Saturday, June 7, 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, The Hannaford Lecture Hall at the University of Southern Maine’s Abromson Center, Portland Campus.
About the Speakers, their Topics and their Professional Backgrounds
Penny Coleman—“Soldiers’ Heart: Old News and Disingenuous Surprise”
Penny Coleman is the widow of a Vietnam veteran who took his own life after coming home. 25 years later, she published “Flashback: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Suicide and the Lessons of War” (Beacon, 2006). She has continued to write, mostly as a columnist for AlterNet, and to speak about war and combat-related suicides. In December, she was asked to testify before the House Veterans Affairs Committee about the issue.
Coleman has co-authored a play, also called “Flashback,” based on interviews she did for the book.
She is a documentary photographer and taught photography at SUNY and the International Center for Photography in New York City until recently. In 2000, she published “Village Elders”, a book of photographic and written portraits of the oldest members of New York’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender/Transsexual community.
Coleman currently lives with her partner in upstate New York.
Tod Ensign, J.D.
“Legal and Political Issues Facing Soldiers and Veterans with War-Related Mental Illness”
Tod Ensign, a lawyer, is Director of Citizen Soldier, a GI and veterans rights advocacy organization based in New York City. CS is co-sponsor of the “Different Drummer Internet Cafe” near Ft Drum, N.Y. which is the first soldier-rights coffeehouse of the Afghan and Iraq wars. Ensign has represented several Iraq war veterans who’ve been denied effective treatment for their mental health problems by the US military. He also recently filed a request for an official Court of Inquiry to be appointed by the Secretary of the Army. It would be empowered to conduct a comprehensive investigation of Army policies which have led to the denial of mental health treatment for thousands of soldiers and their families.
Ensign is author of “America’s Military Today: The Challenge of Militarism”, (New Press, 2005), “Military Life: The Insider’s Guide” (Prentice-Hall, 1991) and co-author, “GI Guinea Pigs” (Playboy Press 1980).
Rosemary Masters, J.D., L.C.S.W.
Member, Doctors of the World, “Stress, Trauma, and the Brain: What is PTSD? How do we recognize it and what can help?”
Rosemary Masters is the Director of the Trauma Studies Center of the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy.
She also has a private practice of psychotherapy. Her areas of advanced expertise include treatment of trauma survivors, individual and family therapy with a focus on the impact of trauma on relationships and individual functioning. In the early 1990’s she ran a support group for people with AIDS. During the same period she worked with survivors of rape and childhood sexual abuse. Following Hurricane Katrina, she was part of a group of volunteer therapists who provided Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing therapy to a large group of state employees who had participated in rescue efforts in flooded areas of New Orleans. Currently she provides assessments and assistance to asylum petitioners who have endured persecution and torture in their home countries.
Who would benefit from attending the Symposium on PTSD: The Hidden Costs of War?
*Health care professionals from a wide spectrum of disciplines.
*Servicemen and women currently serving in the armed forces.
*Military veterans of past wars.
*Loved ones of servicemen, servicewomen, and of veterans.
*Individuals working in a war zone or anyone subject to violence of any kind.
*Peace and social justice advocates.
*Any and all with a special concern for the physical and emotional well-being of our military veterans
Schedule:
9:00 am—Welcome
9:15 am—Opening Remarks from Dr. Michael Uhl
9:30 am—Penny Coleman: “Soldiers’ Heart”
10:30 am—Tod Ensign: “Legal and Political Issues Facing Soldiers and Veterans with War-Related Mental Illness”
11:30 am—Rosemary Masters: “Stress, Trauma, and the Brain”
12:30 pm—Panel of Speakers to answer questions
1:00 pm—Lunch
2:00 pm—Concurrent Workshops:
Penny Coleman: “A Conversation About Posttraumatic Stress Injuries”
Tod Ensign: “In the Trenches: A Conversation About Legal and Political Issues of PTSD”
Rosemary Masters: “Living with PTSD: Coping Strategies for Survivors, Their Families, and Their Friends”
3:30 pm—Closing Remarks
Registering for the Symposium:
Registration will begin at 8:30 am. Sessions will run from 9 am to 4:30 pm with a one-hour break for lunch.
The registration fee for veterans and for individual family members for the all-day program is $25 recommended. Sliding scale $15-25 available.
Registration fee for health care professionals is $50 (CEU’s Available).
Both fees include lunch.
For advance registration, send check ($25 or $50 per person) with names of those attending, address and phone number to:
Dud Hendrick, President
Maine Veterans for Peace #001
P.O. Box 10
Deer Isle, ME 04627
email: dudhe [at] verizon [dot] net
Phone: 1-207-409-7432
Presented by:
Veterans for Peace, Maine Chapter 001
Co-sponsored by:
USM Sociology Department
