Program in Psychoanalytic Studies

Alan Pollack, MD and
Stephen E. Sternbach, MD, Co-Chairs

The Program in Psychoanalytic Studies offers courses to the mental health, professional, and academic communities that teach, explore and develop areas of psychoanalytic understanding. The goal of the Program is to enrich our understanding of clinical and theoretical psychoanalysis as well as to explore the interface between psychoanalysis and intellectual and social issues of concern to the community.

Course Offerings 2007-2008

Printable Program Brochure

Talking with Strangers: Clinical Technique from a Contemporary Ego Psychological Perspective

Fred Busch, PhD
TUESDAYS, 8:00-9:30 PM
October 16, 23, 30; November 6, 13, 20, 27; December 4, 2007

In the last 25 years there has been a resurgence of interest in the new clinical techniques derived from a fresh application of ego psychology. Through readings and the discussion of clinical material (the instructor and participants), we will explore the contributions of contemporary ego psychology to a range of clinical issues. This will include the importance of resistance analysis, working “in the neighborhood,” along with the role of transference and countertransference. The goals of treatment as defined by this method will also be explored, along with its connections and differences from other schools of thought.
Offered to Mental Health Professionals
Course meets at 246 Eliot Street, Chestnut Hill, MA

Semrad’s Theory and Psychotherapy of Psychoses

Max Day, MD
TUESDAYS, 8:00-9:30 PM
October 16, 30; November 13, 27; December 11, 2007
January 8, 22; February 5, 19, 2008

This course begins with the concepts of psychosis vulnerability and the role of the hierarchy of defenses in regression and recompensation. There is a review of changes in psychoanalytic thinking about psychosis, from emphasis on levels of libidinal development, through metapsychological views, to ego-psychological and object relations views of psychosis. The clinical pictures such as the “I don’t care” personality, the hallucinator or day dreamer, the paranoid patient, the depressed patient, the manic patient, and the borderline state are considered. Three of these will be studied by patient interviews in clinical settings, to be provided by course participants. Semrad’s views on the psychotherapy of psychosis will be discussed, along with contributions by other major workers.
Offered to Licensed Clinicians
Course meets at 108 Lake Avenue, Newton Centre, MA

THE VALUE OF CONDUCTING PSYCHOTHERAPY AND EDUCATION IN DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS: THE VIEWPOINT OF RELATIONAL PSYCHOANALYSIS

SEBASTIANO SANTOSTEFANO, PhD
TUESDAYS, 8:00-9:30 PM
October 16, 23, 30; November 6, 13, 20, 27, 2007

In this course we are going to consider two theoretical frameworks that have been increasingly juxtaposed with one another recently: relational psychoanalysis and eco-psychology. We will review basic concepts of relational psychoanalysis, including the embodied mind; the process of interacting and negotiating with human and nonhuman environments; and motivation as an organizing process that lends meaning to our experience. We will use these concepts to challenge eco-psychology’s proposal that experiences with nature and other environments automatically provide stimulation that either promotes a sense of wellbeing or stress. Case reports will be used to illustrate that a person’s self continues to develop by negotiating developmental needs, resolving conflicts, and growing through interactions and relationships with three environments: the bodies and activities of other persons; nature; and inanimate objects. In addition to case reports, we will use research data as guides for child and adult therapists, educators and parents to illustrate the value in therapeutic work of nonverbal interactions and enactments. We will also consider the impact of the computer and computer games as a special environment. Participants are asked to read several publications, including Child Therapy in The Great Outdoors: A Relational View, Analytic Press, 2004.
Open Enrollment

SIGMUND FREUD AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOANALYSIS

MURRAY L. COHEN, PhD
THURSDAYS, 6:00-7:30 PM
October 18, 25; November 1, 8, 15, 29; December 6, 13, 2007

