DR. KAETHE WEINGARTEN, founded and directs the Witnessing Project. This project focuses on the development and dissemination of a witnessing model to ameliorate the effects of violence following domestic, inter-ethnic, racial, political and other forms of conflict. She has taught this model to hundreds of professionals and used the model in consultation with individuals, couples, families and organizations, as well as with traumatized populations in Kosovo and South Africa.
   The Witnessing Project aims to make people aware of themselves as everyday witnesses to violence and violation, and provides people with the tools to cope with the biological, psychological, interpersonal and societal effects of witnessing violence.
   Whether we like it or not, every day, we observe disturbing events. Sometimes these events occur between people we know. At other times, we may just happen to be somewhere and see a gratuitous example of violence. Exposure to violence and violation happens daily to children and adults alike, requiring us to metabolize these daily jolts. The Witnessing Project calls the way we react to these jolts common shock, to capture the biological and psychological responses that are triggered when we witness violence and violation. It is common, because it happens all the time, to everyone in any community. It is a shock, because whether our response is spaciness, distress, or bravado, it affects our mind, body and spirit. How we respond to common shock not only has significant effects on our own lives, but our individual responses have ramifications for our families and the society as a whole. Since very few people are aware of the chronic debilitating effects of witnessing everyday violence, few people know how to deal with it themselves or help others do so.
   Dr. Weingarten is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. She founded and directs the Program in Family, Trauma and Resilience: Integrating Biology, Psychology, Family, and Community Perspectives. She co-developed and taught in the Program in Narrative Therapies at the Family Institute of Cambridge and has supervised at the Victims of Violence Program, based at Cambridge Health Alliance. She is a member of the Kosovo Family Professional Education Collaborative and Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the American Family Therapy Academy. Her professional activities include teaching nationally and in Africa, Australia, Canada, Europe and New Zealand; service on the editorial boards of five journals; and writing (six authored or edited books; over 25 articles in peer-reviewed journals; and many book chapters. Dr. Weingarten is a Fellow of the Divisions of Family Psychology and the Psychology of Women of the American Psychological Association.