At the heart of the Scientific Program for the Annual Meeting in San Francisco is a detailed consideration of the psychoanalytic process. In the course of the weekend, four different panels will consider its various aspects. An all-day panel, The Psychoanalytic Process in Child, Adolescent, and Adult Analysis, will be chaired by Martin A. Silverman. Presenters include Sander M. Abend, Harold P. Blum, Robert M. Galatzer-Levy, Judith S. Schachter, Anita G. Schmukler, Lorraine D. Siggins, Michele A. Stewart, and Stephen A. Tew.
One aspect of psychoanalytic process that is of increasing interest to our members is how analysts can productively use themselves and their reactions to the patient to further the treatment. A panel entitled Inference and Evidence: The Analyst's Use of the Self, chaired by George H. Klumpner, will consider this issue in detail. Panelists include Alfred S. Margulies, Sydney E. Pulver, and Austin Silber. Jacob A. Arlow will serve as discussant. Another aspect of process involves the analyst's choice of interventions. As technique is expanded to accommodate patients who are more disturbed than the classical analytic patient, controversy has increased about the outer limits of psychoanalytic technique. Stanley J. Coen will chair a panel, What are the Boundaries of Standard Technique?, to explore this concern. The presenters for the panel include David M. Hurst, Marvin Margolis, and Morris L. Peltz.
Yet another aspect of process will be considered by the final panel, Resistance in Clinical Practice: A Reevaluation. Presenters include Samuel Abrams, Warren S. Poland, and Owen Renik. The panel will be chaired by Edward M. Weinshel and discussed by Lawrence Friedman.
The Plenary Address at the May meeting will be presented by Leonard L. Shengold, whose topic is Further Thoughts on Freud as “Our” Ego Ideal. The Meet-the-Author format will feature Arnold Goldberg's recent book, The Prisonhouse of Psychoanalysis. Melvin Bornstein will moderate a discussion led by Arnold M. Cooper and Theodore Shapiro.
The program will continue the relatively new format called Psychoanalytic Courses. At this meeting Calvin F. Settlage will teach a course entitled Psychic Structure Formation, Psychopathology, and Psychoanalytic Treatment from the Perspective of Separation-Individuation Theory. In response to many requests, a new format, the Program for Spouses, will be added in San Francisco. Abraham Zaleznik will present What Leaders Can Learn from Psychoanalysis. The program will be chaired by David M. Sachs and discussed by Carol Singer Peltz and Neil J. Smelser.
A two-session Film Workshop, Representations of Psychoanalysis in Film, will be chaired by Bruce H. Sklarew. Part I is a showing of Secrets of a Soul, the 1926 classic that involved Freud disciple Hanns Sachs as a consultant. The film will be discussed by Josè Barchilon and Ira Konigsberg. Part II features Silence of the Lambs, the Jonathan Demme hit that in 1992 won the Oscar for best picture. Discussants will be Moise Shopper and Robert J. Winer.
The Seminars for Psychoanalysts include an unusual title at the May meeting: What Can Monkeys Teach Us about People? Chaired by Joseph D. Lichtenberg, the seminar will focus on Stephen J. Suomi's primate research (see sidebar). Two other seminars have been scheduled. Allan D. Rosenblatt will chair External Credentialing: Implementation and Implications. The third, DSM–IV Diagnoses in Psychoanalysis, will be presented by Allen Frances and chaired by Arnold M. Cooper. The Psychoanalytic Forum for Associate and Affiliate Members will host Leonard L. Shengold speaking on narcissistic delusions.
In a nod to the location of this year's Annual Meeting, the Oral History Workshop, chaired by Robert S. Wallerstein, will review the history of psychoanalysis in San Francisco during the years 1940–1965. As usual, there will be four Special Programs for psychiatric residents and psychology and social work students: The Psychodynamic Formulation, chaired by Judith F. Chused; The Inner World of the Child: Psychoanalytic Work with Children, chaired by Rex H. McGehee; Countertransference with Seriously Disturbed Patients, chaired by Glen O. Gabbard; and Applications of Psychoanalytic Thinking to Groups and Institutions, chaired by Edward R. Shapiro.
Two-day Clinical Workshops will also be offered. The Workshop Series in Process and Technique, coordinated by Henry F. Smith, will feature Arnold M. Cooper. A second workshop, entitled Psychoanalysis and Psychopharmacology: A Working Alliance, will be chaired by Harold W. Wylie and Philip W. Gold. In addition, interdisciplinary seminars and an array of discussion groups will be offered.
Members who find that certain areas of the field are underrepresented on the program should feel free to make suggestions to any member of the Program Committee regarding the content of future meetings. Both positive and negative feedback on the program is always welcome.