Message From the Director

Almost two years ago, I sat down for a Zoom with Michele Rosenberg to ask if she would stay on as chair of our adult psychodynamic psychotherapy program. If you have ever met Michele, you know that even a conversation in which she says “no” is still very likely to be the most fun you’ll have that day. This was one of those conversations. Michele explained, apologetically, that there were just some other things she wanted to explore right now. Thankfully, I asked, “What other things?” What happened next, I believe, explains just why so many of us clear our jammed schedules each fall to come together over dinner at the Italian Academy. 

Michele needed no encouragement to pursue her interest in linking psychoanalytic thought with contemporary trauma treatments. She quickly found a kindred spirit and mentor in the remarkable Susan Coates. Together they assembled a group of Center faculty who had been exploring trauma and its treatments individually. These colleagues brought a wealth of expertise to Michele and Susan’s project of creating our first new clinical training program in over a decade. A syllabus took shape, and soon, 20 Center faculty, keen to learn and to help refine the program, offered to serve as trainees in the Trauma-Informed Psychodynamic Therapies Program pilot. 

This fall, as we warmly welcome our new students and faculty and congratulate our awardees, we also gather to enjoy and celebrate the spirit behind Center offerings like our new Trauma program. A spirit marked by a passion for learning, a desire to share what we know, a generous volunteerism, and a deep understanding that by thinking together we can create something none of us could achieve on our own.

The Center was founded in this spirit, and its aliveness in all our work draws us back from our breaks each September and sustains our extraordinary project, now entering its 80th year. To those who are new to the Center, thank you for joining us. We are honored to call you colleagues, grateful for your trust in our teaching, and excited to see what we will build together in the years to come. 

Welcome!

Warmly,

Justin Richardson, MD
Director, Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research