Intensive Study Group Committee

The Intensive Study Groups, co-sponsored by NCSPP and The Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California (PINC), provide an opportunity for in-depth focus on a particular topic over the course of 32 weeks. The groups are limited to 15 students and are designed for mid- to advanced-level clinicians. Participants are eligible to twelve consultations sessions with a PINC analyst at a significantly reduced fee in order to help integrate the course material with their clinical work.

We have just finished a very exciting year, focusing on Relational Psychoanalysis. In the East Bay, the instructors were Joan Sarnat, Ilene Philipson, Susan Sands, and Diane Swirsky; in San Francisco the instructors were Lee Rather, Drew Tillotson, Andrew Harlem, and Francisco Gonzalez. Each instructor took a different area to explore, including the therapist's authority, the process of change, relational perspectives on the body, clinical dilemmas concerning impasse, enactment and unformulated experience, and the challenges of new technologies in the clinical field.

This year's Intensive Study Groups will focus on “The Therapist's Humanity,” looking at the impact of the therapist's experience on the clinical field. East Bay instructors are Rachel Peltz, Ray Poggi, Robin Deutsch, Jane Burka, and Charles Dithrich. In San Francisco the instructors are Julie Leavitt, Dawn Farber, Drew Tillotson, and Karen Peoples. The four sections will focus on the therapist's body, the therapist's relationships, the sociopolitical world that therapist and patient share, and experiences of the uncanny in the therapeutic relationship.

The ISG Committee continues to be a vital and active group. This spring I was joined by co-chair Ellen Klutznick and our committee members, who work well together to generate engaging topics for study and find exciting faculty to teach. Each member has contributed in significant ways to the group's success: Suzanne Chassay (PINC liaison), Brenda Bloomfield, Genie Dvorak, Eric Essman,