THE DOCTOR IS IN

 

 

School shootings are becoming alarmingly commonplace. Why won’t they stop? Dr. Nina Cerfolio, practicing psychoanalyst in New York’s Greenwich Village, is one of the world’s leading authorities on the subject. She has some answers. 

 

Dr. Nina Cerfolio has spent her professional life studying school shootings, terrorism, violence, and all manner of psychiatric concerns. In her groundbreaking book: Psychoanalytic and Spiritual Perspectives on Terrorism, she alternately weaves together psychology with her own childhood traumas, as well as defining moments in her life. 

 

We can find Dr. Cerfolio out and about in Greenwich Village, New York. Her office faces Washington Square Park where the Beat poets once hung out. Now Greenwich Village, not so long ago a little out of its heyday, seems to have pole vaulted back into relevance and popularity. Note the recent Bob Dylan film, New York University students (the site claims to house over 11,000 students in residence halls alone), and multimillion dollar townhouses on streets beautified by decades old cozy tree tunnels. Greenwich Village has a friendly inclusive vibe that draws people from all New York’s boroughs. And on misty overcast days one can almost sense the ghosts of times past and the Native American Lenape tribe who once walked the trails (becoming street names like Broadway), long before folk singers, artists, students, celebrities, tech titans, called it home. 

 

Dr. Cerfolio and I met in the heart of Greenwich Village at the Marlton Hotel lobby, the building that was once a single room occupancy hotel where Jack Kerouac stayed. 

 

 

 

Psychoanalysts don’t usually reveal details about their personal lives. What made you decide to do this in your book? 

 

Over the last forty years, my patients have taught me the true meaning of courage by opening their hearts and sharing the raw truths of their childhoods. Inspired by their bravery, I realized I could do no less.

 

 

Your perfect day in Greenwich Village?

 

Running from my Greenwich Village apartment south along the West Side Highway path to the World Trade Center and returning via the East River Greenway. Afterward, I join my husband for a well deserved dinner at Spring Cafe Aspen, followed by a night of live jazz at the Village Vanguard.

 

 

 

 

 

Tell us about Before the First Shot: Preventing School Shootings. 

 

When society treats psychiatric illness with shame instead of medical care, and isolation with metal detectors instead of connection, we create the violence we fear. Before the First Shot reveals why the billions spent on school security are not working. Rather than spending money on traumatizing school shooting simulations, we should be investing in psychiatric care and compassion. 

 

 

Where do you like to meet a friend for a drink in the Village? 

 

The Knickerbocker Bar & Grill. It used to be North Square which recently closed. 

 

 

A vacation spot you return to? 

 

Ann Wigmore Natural Health Retreats in Rincon, Puerto Rico. 

 

 

As someone who has done Ironman and triathlons, any tips you can share about keeping fit? 

 

The biggest hurdle is simply showing up. Even when I feel completely drained, I’ve noticed that once I actually start moving, my energy shifts and that exhaustion starts to fade.

 

 

 

 

A friend recently remarked that young men today don’t have a way to be heroes like they did in previous centuries. What do you think? 

 

Boys today suffer an identity crisis. Old scripts for manhood have been discarded. Our changing culture tends to stigmatize the natural drives of boys. We need to stop treating these traits as problems and start guiding boys toward a clear, productive path.

 

Society marginalizes boys to suppress their feelings, making them feel like they aren’t allowed to be sad or afraid. The clearest evidence is the fact that almost all mass shooters are male. These invisible boys feel so ignored and powerless that they lash out with counterphobic violence—a desperate attempt to prove they aren’t afraid by attacking the very things that terrify them.

 

 

Is there any common denominator when it comes to the reasons your patients see you? 

 

Most of the people I work with are striving to reclaim their lives and find liberation from the painful patterns of their past.

 

 

If you could change one thing about how mental health is viewed or treated today, what would it be?  

 

Seeking mental health care for a child should be as normal as taking them to the doctor for a broken arm. We need to end the shame, so parents can get their kids the help they deserve.