Debra Kram-Fernandez, Ph.D., LSCW-R, MS- Dance Therapy, R-DMT, CYT-200 has been practicing in the fields of mental health, trauma, and child and family welfare for over twenty-five years. Currently on faculty at the State University of New York-- Empire, and in the School of Community and Human Services, some of her favorite course offerings include Understanding Forgiveness, Exploring Happiness, Creative Arts and Healing, Diversity in Human Services, Creative Arts with Children with Autism, Group Work, Trauma and Addictions, Yoga and Yoga Philosophy, A History of Women in Social Work, and Eating Problems Across the Lifespan. She is interested in developing courses related to Trauma Informed Practice, Aging in Place, Creative Interventions with Older Adults, and Trauma Informed Practice with Older Adults.
Debra completed a two-year clinical training program at the Women's Therapy Center Institute (AKA WTCI) (2018). Thanks to the support of the Arthur Imperatore Community Forum Grant, she is currently preparing for a full year research endeavor exploring the history of this institute, the women who founded the organization, the group processes that support the institute's radical and progressive clinical and activist initiatives, and what brings people to feminist psychodynamic frames for providing treatment.
Degrees
- B.A. in English and Theater from University at Albany - State University of New York
- MSW in Social Work from Hunter College - City University of New York
- M.S. in Dance-Movement Therapy from Hunter College - City University of New York
- Ph.D. in Social Welfare from Hunter College - City University of New York
Publications
- Gatz, M., Russell, L., Grady, J., Kram-Fernandez, D., Clark, C., & Marshall, B. (2005). Women's recollections of victimization, psychological problems, and substance use. Journal of Community Psychology. Special Issue: Serving the Needs of Women with Co-Occurring Disorders and a History of Trauma, Vol 33, (4) pp. 373–525. Issue edited by: Margaret Gatz, Paul Brounstein, Jane Taylor.
- Kram-Fernandez, D. (2017). Psychodynamic Theories of Gender Development. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender Sage Publications.
- Kram-Fernandez, D. and Cabral, D. (2017). Gender and Health, An Overview. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender. Sage Publications.