Susan Coates
Encyclopedia
Susan W. Coates is an American
psychologist
known for her work on gender identity disorder in children
(GIDC) and trauma in early childhood.
, her MA from Vassar College
and her Ph.D.
in clinical psychology
from New York University
. She is a Clinical Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University.
In the 1970s Coates began publishing on Field dependence
-independence (FDI) using the Preschool Embedded Figures Test that she developed based on Herman Witkin
's Embedded Figures Test. This led to work on cognitive and behavioral sex differences in humans
.
Coates served as Director of the Childhood Gender Identity Service at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
from 1980 to 1997. Coates said of her therapeutic intervention for gender identity disorder in children
, "With therapy, younger kids usually come to accept their own gender and feel good about their temperament. When we go back to evaluate them three years or so after therapy, they don't have compulsive cross-gender fantasies anymore, or often don't remember them. But if you don't treat it until 9 or 10, it's much harder to turn around. And beyond age 12 or so, there's a good chance they're on course to become a transsexual as adults." Coates has stated that maternal trauma when the child was two or three was often a factor, and that five to thirty times as many boys are treated for GIDC. Coates believes that when gender is appropriated in preschool children to solve issues of trauma or a derailed or disorganized attachment relationship the child and family need help to resolve the trauma and to restore a secure attachment relationship. With this resolution children can become comfortable with who they are and restore their natural creative nature.
Coates is a member of the American Psychological Association
. She served on the American Psychiatric Association
DSM-IV Subcommittee on Gender Identity Disorders.
Coates testified in the 1993 child custody
trial
between Woody Allen
and Mia Farrow
. She had had sessions with their son Satchel
between 1990 and 1992.
She is on the teaching faculty of The Columbia Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research. In 1997, Coates was founding Co-Director of the Parent-Infant Program at the Center. She teaches a course on Intergenerational transfer of trauma that focuses on the interface of trauma and attachment theory, and on how trauma that is unresolved in one generation is visited upon the next generation. She is particularly interested in how the failure of mentalization creates an environment in which trauma is easily transferred from one generation to the next.
Immediately following the September 11, 2001 attacks
, Coates provided mental health services to children and their parents at the Family Assistance Center set up by Disaster Psychiatry Outreach at Pier 94 in New York City. She is the senior editor of the 2003 book September 11: Trauma and Human Bonds. This book has been translated into multiple languages and remains among the very first accounts of 9/11 related loss and trauma described by mental health professionals who also experienced the attacks and their aftermath. She has also discussed trauma in children following Hurricane Katrina
in an expert interview on Medscape.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
known for her work on gender identity disorder in children
Gender identity disorder in children
Gender identity disorder in children is the formal diagnosis used by psychologists and physicians to describe children who experience significant gender dysphoria ....
(GIDC) and trauma in early childhood.
Career
Coates earned her BA from Sarah Lawrence CollegeSarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
, her MA from Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
and her Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in clinical psychology
Clinical psychology
Clinical 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...
from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. She is a Clinical Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University.
In the 1970s Coates began publishing on Field dependence
Field dependence
Field dependence and field independence are two different cognitive styles. They could be considered as the core of cognitive styles. The concepts are first proposed by Herman Witkin in 1962...
-independence (FDI) using the Preschool Embedded Figures Test that she developed based on Herman Witkin
Herman Witkin
Herman A. Witkin was an American psychologist who specialized in the spheres of cognitive psychology and learning psychology. He was a pioneer of the theory of Cognitive styles and Learning styles...
's Embedded Figures Test. This led to work on cognitive and behavioral sex differences in humans
Sex differences in humans
A sex difference is a distinction of biological and/or physiological characteristics associated with either males or females of a species. These can be of several types, including direct and indirect. Direct being the direct result of differences prescribed by the Y-chromosome, and indirect being...
.
Coates served as Director of the Childhood Gender Identity Service at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, an academic affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, is a 1,076-bed, full-service community and tertiary care hospital serving New York City’s Midtown West, Upper West Side and parts of Harlem....
from 1980 to 1997. Coates said of her therapeutic intervention for gender identity disorder in children
Gender identity disorder in children
Gender identity disorder in children is the formal diagnosis used by psychologists and physicians to describe children who experience significant gender dysphoria ....
, "With therapy, younger kids usually come to accept their own gender and feel good about their temperament. When we go back to evaluate them three years or so after therapy, they don't have compulsive cross-gender fantasies anymore, or often don't remember them. But if you don't treat it until 9 or 10, it's much harder to turn around. And beyond age 12 or so, there's a good chance they're on course to become a transsexual as adults." Coates has stated that maternal trauma when the child was two or three was often a factor, and that five to thirty times as many boys are treated for GIDC. Coates believes that when gender is appropriated in preschool children to solve issues of trauma or a derailed or disorganized attachment relationship the child and family need help to resolve the trauma and to restore a secure attachment relationship. With this resolution children can become comfortable with who they are and restore their natural creative nature.
Coates is a member of the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
The 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...
. She served on the American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential worldwide. Its some 38,000 members are mainly American but some are international...
DSM-IV Subcommittee on Gender Identity Disorders.
Coates testified in the 1993 child custody
Child custody
Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the United...
trial
Trial
A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...
between Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
and Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow is an American actress, singer, humanitarian, and fashion model.Farrow first gained wide acclaim for her role as Allison Mackenzie in the soap opera Peyton Place, and for her subsequent short-lived marriage to Frank Sinatra...
. She had had sessions with their son Satchel
Ronan Seamus Farrow
Ronan Farrow is an American human rights activist, freelance journalist, Rhodes Scholar, lawyer and government official. He is currently serving in the Obama administration as Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for Global Youth Issues and director of the State Department’s Global Youth...
between 1990 and 1992.
She is on the teaching faculty of The Columbia Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research. In 1997, Coates was founding Co-Director of the Parent-Infant Program at the Center. She teaches a course on Intergenerational transfer of trauma that focuses on the interface of trauma and attachment theory, and on how trauma that is unresolved in one generation is visited upon the next generation. She is particularly interested in how the failure of mentalization creates an environment in which trauma is easily transferred from one generation to the next.
Immediately following the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, Coates provided mental health services to children and their parents at the Family Assistance Center set up by Disaster Psychiatry Outreach at Pier 94 in New York City. She is the senior editor of the 2003 book September 11: Trauma and Human Bonds. This book has been translated into multiple languages and remains among the very first accounts of 9/11 related loss and trauma described by mental health professionals who also experienced the attacks and their aftermath. She has also discussed trauma in children following Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
in an expert interview on Medscape.
External links
- Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research
- Trauma in Children; Considerations for Care After Hurricane Katrina: An Expert Interview With Susan Coates, PhD via MedScape
- Susan Coates profile via CUNY
- Clinical/Epidemiological Developmental Research via Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology
- Special Members roster via Association for Psychoanalytic Medicine