“In this presentation, the author, Andrew Smolar, MD, considers long-term psychodynamic treatments: How do they develop? In what circumstances are they an outgrowth of treatments that should have ended? When is it beneficial for the patient to continue working with the same therapist for a long period of time? And what are indications for return to therapy during the lifecycle? The author reviews pertinent literature on termination, stalemates, and effectiveness of long-term treatments. He describes the therapist confronting five clinical situations that raise questions about how and whether to end treatment. He concludes with several guiding principles: (1) paying attention to treatment goals and certain transferences prevents impasses; (2) self-analytic capacity is necessary but not sufficient for readiness to end; and (3) the patient’s forming an intimate primary relationship with a person other than the therapist facilitates ending.”

Source/ Event Link: Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia

“In this workshop, participants will explore how we come to know what we know. We will  explore philosophy, psychology, and epistemology to understand how knowledge is shaped by experience, power, and the unconscious mind. Designed for any level of therapist, this discussion will introduce ideas from epistemology, phenomenology, and critical theory in a manner that is accessible, thought-provoking, and relevant to clinical work. Participants will have the opportunity to consider their own “ways of knowing,” including how this impacts the practice of psychoanalytic psychotherapy.”

Source/ Event Link: Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas

“In this presentation, Dr. Merskin explores Jung and Freud’s foundational theories of projection — a psychological defense mechanism where individuals attribute their own unconscious feelings, thoughts, or desires onto others. Drawing on her expertise in media, identity, and representation, Dr. Merskin delves into how Freud and Jung conceptualized projection as a crucial tool for understanding human behavior, relationships, and even broader cultural phenomena, including how enemies are constructed and how we view nature and animals.”

Source/ Event Link: Pacifica Graduate Institute

“Narcissism has become a catch-all phrase, referring to an almost sociopathic lack of care. The psychoanalytic literature, however, helps us distinguish between individuals who lead with their grandiosity and those who lead with their vulnerability. Whether the presentation is libidinal or aggressive, narcissistically-organized individuals pose particular problems in the treatment because of their difficulty in tolerating or even imagining an actual relationship with the analyst as a separate person because of the threat to their own subjectivity. Clinical illustrations will highlight some of the complexities of working with individuals whose development has been waylaid by the trauma of insufficient parental attunement.”

Source/ Event Link: Austen Riggs Center

“This 2-hour Grand Rounds event introduces Functional PsychoNeuroBiology®, an interdisciplinary framework that bridges neuroscience, psychoanalysis, developmental psychology, and spirituality. Through this lens, we explore how spiritual practices — both secular and religious — shape the brain and psyche, influence mental health, and support resilience, integration, and healing.”

Source/ Event Link: Objects Relations Institute

“The postpartum period, often referred to as the “fourth trimester,” is crucial for both the mental and physical health of new parents. Unfortunately, many parents do not adequately prepare for this challenging phase, which can lead to mental health issues, such as postpartum depression and anxiety, and physical recovery struggles. As a practitioner, you can play a vital role in helping your clients craft a personalized postpartum care plan to navigate this period successfully.”

Source/ Event Link: Therapists of New York

“To allow for depth of clinical discussion and a true sense of our formal coursework, participation will be capped at 30 therapists.

The writing of this paper was inspired by observations that public discourse, political policymaking, internet barking, and even conversation within psychoanalytic institutes too often relies on signaling affiliation at the expense of dialogue and discovery. Such flag waving stops rather than promotes conversation. Too many of us seek safety and resonance within familiar groups, where a kind of intellectual inbreeding can limit growth. "Penetrating Language" argues that foundational principles of psychoanalytic listening and engagement continue to offer an attitude and an orientation to finding out sorely needed in so much of today's fraught communication.”

Source/ Event Link: Westchester Center for the Study of Psychoanalytic and Psychotherapy

“It is widely accepted that psychiatric medications exert their effects through a broad range of mechanisms, some mediated biologically through their actions at various receptor sites, and others mediated symbolically, through the meanings they carry. While most clinicians are aware of the potential benefits of meaning-based placebo effects, the field of psychiatry is considerably less focused on its harmful counterparts. It is only recently that the phenomenon of the nocebo response has begun to enter into the psychiatric literature. As the mirror image of the placebo response, nocebo responses occur when expectations of harm result in physical or psychiatric symptoms.

