The Fall Meeting of the American Psychoanalytic Association will be held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City from December 19 through December 23, 2001. The meeting offers a rich variety of panel discussions, discussion groups, scientific papers, symposia, and courses. The material presented will be clinical, theoretical, and intellectually satisfying. Topics range from those most intimate to the individual to the interface of psychoanalysis and the larger world around us.
The meetings begin on Wednesday, December 19, with a pair of two-part clinical presentations: the Senior Analyst Presentation Program, chaired by David V. Orbison, with James M. Herzog as presenter; and a workshop in process and technique, chaired by Michael Feldman and coordinated by L. Eileen Keller. Later that day there is a research seminar for trainees, “Studying Analytic Process Empirically,” chaired and presented by Mark Hilsenroth with Drew Westen, Deborah L. Cabaniss, and Kenneth Levy.
Wednesday and Thursday will also offer an eclectic array of discussion groups representing many interests and topics.
Thursday morning begins with an oral history workshop, “Narrating the Self: Autobiography, Biography, and Psychoanalysis,” chaired by George J. Makari. The CORST Essay Prize winner will be read; Steven T. Levy will chair this presentation. Thursday afternoon brings a forum on analytic identity, “The Question of ‘Match’ in the Supervisory Triad,” and a psychoanalytic course, “Videotape Presentation: A Brief Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and Psychological Engagement During the Consultation Process,” chaired by Milton Viederman. There will be two presentations for residents and for psychology and social work students. One is on “Mourning and Loss,” chaired by Esther Rashkin with Alexandra Harrison as faculty, and the other is “Boundary Violations: Traversing a Slippery Slope,” chaired by Brenda Bauer Eischen and Craig L. Katz.
The meeting continues Thursday evening with the ongoing film workshop. The workshop's theme is “Shadowing Film Noir,” and two films will be shown. The first session will look at “Out of the Past”; the second is “Shame and Self Object Defects: A Self Psychological Reading of ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice.‘”
Friday morning holds the annual business meeting and then an “In Depth” look at “The Flawed Election of 2000 and the Politics of Exclusion,” chaired by Morris L. Peltz. This session features presentations by Ricardo Ainslie, Ahilan Arulananthan, Olati Johnson, and Edward R. Shapiro. Friday afternoon offers a symposium, “Internal Representations Across Time: Bridges between Empirical Research and Clinical Insights,” chaired by Stuart T. Hauser. There will also be a workshop on “Prevention in Mental Health Via Parenting Education,” chaired by Stuart W. Twemlow, and a panel on “The Role of Love in the Therapeutic Action of Psychoanalysis,” chaired by Glen O. Gabbard.
Friday will also offer a seminar for psychoanalysts, “New Thinking About Divorce: A Challenge to Psychoanalytic Clinicians.” This will be chaired by Elizabeth Lloyd Mayerm with Judith Wallerstein presenting. The inaugural poster session on “Research Relevant to Theory and Practice in Psychoanalysis” will be chaired by Peter Fqnagy and Stuart T. Hauser. Friday's meetings end with a plenary presentation by Sydney E. Pulver, “On the Astonishing Clinical Irrelevance of Neuroscience.”
Saturday's offerings include an all-day panel on “Relational Perspectives in Psychoanalysis,” chaired by Steven H. Cooper, and three symposia: “Writers and Psychoanalysts,” “Transcultural Adoption: Vicissitudes of Losses,” and “Creating Healthy Communities in a Culture of Violence.” Saturday also holds our popular meet-the-author series. This year Jonathan Lear will discuss Happiness, Death, and the Remainder of Life. The session will be chaired by Rosemary H. Balsam, with discussions by Robert A. Paul and Warren S. Poland.
On Sunday, the final panel, “Unconscious Fantasy: Its Scientific Status and Clinical Utility,” will be chaired by Anne Erreich. Scientific papers will be given on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
The meeting promises to be very full and stimulating, and the holiday season is a wonderful time to be in New York. Take advantage of this last opportunity to stay at the Waldorf in December. It's a meeting not to be missed.