eXcluded: Alienation and Ostracism in Sports
How We Wound and How We Heal
November 16, 2011
9:30am - 12:00n
Mirenda Center for Sport, Spirituality and Character Development
Neumann University
Being excluded
It happens too often in the world of athletics. It can involve players, coaches, and non-athletes. When it happens, it is extremely painful and often memorable and everlasting. The “it” is being excluded, also known as receiving the cold shoulder, being ignored or ostracized. Research has shown that when a person is ostracized even for two hours, the experience can leave a depressing and painful feeling in the victim for life.
The Issues
What can be done about it? How can the pain of being ostracized be prevented? What can and should one do as the victim of ostracism? How can a coach, player, or the entire team serve to prevent it from happening? What role can and should a coach play as a healer and one who is proactive in preventing a team member from experiencing the long-lasting hurt of the cold shoulder?
The Program
Neumann University has created a half-day seminar that will directly address these issues. Dr. Daniel Gottlieb, the renowned and popular psychologist, will address ostracism in an interactive program that will be a useful and productive experience for head coaches, assistant coaches, and student athletes. You will hear from an experienced psychologist on how to see and read the early signs of ostracism, how to understand the impact it has on trust in others, and how to take action to prevent long-term effects.
The program is scheduled for Wednesday, November 16, from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Mirenda Center for Sport, Spirituality and Character Development at Neumann University. To register for the seminar ($10 per person) or to find out about group discounts, call 484-840-4703 or email
brazills@neumann.edu. To register online, please use the eXcluded: Alienation and Ostracism in Sports Registration form, available here:
REGISTRATION.
Who Should Attend
High school coaches, high school student athletes, counselors, youth ministers, concerned parents, school ministers, teachers, administrators and anyone who would be interested in this captivating topic.
Dr. Dan Gottlieb began his practice in 1969 after receiving undergraduate and graduate degrees at Temple University. As a young psychologist, he specialized in addictions and ultimately became the director of a community based treatment program in Philadelphia.
Since 1985, Dr. Gottlieb has been hosting "Voices in the Family," an award-winning mental health call-in radio show aired on WHYY 90.9 FM, Philadelphia's local public radio station. From 1993 until 2008, he wrote a highly regarded column for the Philadelphia Inquirer titled "Inside Out," reflecting his perspective on the events in the world around us and the many ways in which we experience those events.
In addition to his writing and radio show, he lectures locally and nationally on a variety of topics affecting the well-being of people, families and the larger community. Through personal and professional experience, Dan has learned that our greatest suffering is alienation and loneliness. These powerful emotions can produce prejudice, hatred, violence, withdrawal and depression. He has learned that all humans long for human contact, compassion and understanding. And without compassion, our spirits wither.
This program is co-sponsored by Neumann University’s Pastoral Care and Counseling Program; Institute for Sport, Spirituality and Character Development; Division of Education; Counseling Center for Wellness; and Athletic Department.