Reel Connection, Real Resistance: A Film-Based Group Leadership Learning Lab

This daylong learning event introduces participants to Modern Group theory and techniques that enable group leaders to hold space for deeper connections in complex times. Using the lenses of containment, immediacy, and resistance, the day will feature a screening of Group - The Schopenhauer Project—an ensemble film featuring Elliot Zeisel. Zeisel will be joined by a panel of six colleagues–Chap Attwell, Katherine Mitchell, Reginald Murph, David Rothauser, Elizabeth Schneider, and Audry Steele–who will facilitate the learning lab. 

In the afternoon, all participants will join a small process group where issues of group leadership and the complexity of group process will be open for exploration. We will conclude with a large-group session designed to integrate learning from the day’s experiences.

Through film, theory, and experiential process, we will deepen our understanding of what it takes to lead with presence, containment, and connection in complex clinical spaces. Participants will emerge with an expanded sense of their own leadership capacity and ability to hold space for interpersonal connection in challenging situations.

Participant Schedule: 8:30am–6:00pm

8:30-9:00: Arrival and registration

9:00-10:40: Large group didactic, film screening (1 of 2), and debrief

10:40-10:55: Intermission and snack

10:55-1:00: Large group film screening (2 of 2) and debrief

1:00-2:45: Lunch (on your own)

2:45-3:00: Get group assignment, find and settle into your group

3:00-5:00: Small process group experience

5:00-5:15: Break and snack

5:15-6:00: Large group debrief

About the Presenters

Dr. Elliot Zeisel is a graduate of the Philadelphia School of Psychoanalysis and is a licensed psychoanalyst. Dr. Zeisel is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association and has served as the Vice -Chair of the Foundation for Advancing Mental Health. He is a founder of the Center for Group Studies and serves on the faculty. Dr. Zeisel maintains a practice in New York City, Austin, Texas and Rochester, NY. He is an executive producer and actor in the web series GROUP, and the feature film, GROUP - the Schopenhauer project.

Dr. Chap Attwell, MD, MPH served as Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry (adjunct) at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where he directed the group therapy curriculum and the NYU/Bellevue Psychiatry Residency Process Group Program for 10 years. He also led as Clinical Director the Medical Student Mental Health Service for 16 years. A graduate of Baylor College of Medicine and the NYU/Bellevue psychiatry residency, he trained in psychoanalysis at PANY and is an advanced candidate at the Center for Group Studies. Based in Dobbs Ferry, NY, Dr. Attwell specializes in training groups, body language, and mind-body therapeutic interfaces. He enjoys time with his family, two large hounds, and writing notebooks.

Dr. Katherine Mitchell is a licensed clinical psychologist with a doctorate from Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University.  She has led groups, developed group training programs, and supervised students within institutions and in private practice for nearly 20 years.  Dr. Mitchell completed Certification as a Group Psychotherapist (CGP), and the American Psychological Association, Board of Professional Psychology certification in Group Psychotherapy (ABPP). She has also presented and taught group therapy at conferences and training programs both nationally and internationally.

Reginald Murph, LCSW-R, CASAC, is a black-identified psychotherapist in private practice for over 25 years in New York City, where he works with individuals, couples and groups. He studied with Dr. Louis Ormont for 15 years and has run modern psychoanalytic groups for 30 years. Reggie has a long history working with diverse populations and groups, including as a psychiatric social worker at HIP Mental Health Services of New York and as a psychotherapist at the 5th Avenue Counseling Center for Psychotherapy. He is a member of the Committee for Anti-Racism at the Center for Group Studies in New York City and has been doing anti-racist work for many years with his clients and in the community.

David Rothauser, MA, MS, LP, NCPsyA is an educator, long-time contributor to the Center for Group Studies, faculty member at the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies, and licensed psychoanalyst. He teaches group leadership, resistance analysis, and the emotional dynamics of group life nationally and internationally. David maintains a private psychoanalytic practice, where he also leads ongoing therapy groups and cross-professional training groups for therapists, coaches, and consultants. His work integrates clinical depth with his background in education and organizational leadership.

Elizabeth Schneider, JD, MA, LP is a licensed psychoanalyst working in New York City. She has also been leading group fitness classes for over forty years. Her focus on health and fitness began when she studied dance at Hunter College. She went on to attend Cardozo School of Law and practiced law in New York for several years. She put her career as a lawyer on hold to devote her time to raising her two sons, and she experienced the transformative power of group when she joined a modern psychoanalytically oriented process group with Dr. Elliot Zeisel, which inspired her to pursue training in psychoanalysis at the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies. She has maintained her membership in the same group for almost thirty years and now leads her own groups.

Audry Steele, MA, LPC, is a psychotherapist with over two decades in private practice and more than thirty years exploring the intersection of psychoanalytic understanding and culture. Her early work in public policy and time spent in South and East Asia evolved into a clinical focus on expatriates, third culture individuals, and others navigating histories of cultural transition. She leads therapy and training groups, provides clinical consultation to psychotherapists, and brings a sustained curiosity to how unconscious experience is shaped by cultural context.

If cost is prohibitive to attend this event, please inquire for assistance/options. coordinator@austingroups.org

CEUs will be available for social workers, LPCs, LMFTs, and psychologists. Location is wheelchair accessible. .

Save the date and plan to join us for a rare opportunity to learn directly from Dr. Zeisel, experience a groundbreaking clinical film, and engage in the rich group work that defines our field.