NSU Series Presentation: Depictions of Psychological Trauma in Fine Art: Expressing the Inexpressible

NSU Professor of Psychology to Lead Presentation

MEDIA ADVISORY

Steven Gold, Ph.D. NSU College of Psychology

WHO: Steven Gold, Ph.D., professor of psychology in NSU’s College of Psychology

WHAT: NSU Series – lectures and performances that feature NSU faculty and alumni

WHERE: NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, 1 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale

WHEN: 2-3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18 – event is free with museum admission
RSVP to moareservations@moafl.org or call 954-262-0204

WHY: Whether it’s combat trauma, child abuse, domestic violence, natural disasters, or other catastrophic events, trauma is much more common than most people realize. Many of those among us suffer silently with the long-term effects of traumatization. One of the reasons that trauma is widespread but not widely recognized is that it is difficult to communicate in words about the experience of having been traumatized.

When someone is in a catastrophic situation, their body goes into “emergency mode,” their thinking mind becomes less active, and their instinctive mind takes over. Trauma is therefore coded primarily in image, sensations, and emotions rather than in thoughts and words. For this reason, artistic expression is a much more successful way to convey traumatic experience than conventional descriptions. This talk will clarify what trauma is, discuss how artists have captured the experience of trauma in various media, and examine specific artistic works that are especially vivid examples of the portrayal of trauma.

About Steven Gold, Ph.D.:
In addition to being a professor in NSU’s College of Psychology, Gold is the Director of NSU’s Trauma Resolution & Integration Program (TRIP,) which he established in 1990. He has served as President of the American Psychological Association (APA) Division of Trauma Psychology (56) in 2009 and as inaugural editor of the Division’s scientific journal, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy, from 2008 through 2014, and was the 2014 recipient of the Division’s Award for Outstanding Service to the Field of Trauma Psychology. Recently he was recruited by APA’s Office of Publications to assume the role of Editor in Chief of a two volume set titled Handbook of Trauma Psychology. In 2004, Gold served as President of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD). He is also a Fellow of ISSTD and of APA.

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About Nova Southeastern University (NSU): Located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional degree levels. A private, not-for-profit institution with more than 24,000 students, NSU has campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Tampa, Florida, as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico, while maintaining a presence online globally. For more than 50 years, NSU has been awarding degrees in a wide range of fields, while fostering groundbreaking research and an impactful commitment to community. Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is 1 of only 37 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification, and is also the  largest private, not-for-profit institution in the United States that meets the U.S. Department of Education’s criteria as a Hispanic-serving Institution. Please visit www.nova.edu for more information.

October 14, 2015

Joe Donzelli | Office of Public Affairs
954-262-2159 (office) |954-661-4571 (cell)
jdonzelli@nova.edu | www.nova.edu