Ochberg Fellowship Week

Reporting responsibly and credibly on violence or traumatic events — on street crime and family violence, natural disasters and accidents, war and genocide — is a major challenge. The Ochberg Fellowship enables outstanding journalists from around the globe to explore these critical issues during a week of seminars held at Columbia University in New York City. Program activities include briefings by prominent interdisciplinary experts in the trauma and mental health fields; conversations with journalist colleagues on issues of ethics and craft; and a variety of other opportunities for intellectual engagement and peer learning. 

The Fellowship is led by a core faculty of prominent journalists and mental health professionals associated with the Dart Center, along with a visiting faculty. Past speakers have included: 

• Judith Lewis Herman, M.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and author of Trauma and Recovery.
• Jonathan Shay, M.D. Ph.D., Clinical Psychiatrist, MacArthur Fellow and author of Achilles in Vietnam and Odysseus in America.
• Chicago “violence interrupter” Eddie Bocanegra with Alex Kotlowitz, producer of the documentary film “The Interrupters” and author, There Are No Children Here.
• Karestan Koenen, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
• Jessica Stern, author of Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill and Denial: A Memoir of Terror. 
• Steven Southwick, M.D., Glenn H. Greenberg Professor of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine and co-author, Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life's Greatest Challenges.

The fellowship is named in honor of Frank Ochberg, M.D., a pioneer in the study of trauma.

Application deadline: September 30, 2016. For application guidelines, click here. 

Click here for testimonials from recent fellows.