This presentation will review the evidence base for harmful meaning effects in psychiatry and some of the common dynamics by which the meanings of medication cause harm. We will explore some of the ethical dilemmas posed by mechanisms of harm and efforts to avoid harm. We will also consider the role of an empowering, patient-centered alliance and of basic psychotherapeutic skills in ameliorating harm that is mediated by meanings assigned to medications.”

Source/ Event Link: Austen Riggs Center

“Dreams help us to work collaboratively with our patients and can be a path to a deeper understanding of waking life. The deciphering of dream images and stories from dreams help us to better understand a patient's inner world. In clinical work, dreams may be a part of paving the way to change. This workshop will help clinicians to appreciate, elicit and work with dreams. Participants will: 1) understand dreams as an expression of the primary process, 2) be introduced to the concept of dreams as a wish fulfillment, as well some other aspects of the dream work, and functions of dreams, and 3) have an opportunity to discuss dream material, and how to use dreams clinically.”

Source/ Event Link: Metropolitan Institute for Training in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

“After Freud, Michel Foucault was the most important 20th century figure in shaping our current understanding of human sexuality. In this three-hour course, we will study his The History of Sexuality (1976 – 84).

In the first volume of this work, he argues – contra Freud - that sexuality must be understood as a social and historical construct, rather than an extra-social phenomenon of ‘biological drives’. We will explore his account of the emergence at the end of the 19th century of our contemporary experience of ‘sexuality’ – highlighting the role he sees psychoanalysis as playing in this process.

We will review the debate over his thesis that ‘homosexuality’ (and ‘heterosexuality’) are specific to contemporary Western culture, and explore his analysis (in the later volumes) of the very different experience of ‘sexuality’ that he finds in his studies of the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome.”

Source/ Event Link: Freud Museum London

“In Gestalt theory, an introject is a belief or norm unconsciously absorbed from our environment without being fully assimilated. Participants will briefly examine how gender assigned at birth can become an introjected construct—a heteronormative expectation imposed by caregivers and society—which may conflict with an individual’s authentic gender identity.

Through theoretical framing and focused experiential exercises, participants will reflect on how these introjects can lead to internal conflicts such as feelings of incongruence or self-negation when one’s true self does not align with assigned labels. Emphasizing Gestalt principles such as contact at the boundary, awareness, and organismic self-regulation, this session will briefly introduce an affirmative therapeutic approach to working with gender diversity.”

Source/ Event Link: Gestalt Therapy Institute of Los Angeles

“Different psychoanalytic models express their philosophies of humankind and its development in metaphors. This interactive seminar will introduce the attendees to Fairbairn’s metaphor of the human psyche. Fairbairn’s model belongs to a group of relational models that see the child’s early experiences with his mother/caregiver as critical to his development and wellbeing. Fairbairn saw structuralization of the psyche as a consequence of real interactions with external objects that are either growth enhancing, or frustrating of the child’s normal and legitimate needs."

• Source/ Event Link: Object Relations Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis

“Stockholm Syndrome is often referred to in the lingua franca, yet a deeper understanding of this issue can be elusive. This workshop will elucidate the history of and theory behind this commonly misunderstood phenomenon. How Stockholm syndrome typically presents in mental health practitioners’ work will be outlined and examined. Additionally, the intersection of Stockholm Syndrome and Abusive Traumatic Bonding ( ATB), child abuse, and domestic violence will be examined. Case studies will be provided and tools on how to apply the lessons presented in the webinar will be given. The workshop will be a dynamic combination of concrete instruction, powerful examples from literature and practice, and active discussion. The experience of refugees in the light of Stockholm Syndrome will also be examined.”

Source/ Event Link: Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Study Center

“Join Mark L. Ruffalo, M.S.W., D.Psain an exploration of the psychodynamic theory and treatment of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Participants will gain an understanding of the psychodynamic mechanisms underlying NPD, including problems in the individual's sense of self and other. Strategies for the theoretically-informed and compassionate treatment of patients with NPD will be presented.”

