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Changing Our Consciousness In The News NOVEMBER 4, 2011 Emotional Imprint Curriculum Presented at APCS conference Changing Our Consciousness Founder and President Alice Maher, along with Victoria Grinman, Suzanne Amro, educator in the Ethics and Religious Culture program in Montreal, and Marshall Alcorn of George Washington University, presented EI at the annual conference of the Association for the Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society, held at Rutgers University. Grinman,a social worker at the Summit School and doctoral candidate at Adelphi Universit, brought the EI vision and methodology to life with a sample lesson plan for upper school students. The presentation was so well received that COC has been offered the opportunity to develop a book. The opportunity to open a charter school using the EI model has also became a possibility. September 8, 2011 Changing Our Consciousness Is Designated A Non-Profit After a lengthy application process, Changing Our Consciousness, Inc., a non-profit corporation in the State of New York, has been granted 501(c) Federal tax-exempt status. With our 501(c)3 designation in place, Changing Our Consciousness can now accept tax-deductible contributions to fund its unique, critically important projects. February 15, 2011 How To Touch A Hot Stove Completes Filming; Website launched How to Touch a Hot Stove, a new feature-length documentary film, co-created by COC Founder and President Alice Maher MD and Lois Oppenheim PhD and directed by Sheryll Franko, has completed principal photography and moved into the post-production phase. How to Touch a Hot Stove addresses the complex and difficult problem of how to de-stigmatize those who suffer from mental illness. Against a back-drop of the history of stigma, this film examines the theories, treatments, paradoxes, and dilemmas associated with existing models of mental dysfunction. Interviews with major figures in the mental health field, as well as with many who have experienced marginalization by society first-hand, complement the telling of three exceedingly moving life stories. The film's interviewees include: Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center; Dr. Charles Marmar, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at NYU Medical Center; Nobel Laureate Dr. Eric Kandel; renowned neurologist and author Dr. Oliver Sacks; Dr. Patch Adams (of Robin Williams movie fame); Dr. Brian Koehler, President of ISPS-US, Frederick Goodwin, M.D., former Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH); Peter Pitts and Robert Goldberg, Ph.D., Founders of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest (CMPI), Susanna Kaysen, author of Girl, Interrupted, Joanne Greenberg, author of I Never Promised You A Rose Garden, Elyn Saks, author of The Center Cannot Hold; My Journey Through Madness, and Alice Flaherty, author of The Midnight Disease. Former First Lady Rosalynn Carterhas given permission to use her interview with Jon Stewart. The film's writers are Anne Harrington, PhD and Sean Campbell. The narrator is actor John Turturro. The film's creators have applied for finishing funds from several organizations and will soon launch a fund-raising campaign at Kickstarter.com. In addition, a new website has been launched for the film at www.hotstovefilm.com. January 10, 2011 Depth Perception Party Launches Facebook Group COC has launched the Depth Perception Party, a Facebook page with the following mission statement: The Depth Perception Party is a group of people who share a desire to catalyze social change by working to understand the worldviews of both political parties, locate short and long term horizons, support creative leadership, and imagine new solutions to longstanding political conflict. According to COC President Alice Maher, "Because The Waging Dialogue Forums are closed and the number of participants is small, I decided to make the leap to Facebook to create the next dialogue group. I post a new question daily and invite participants from all sides of the political spectrum to share their perspectives." (Addendum: As of October, 2011, the Depth Perception Party has grown to 155 members.) October 23, 2010 "Waging Dialogue" Forum Presents at APCS Conference The WagingDialogue forum on Antisemitism and Islamophobia presented a panel discussing the forum process at the annual conference of the Association for the Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society, on October 23, 2010, at Rutger's University. The panel was entitled "Antisemitism and Islamophobia: Can justice be found?" and the presenters were Ronald Abramson, M.D., Selma Duckler, and Alice Maher, M.D. April 14, 2010 Dr. Lois Oppenheim and Sheryll Franko Receive NJ Governor's Council on Mental Health Stigma Ambassador Awards It is with great pleasure that we announce that Dr. Lois Oppenheim and Sheryll Franko have each been named a recipient of the NJ Governor's Council on Mental Health Stigma Ambassador Awards in the category of Media and Entertainment.The reception will take place on May 18th at the NJ Forensic Science Technology Center in Hamilton, New Jersey. Dr. Oppenheim is co-creator of the documentary film, How To Touch A Hot Stove™. Sheryll Franko is an award-winning filmmaker and the director of the film, which is now in production. February 1, 2010 Princeton Center for Leadership Training Completes Stage 1 of COC Model Curriculum Alice Maher, M.D., Founder and Director of Changing Our Consciousness (COC), is pleased to announce that the Princeton Center for Leadership Training has completed Stage 1 in the process of developing, implementing and testing a model curriculum for our K-12 educational initiative, Emotional Imprint™. Under the direction of Director Melissa Brand, Psy.D., the Center has generated a presentation for Dr. Maher to deliver as part of an effort to identify pilot schools in which to implement the initial iteration of an Emotional Imprint curriculum, as well as attract funding to finance the development and implementation of Emotional Imprint in schools. We plan to introduce our unique program to representatives from New York schools, community/after school centers, pediatricians and educational psychologists, and parent and student advocacy organizations. With funding in place and a commitment from pilot schools, we plan to commence development, implementation and testing of a model curriculum by 2011. The Princeton Center for Leadership Training (PCLT) is a non-profit organization with a 20-year record of developing strategies and programs that help young people succeed in school and in life. The distinctive feature of PCLT’s strategy has been to build the capacity of educators and parents to motivate and positively influence young people to assume leadership roles with their peers.
