Mark Sirkin
Encyclopedia
Mark I. Sirkin is an American
clinical psychologist. He was the Director of the Robert M. Beren Center of the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine
, Yeshiva University
. Following his doctoral work, Sirkin took a position on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry
of the University of Rochester Medical Center
, where he worked with Professor Lyman Wynne
. He later became Director of Group Training and Research at the Department of Psychiatry. Sirkin was Chairman of the American Family Foundation Psychology Committee, and member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Cultic Studies Journal
.
With Uri Rueveni, of the University of Houston
, Sirkin studied the application of network therapy to the treatment of relational disorders relating to cult
s. It builds upon his early theoretical and clinical work on relational disorder
s. The network therapy study appeared in Contemporary Family Therapy. Specifically, that study looked at the application of an intervention
technique in order to help the family of an individual who had joined a group in which one member claimed to be the Messiah
. The researchers utilized a team of network specialists, and the study consisted of a pre-network planning meeting, the network meeting itself which included about 70 individuals and took place over the course of four hours, and follow-up meetings with subgroups within the network. Drs. Rueveni and Sirkin's study has been cited in later work in the journal Psychopathology and in the book, Moving Up: Positive Psychology
, by Darrell Franken,
Sirkin has since gone on to consult to organizations including family-held companies, law firms, and large multi-national and publicly held corporations. He is author of The Secret Life of Corporations: Understanding the True Nature of Business, New Chrysalis Press, 2004, which looks at organizations as complex systems that are biological in nature. He is founding chair, and current co-chair, of the Family Business SIG of the Society of Consulting Psychologists (Division 13 of the APA).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
clinical psychologist. He was the Director of the Robert M. Beren Center of the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a graduate school of Yeshiva University. It is a not-for-profit, private, nonsectarian medical school located on the Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus in the Morris Park neighborhood of the borough of the Bronx of New York City...
, Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
. Following his doctoral work, Sirkin took a position on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
of the University of Rochester Medical Center
University of Rochester Medical Center
The University of Rochester Medical Center , located in Rochester, New York, is one of the main campuses of the University of Rochester and comprises the university's primary medical education, research and patient care facilities....
, where he worked with Professor Lyman Wynne
Lyman Wynne
Lyman C. Wynne was an American psychiatrist and psychologist with a special interest in schizophrenia. His early researches helped lay the foundation for family-based therapies , influencing others such as R. D. Laing. He made a number of discoveries about the interaction of genetics and the...
. He later became Director of Group Training and Research at the Department of Psychiatry. Sirkin was Chairman of the American Family Foundation Psychology Committee, and member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Cultic Studies Journal
Cultic Studies Review
International Journal of Cultic Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the International Cultic Studies Association.- External links :* , Don Lattin, San Francisco Chronicle, Religion Writer, February 13, 2001...
.
With Uri Rueveni, of the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
, Sirkin studied the application of network therapy to the treatment of relational disorders relating to cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
s. It builds upon his early theoretical and clinical work on relational disorder
Relational disorder
According to Michael First, MD, of the DSM-5 working committee the locus of a relational disorder, in contrast to other DSM-IV disorders, "is on the relationship rather than on any one individual in the relationship."...
s. The network therapy study appeared in Contemporary Family Therapy. Specifically, that study looked at the application of an intervention
Intervention (counseling)
An intervention is an orchestrated attempt by one, or often many, people to get someone to seek professional help with an addiction or some kind of traumatic event or crisis, or other serious problem. The term intervention is most often used when the traumatic event involves addiction to drugs...
technique in order to help the family of an individual who had joined a group in which one member claimed to be the Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
. The researchers utilized a team of network specialists, and the study consisted of a pre-network planning meeting, the network meeting itself which included about 70 individuals and took place over the course of four hours, and follow-up meetings with subgroups within the network. Drs. Rueveni and Sirkin's study has been cited in later work in the journal Psychopathology and in the book, Moving Up: Positive Psychology
Positive psychology
Positive psychology is a recent branch of psychology whose purpose was summed up in 1998 by Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: "We believe that a psychology of positive human functioning will arise, which achieves a scientific understanding and effective interventions to build thriving in...
, by Darrell Franken,
Sirkin has since gone on to consult to organizations including family-held companies, law firms, and large multi-national and publicly held corporations. He is author of The Secret Life of Corporations: Understanding the True Nature of Business, New Chrysalis Press, 2004, which looks at organizations as complex systems that are biological in nature. He is founding chair, and current co-chair, of the Family Business SIG of the Society of Consulting Psychologists (Division 13 of the APA).
Education
- Certification in Organizational Consultation and Development, 1992
- Internship, clinical psychologyClinical psychologyClinical psychology is an integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development...
, 1981 - PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
, psychologyPsychologyPsychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, University of ConnecticutUniversity of ConnecticutThe admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
Books
- The Secret Life of Corporations: Understanding the True Nature of Business, New Chrysalis Press, August 2004
Articles
- The Consulting Psychologist, American Psychological AssociationAmerican Psychological AssociationThe American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
, Division 13, The Catalyst Division, "Spotlight On Consulting Issues, The Family Business Shared Interest Group", Mark I. Sirkin. - "Responding to Intermarriage: Effective Rabbinic Intervention", Rabbinics Today, March 1993 Vol.1, #8
- "Illness, Family Theory, and Family Therapy: I.Conceptual Issues, "Lyman C. Wynne, Cleveland G. Shields, Mark I. Sirkin, Family Process, Vol. 31 Issue 1 Page 3 March 1992
- "The role of network therapy in the treatment of relational disorders: Cults and folie a deux", Contemporary Family TherapyContemporary Family TherapyContemporary Family Therapy is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on family therapy, focusing on recent applied practice and developments in theory and research that is published quarterly by Springer Science+Business Media. The editor-in-chief is Dorothy S. Becvar...
, Springer Netherlands, Volume 14, Number 3 / June, 1992, Mark I. Sirkin, Uri Rueveni - "Cult involvement as relational disorder," 20, 199-203, Psychiatric Annals, Wynne, Sirkin
- "Cult Vs. Non-Cult Jewish Families: Factors Influencing Conversion", Cultic Studies JournalCultic Studies ReviewInternational Journal of Cultic Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the International Cultic Studies Association.- External links :* , Don Lattin, San Francisco Chronicle, Religion Writer, February 13, 2001...
, Vol.4, No.2, Mark Sirkin, Bruce A. Grellong.
External links
- Spotlight On Consulting Issues: The Family Business Shared Interest Group, American Psychological AssociationAmerican Psychological AssociationThe American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
See also
- Yeshiva UniversityYeshiva UniversityYeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
- clinical psychologyClinical psychologyClinical psychology is an integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development...
- University of Rochester Medical CenterUniversity of Rochester Medical CenterThe University of Rochester Medical Center , located in Rochester, New York, is one of the main campuses of the University of Rochester and comprises the university's primary medical education, research and patient care facilities....
- List of cult and new religious movement researchers