Source/ Event Link: Hudson Valley Professional Development

“We will attempt to read this documentary as a narrative representation of the imaginative world of the home’s occupants, returning to cyclical memories of loss, thwarted ambition, and an aching desire for security and love. We will also focus on the ways in which humor and intimacy create opportunities to both connect with and wound others. Participants will additionally be invited to link these observations and insights to their own work with patients contending with overly fused relationships, attempts at individuation, decay, and the precarity of the lifespan.”

Source/ Event Link: New Orleans - Birmingham Psychoanalytic Center

“Dreams bring us back into contact with that original imagery. They send us into an immersive virtual world, a seemingly mind-independent "reality," in which the stories behind our ordinary language -- ancient, cultural and personal -- take concrete shape around an active protagonist adapting to a metaphoric world generated by their own mind. By acting within these condensed fictional parables, we are able to evolve the narrative schemas or storylines behind our current problems in living.”

Source/ Event Link: San Diego Psychoanalytic Center

“Can the existing English translation by James Strachey of Freud’s Psychological Works be salvaged and updated, or is a completely fresh start called for? This is the question that confronted Mark Solms, the editor of the Revised Standard Edition, when he began his massive task thirty years ago. In this presentation, he will provide the answer that he came to, and explain why. This will entail an interesting consideration of the widespread accusation that Strachey ‘falsely scientized’ Freud. The talk will also entail a birds-eye overview of the many ways in which the Revised Standard Edition differs from the old one.”

Source/ Event Link: Freud Foundation U.S. and New York University

“What do psychoanalysts and actors have in common? Both are always listening for something to emerge — a character coming to life, a story taking shape, a feeling taking form.  But what happens when we direct this form of listening toward one another? Following  the recent publication of her essay, “Listening Into Being” (in Psychoanalytic Inquiry), Emmy-nominated film and television actress Robin Weigert (Deadwood, Big Little Lies) will join us at SFCP to discuss profound resonances  between the actor’s and the analyst’s practices of listening.”

Source/ Event Link: San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis

“Building on this foundation, the talk examines how Lacan’s later works from the 1960s and 1970s—particularly his ideas on the fundamental non-rapport structuring mental life—further refine our understanding of psychotic experiences. Particular attention will be given to the role of creativity and invention in overcoming psychotic crises.”

• Location: Virtual

• Source: William Alanson White Institute

Although Freud doubted that psychotic patients could benefit from psychoanalysis, he acknowledged that “suitable changes” in his method might “succeed in overcoming this contra indication.” From a variety of perspectives, the four speakers in this conversation explore how a focus on the embodiment of madness represents a change in method that has brought about remarkable advances in the field.

• Location: Virtual

• Source: Newport Psychoanalytic Institute

Attendees will explore Philip Bromberg’s paper, “Treating Patients with Symptoms- and Symptoms with Patience: Reflections on Shame, Dissociation, and Eating Disorders”. Bromberg’s theory is that the therapist’s task is to allow themselves to slowly discover the patient’s multiplicity of self-states and the existing gap between the states.

• Location: Virtual

• Source: New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute

In this lecture, Judith A. Yanof will be addressing the topic of identifying childhood trauma. Recognizing childhood trauma can be particularly difficult when it is not a known part of the patient’s history. Often childhood trauma and the aftereffect of dissociation are not recognized in adults, and, as it turns out, more often, not recognized in children. 

Location: Virtual

Source: Gestalt Therapy Institute Los Angeles

We are thrilled to invite you to join us on this rare opportunity! Lynne Jacobs, Gary Yontef and Rich Hycner are worldwide recognized for advocating the importance of emphasizing relationality and dialogue as part of Gestalt Therapy’s principles.

• Location: Virtual

• Source: Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies

Wilfred Bion produced original psychoanalytic theories and insights.  His ideas are rooted in classical analytic theory while being distinctly discontinuous from it.  The discontinuity, I conjecture, came from his contact with an Indian ayah (nursemaid) during the first nine years of his life when he lived in Mathura, India. The unconscious is both dynamic/private and cultural/social.