Spring Conference 2021: Unlocking the Mystery of the Family Emotional History - Saturday Afternoon

Includes the following presentations:

Moderator: Carrie Collier

Interview between Kathleen Wiseman, MBA and Ryan Woods

A Family History Reboot: A Year of Deep Research – Anne S. McKnight, EdD, LCSW, LICSW

About a year ago, Dr. McKnight began a research project sorting through and organizing four trunks and about 10 boxes worth of family letters, photos, reels of film, and other artifacts of family history. What she discovered was an amazing opportunity to hear what her ancestors had to say in their own words, which yielded a deeper and more complex history than she had been able to uncover through connecting in person. Several examples will be given of the shifts in the presenter's understanding while conducting her research.

Discussion

Impact of Disruption over the Generations – Priscilla J. Friesen, LICSW

In this presentation, Ms. Friesen will 1) frame emotional experience in the facts of the nuclear family, 2) describe the emotional history on both her maternal and paternal lines related to disruptions and early deaths, and 3) highlight the impact of the study on her family and her personal functioning.

The Family System: A Source of Despair as Well as Joy – Kerstin Sofia Andersson, BSc

Ms. Andersson will recount a period of hard times that struck her ancestors during the 1800s in Sweden and how a lack of food, contagious disease, and the deaths of multiple children greatly increased the stress and anxiety in members of the nuclear family who survived. By following the emotional process over several generations up to the present time, she will provide examples of how family as an emotional system can balance high chronic pressure.

Discussion