dr. Jodie Kliman on the Social Matrix Diagram Every individual's identity includes intersecting aspects of privilege & marginalization. How can awareness strengthen clinical practice?

Join us tomorrow at 1 PM via Zoom for our next Community Discussion Group, where we aim to bring the Institute closer to caregiving and concerned members of our neighborhoods. Please email [email protected] for information on free registration.

At our first meetings in recent weeks, about 25 of us from various overlapping communities have discussed a range of issues that community members have been struggling with and bore witness to these efforts as we strive to offer the Harlem Family Institute as a community resource for healing and action. Please feel free to invite others to our meetings.

For more than 30 years, the Harlem Family Institute has offered psychoanalytic-training and clinical-treatment services in Harlem and Northern Manhattan, training psychoanalysts and other mental-health professionals while helping hundreds of children, families, adolescents and others in schools, community centers and houses of worship.

Now, more than ever, those of us on the front lines of mental-health care in our beleaguered, under-resourced communities, need to support each other. So, the Institute has launched this biweekly discussion group to draw together mental-health professionals, clergy, city-agency, police and union counselors and educators from Harlem, Northern Manhattan and the Bronx to share and learn from each other . . .

We hope that together we can create a forum for thoughtful and meaningful engagement about our often-times stressful and overwhelming work with our stressed and overwhelmed clients, students and congregations.

We’ll aim to share and discuss dilemmas in our work to counter burnout and despair. Please join us to be part of the organization and inauguration of this group. Let’s share ideas about how we can best support each other. As a whole we can be more than the sum of our parts!

Please reach out to [email protected] for information on registration.