This course explores ‘enactments’ as a dynamic and inevitable phenomenon in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Drawing on the seminal works of Owen Renik, Theodore Jacobson, Lewis Aron, Joseph Sandler, and other contemporary theorists, we will examine how enactments emerge at the intersection of transference, countertransference, and repetition compulsion.
"Not knowing is the precondition for being able to imagine..." —Thomas Ogden
Drawing on mythology, psychoanalytic investigation and sociocultural trends this seminar will explore the ever-changing landscape of masculinity from classical images to current-day sociocultural perspectives on the male gender.
Join me for a three-part course exploring the clinical challenges of working with narcissistically vulnerable clients. We will examine both traditional Kohutian and contemporary perspectives in Self Psychology, beginning with Freud’s original theory of narcissism and progressing to Heinz Kohut’s radical redefinition.
The MAMAL model of group supervision/consultation is an affect-focused, experiential consultation model based on Relational Psychoanalytic theory and technique as outlined in Roy Barsness' text Core Competencies of Relational Psychoanalysis: A Guide to Practice, Study, and Research. The consultation model was developed by Barsness and others and is described in Barsness’ most recent book Psychodynamic Supervision: In a New Key.
Harold Searles was an American analyst greatly influenced by the British writers Klein, Bion and Winnicott and also by the American interpersonal school. His writing is characterized by a deep honesty about the difficult nature of our work and a startling freedom in his thought. In this seminar we will read two of his most innovative papers, the first exploring what he regards as the fundamental human motivation, to heal, and the second a reworking of the Oedipal phase as one of real romance and love.
This course explores ‘enactments’ as a dynamic and unavoidable phenomenon in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Drawing on the seminal works of Owen Renik, Theodore Jacobson, Lewis Aron, Joseph Sandler, and other contemporary theorists, we will examine how enactments emerge at the intersection of transference, countertransference, and repetition compulsion.
With all of the theories and knowledge and wisdom of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy—now, more than ever—at our fingertips, what (and how and when) do we make use of these when we are actually sitting with another complicated person? How do we begin to distill and understand the essences of these many ideas to not only to change our own souls, but also the souls of others? How do we creatively become the kind of psychotherapist that is not only helpful and kind, but transformative and challenging?
Russell Meares is an Australian distinguished emeritus professor of psychiatry and innovator of psychotherapeutic approaches for complex developmental trauma. His work is appreciated by thinkers including Thomas Ogden and Allan Schore as a contribution toward neuroscience-informed psychoanalytic theory which offers a complex yet affirming view of human creativity and the development of a reflective, robust sense of self.