Psychological Understanding of School Shootings: Reflections On the Minds of Shooters and The Impact On Us All in Garden City

Psychological Understanding of School Shootings: Reflections On the Minds of Shooters and The Impact On Us All
6.5 CEU Credits
SW, MFT, MHC, PsyD, PhD
About the Conference
Although school shootings are exceedingly rare events, the general public and even those of us in mental health, education and other professional fields are overwhelmed by terrifying, and at times helpless feelings these events evoke in us.
This conference attempts to create a platform for a dialogue on this phenomenon and aims to replace the volatility of the moment, the mythology generated by lack of information and the media hype with genuine reflection, knowledge and understanding.
Participants will be invited to join in what is intended to be an extensive discussion of the complexities involved in protecting our children and ourselves in the settings where we have always and should always feel safe.
Keynote Address Inside the Minds and Worlds of School Shooters: A Depth Psychological Perspective On School Shootings
William S. Pollack , PH.D ABPP
In his presentation Dr. Pollack reviews the knowledge and insights he gained from his extensive investigation of incidents of school shootings, as well as live depth psychological individual interviews of school shooters, victims’ and bystanders to these attacks. He highlights the fact that the vast majority of “school shooters” are young white middle class male youths. He draws from his lifelong research and clinical work on boys and young males’ psychology, particularly trauma-based attachment disrupted depressions and psychic disconnection that are negotiated through aggressive enactments and violence.
Dr. Pollack provides a nuanced understanding about “school shooters” and suggests that the shooter is set upon a “pathway toward violent harm” purposefully directed at a specific school environment that was experienced as intolerable and insoluble psychological pain. By comparing those who came forward to notify an adult and those who did not, among bystanders who knew in advance about the violent plan to cause harm, Dr. Pollack helps us gain an understanding of the bystanders’ mind as well. He cautions us against the dangerous myth of believing that we can create a distinct “profile” of perpetrators. In his view the most useful approach to eradicating these forms of violence is creating a caring and emotionally connected school environment and educating the public in becoming ”human detectors”. He argues that students, teachers, administrators and parents are in the best position to notice that a potential “perpetrator” is in trouble. Therefore, they can potentially facilitate preventative interventions to forestall such violence.
Dr. Pollack outlines the specific components of an emotionally safe, psychologically informed, school climate that can optimally prevent violent escalations. In his view, it is essential that holders of vital information of planned harm feel safe and supported in seeking officials’ assistance. They must trust that their disclosure will be met with a non-punitive approach toward themselves and those who seem “troubled” or “disturbed”. Dr. Pollack suggests a “threat assessment model” for diminishing school shootings and enhancing students access to necessary mental health interventions.
The presentation includes intensive vignettes and visual interviews provided for a more experience-near understanding. A selected bibliography, for further learning will be offered.
Must Protocol Supersede Judgement? Assessing the Risk for Premeditated School Violence
Lawrence Rosenberg, PhD
In his presentation, Dr. Rosenberg invites participants to think past protocols and focus on how best to assess the level of risk that a troubled student represents. He will address the questions: Upon what information are we to base our decisions? Tools will be offered to assist in coming to clinically sound, well informed judgements about these risks.
Followed by a roundtable discussion with
William Pollack, Ph.D. ABPP
William Pollack, Ph.D. ABPP
is an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School. He presently serves as a Senior Clinical Consultant and Research Director on the Mental Health of Boys, Young Men & Men at The Cambridge Health Alliance Public Schools. As the Founding Principal of the National Violence Prevention and Study Center &Founder/ Director of The Centers for Men, Young Men & Boys, he functions as an Independent Consultant on Behavioral Threat Assessment, Sexual Harassment, Bullying, & Safe School and Work Climates.
Dr. Pollack is a nationally and internationally recognized expert on the secrete struggles of boys and men in our society. He authored several bestselling books on this topic and received numerous awards for his work.
Dr. Larry Rosenburg
Dr. Larry Rosenburg
is immediate Past President of Section II (Child and Adolescent) of the Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology of the APA and is a Member at Large on the Section V (applied psychoanalysis) board of Directors. Dr. Rosenberg is a member of the adjunct faculty at the Postgraduate Programs, Derner School of Psychology of Adelphi University. He served for 27 years as the Clinical Director of the Child Guidance Center of Southern CT, where he founded training programs in psychology and social work and served for 10 years as co-chair of the Education and Training Committee of the Connecticut Association of Mental Health Clinics for Children. Dr. Rosenberg contributed to the formation of the first accredited Community Action Center in the state of CT. He has often provided expert testimony on child sexual abuse cases as well as consultation and training for state’s attorneys and defense lawyers in the state and more recently has done the same for a unit of the United Nations. Dr. Rosenberg is co-editor of the Child Section of the PDM2 and a contributor to the Adolescent Section of that manual.
Moderator
Dr. Steve Hyman
,  Director of Psychodynamic School Psychology Postgraduate Program And he is co-editor, along with Steve Axelrod and Ron Naso, of Progress in Psychoanalysis; Envisioning the Future of the Profession, published by Routledge. Dr. Rosenberg is in private practice in Stamford where he sees children, adolescents and adult patients and continues to supervise and consult with clinicians and executives working in the public sector.
Registration
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