COC Film Director Sheryll Franko honored with Voice Award Sheryll Franko, independent filmmaker and director of the documentary feature How To Touch A Hot Stove™ has been honored with a 2009 Voice Award for her independent film, Crazy Enough To Care. At the 'red carpet' Hollywood ceremony, Franko's film received an Honorable Mention in the Documentary Category. Other honorees included the documentary Boy Interrupted, and episodes from television's The Mentalist, Law & Order SVU, and Greys Anatomy — good company! The Voice Awards are sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and honor writers and producers who have given a voice to people with mental health problems by incorporating dignified, respectful, and accurate portrayals of these individuals into film and television productions. Learn more about Sheryll Franko>>
How To Touch A Hot Stove™ Now in Production Filming of the documentary feature, How To Touch A Hot Stove™, is underway. How To Touch A Hot Stove™ explores the stigmatization of mental illness. Against the backdrop of the legacy of Chestnut Lodge, a beacon for the psychodynamic treatment of severe mental illness, we filmed a compelling series of conversations in Rockville, Maryland, with Changing Our Consciousness Founder and Director, Dr Alice L Maher. Joining Dr Maher in an informal interview setting were Joanne Greenberg, author of the autobiographical novel I Never Promised You A Rose Garden, Warren Schwartz, Psy.D., Marilyn Charles, PhD, ABPP, and her daughter Devon King, PhD,Martin Cosgro, PhD, and Ann-Louise S. Silver, MD. Accompanying Alice Maher was the creative team of C.O.C. Communications Director Susan Dansker, filmmaker Sheryll Franko and her assistant Vanessa Laine Montesano. Reflecting our vision of the film as an organic process of exploration and discovery, rather than simply the reporting of current thinking on the de-stigmatization of mental illness, the film-making team participated in the conversations from behind and in front of the camera. Our thanks to The International Society for the Psychological Treatments of the Schizophrenias and Other Psychoses, U.S. Chapter, for its generosity in allowing us to film at their Tenth Annual Meeting venue. ISPS promotes the humane, comprehensive, and in-depth treatment of psychotic disorders, and reaches across the boundaries of the mental health professions to integrate a psycho-bio-social approach promoting secure attachment. Click here to learn more about How To Touch A Hot Stove™>>
Dr. Elyn Saks Receives MacArthur "Genius" Grant We congratulate our Advisory Board Member, Dr. Elyn Saks, on her selection as a 2009 MacArthur Foundation Fellow. Dr. Saks currently serves as Orrin B. Evans Professor of Law, Psychology, and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law in Los Angeles. A noted legal scholar and mental health policy advocate, Dr. Saks is the author of The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness. In announcing the 2009 awards, the MacArthur Foundation praised Dr Saks for "expanding the options for those suffering from severe mental illness through scholarship, practice, and policy informed by a life story that adds uncommon depth and insight."
Actor John Turturro Joins "How To Touch A Hot Stove" We are pleased to announce the participation of award-winning actor, John Turturro, in the new documentary film, How To Touch A Hot Stove, now in production. John Turturro has earned wide recognition for films ranging from Do the Right Thing in 1989 to The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 In 2009, and the television series The Bronx is Burning in 2007. In 1991 Mr. Tururro won the award for Best Actor for his work in Barton Fink at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1995 he received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Quiz Show. |
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