In this seminar we will consider many of the significant concepts of
Freud and note their development through different stages of his
thoughts. Arbitrary yes, but we can distinguish six periods of his
writings. There will be readings and discussion of selected essays
within each period.
1. 1893-1899 The mind as an active process.
2. 1900-1905 Contributions of Psychoanalysis to General
Psychology
3. 1905-1914 Applied Psychoanalysis, Technique, Case Studies
4. 1915-1919 Metapsychology, University Lectures, Precursors to
Aggression Theory
5. 1920-1929 Theory Revision
6. 1930-1939 Unique Essays, Summary and Conclusion Essays
Open Enrollment
Course meets at 363 North Emerson Road, Lexington, MA

SPECIFIC CHALLENGES IN TREATMENT OF NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITIES

ELSA RONNINGSTAM, PhD
TUESDAYS, 8:00-9:30 PM
January 22, 29; February 5, 12, 19, 26; March 4, 11, 2008

Narcissistic personalities present unusual challenges for the
psychotherapist and psychoanalyst. Their interpersonal distancing,
need for internal control, and non-responsiveness to common
interventions in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis contribute to
significant obstacles for progress and change. The purpose of this
course is to review the nature of narcissistic character patterns and
their interference with common treatment efforts. Specific emphasis will be on the impact of shame, envy, aggression and internal control. New perspectives on transference-countertransference enactment, the use of interpretations and empathy, and the impact of life events in treatment of these patients will be addressed.
Open to Licensed Clinicians

Adolescence: Development, Identity Formation, and Psychotherapeutic Treatment

Marsha Levy-Warren, PhD
FRIDAYS, 1:45 PM-3:15 PM
February 1, 8, 15, 22, 2008

We will discuss how adolescent development unfolds from a psychoanalytic viewpoint that emphasizes the biological, psychological, relational, and socio-cultural perspectives. The differences among early, middle, and late adolescents and their families will be addressed; as well as differences among ethnicities, races, and socioeconomic classes. Treatment will be discussed from several perspectives: what are typical adolescent psychopathologies (e.g., eating disorders, self-mutilation, substance abuse) and why are they typical, what are necessary attributes for those who wish to practice as adolescent therapists, what do we learn from working clinically with adolescents that can be applied to working with adults, and what is distinct about working with adolescent patients.
Open to Licensed Clinicians, Practitioners, Trainees and Mental Health Professionals
Course meets at 127 Naples Road, Brookline, MA

OBJECT RELATIONS, LOVE RELATIONSHIPS, AND TRANSFORMATIONAL PROCESSES FROM FREUD TO WINNICOTT AND BION: A CLINICAL APPROACH FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Walker Shields, MD
MONDAYS, 8:00-9:30 PM
February 25; March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, 2008

Beginning with Ogden’s review of Freud’s “Mourning and Melancholia” and Modell’s study of Winnicott’s concept of transitional phenomena in Object Love and Reality, we will trace the evolution of the object relations approach and its application to promote creative change in psychoanalytic treatment. We will touch briefly on the work of Klein, Fairbairn, and Balint. We will study Winnicott’s insights about the fundamentals of early forms of object relatedness and then proceed to examine Bion’s conception of inter-subjective processes in the development of the capacity for creative thought in the midst of complex, lived, emotional experience. Using clinical material and the contributions of Ogden, Modell, Kohut and Wolf, Gabbard, Mitrani, Ferro and others that link with Winnicott and Bion, we will explore the vicissitudes of love relationships and emerging potential for creative transformation in clinical work. We will also explore connections with infant-mother developmental research as well as links with models from modern neurobiology.
Open Enrollment

Psychoanalytic Theories of Aggression

Adam Narva, PhD, JD
WEDNESDAYS, 8:00-9:30 PM
March 12, 19, 26; April 2, 9, 16, 30; May 7, 2008

In this course we will examine and contrast the leading theories of
aggression as they are developed in the psychoanalytic literature,
with a focus on contemporary theories. We will discuss ideas from
Kleinian psychology, object relations theory, self-psychology, and
relational and intersubjectivity theory. We will contrast these
approaches with drive theory. We will attempt to differentiate
among the concepts of anger, assertiveness, destructiveness, hate,
hostility, rage, and sadism. We will consider the value of the
concept of a “death drive.” Seminar members will be welcome to
bring clinical material for discussion, including material related to
transference and counter-transference issues.
Open Enrollment

