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

Includes the following presentations:

Moderator: Anne McKnight

The Trauma of Slavery and the African American Family – Mignonette N. Keller, PhD

Dr. Mignonette Keller has completed extensive genealogical work on her family, dating back to enslaved ancestors spanning six generations, which provides an awareness and a heightened understanding of the resilience among family members. The history of her enslaved ancestors, like that of many other untold stories of Black families, reflect not only their ability to survive the trauma of slavery but to thrive as a people in an oppressive society.

An Emotional Workout: What It Takes to Broaden One Family’s Emotional Response – Carrie E. Collier, PhD, LPC, CRC

Dr. Carrie Collier’s engagement in family research afforded her the opportunity to observe physiological and emotional markers in self or an emotional awareness of self. The examination of four generations of parents and sibling variation in degrees of impairment and functioning demonstrates evidence to support Bowen’s construct of shared anxiety and the family as one emotional unit. This has led her to a family systems way of thinking so that she can see how and when to interrupt old emotional patterns that might play out in the present.

Discussion

Discovering an Alternate Reality—When Family Facts Change - Daniel V. Papero, PhD, LCSW-C, LICSW

It has become fashionable for people to explore their ancestry by submitting DNA samples for analysis. Occasionally the results are surprising. This talk will review the impact of receiving unexpected information from DNA test results, and its effects on the understanding of one's family history.

Discussion