Denver Psychoanalytic Society

The scientific program for the annual retreat of the Denver Institute for Psychoanalysis addressed “The Interface Between Psychoanalysis and the Cognitive Neurosciences.” All faculty members, analytic candidates, and psychotherapy students were invited to attend. Two groups of papers were predistributed: a chapter from a book by James Grigsby and David Stevens (coming out next year)

that outlines a cognitive neuroscience-based theory of personality functioning, and a report by Barbara Unger on analytic material, which lent itself to a discussion of some of the concepts in the chapter. Stevens and Unger led a discussion on the analytic issues raised by the case presented—the dynamics, transference issues, and technique—and how they might be conceptualized in cognitive neuroscientific terms. The second group of papers included a predistributed article by Fred Levin, “Integrating Mind and Brain Views of Psychoanalysis,” from a recent issue of The Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, and case material by Gary Martin. Mike Moran led a discussion of the Levin paper; then Moran and Martin led a discussion on how cognitive neuroscientific concepts could be used to understand analytic process in the case material.

Predistribution of the materials helped the participants acquaint themselves with often dense neuroscientific language and concepts, and a brief summary of the material helped people organize their thinking and their questions. The carefully selected analytic material enabled participants to discuss whether or how these new concepts might inform our thinking about the clinical process.

Grigsby, a neuroscientist, is a graduate of the psychoanalytic scholarship track of the Center for Psychology and Psychoanalysis in Denver. Stevens, Unger, Moran, and Martin are graduates of the Denver Institute for Psychoanalysis. Although none of these individuals would call themselves psychoanalytic neuroscientists, all would agree that the data and ideas emerging f