SEX, GENDER, BODY AND MIND

PAUL LYNCH, MD
SHARI THURER, ScD
TUESDAYS, 8:00- 9:30 PM
March 18, 25; April 1, 8, 15, 29; May 6, 13, 2008

The genders are leaking into each other. The presumption of sexual equality in polite society, the mainstreaming of
homosexuality, gender bending among today’s youth, and the
visibility of transsexuality derail our conception of orderly sexual
arrangements. How can psychoanalysis explain the new social
reality? This course will look at gender identity, as well as sexual
orientation, fantasy and practice, through the lens of recent
psychoanalytic and developmental theory, cross-pollinated with
some ideas from queer theory. Are these theories clinically useful? Case material, literature and films will be discussed.
Open Enrollment

SHAKESPEARE, THE UNCONSCIOUS, DREAMING, AND TRANSFORMATIVE PROCESSES WITHIN HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS

Walker Shields, MD
MONDAYS, 8:00-9:30 PM
April 7, 14, 28; May 5, 12, 19, 2008

Shakespeare remains at the center of the Western literary canon concerning depth psychology and the transformative power of human imagination. In this seminar we will consider a sequence of Shakespeare’s greatest plays as a means of exploring major contributions in psychoanalysis towards a modern theory of object relations, (human relatedness and love relationships in the broadest context). In particular we will consider applications of Wilfred Bion’s theory of the significance of dreaming, including both “waking dream thoughts” and night-time dreaming, in the development of thinking about lived emotional experience and in a variety of human transformational processes in the individual and social context. Of particular interest will be those transformations which lie beyond anyone’s capacity to anticipate or conceive by linear thought in advance … often portrayed in Shakespeare’s dramas. Our sequence for study will be: Richard the Third, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, As You Like It, and King Lear. We will consider the emerging relationships among the characters in the plays but also the influence of the social system of each play taken in its entirety. We will include analytic commentary by Ogden, Coltart, and Rioch as well as the essays of literary critics including Hazlitt, Bradley, Knight, and Bloom.
After an introduction, each seminar meeting will continue with a reading from the play selected for the evening followed by time for a “here-and-now” study group, (Bion), to make space for our spontaneous associations in response to the poetry of Shakespeare’s dramas. After the study group, we will conclude each session with reflection and discussion in which we will attempt to make links between our experience of the play and developmental research, modern neurobiology, and evolving psychoanalytic object relations theory. This seminar is open to anyone with an interest in Shakespeare, the Unconscious, and transformational processes in human relationships.
Open Enrollment

THE APPLICATION OF LACANIAN THEORY TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

STEPHEN STERNBACH, MD
LEWIS KIRSHNER, MD
Five Evening Sessions
Contact the BPSI Administrative Office for Specific Dates

Lacan’s theoretical elaboration of the unconscious and the human
being as a subject of speech and of desire involved the formulation
of many difficult concepts. Although some of these have become
better known to English-speaking practitioners in recent years,
the clinical implications of the theory constitute what is probably
most important for analysts in Lacan’s work. In this course, we
will hear and discuss clinical material presented by experienced
Lacanian analysts. We are planning a series of five evening
lectures and discussions over the coming academic year. The
course is open to clinicians interested in developing a better
understanding of Lacanian practice and its possible application to
their own work, as well as to scholars wishing to learn more
about Lacanian psychoanalysis.
Open to Licensed or License-Eligible Clinicians and
Academics

For further information regarding courses, for registration, or to inquire about scholarship assistance, please contact the Administrative Office

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of the American Psychoanalytic Association and the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. The American Psychoanalytic Association is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians and takes responsibility for the content, quality, and scientific integrity of this CME activity. The American Psychoanalytic Association designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 hours per session in Category I Credit towards the AMA Physician’s Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit that he/she actually spent in the educational activity. The Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Each session fulfills 1.5 hours of CE. Please contact the BPSI Administrative Office about continuing education for social workers. The Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, Inc. (BPSI) does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, age, national origin, handicap, or sexual preference in admissions, administration of its education programs, scholarship and loan programs, and employment.