The natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest in the summertime is so resplendent that members of the Program Committee were challenged when pulling together a series of events that will keep registrants indoors instead of venturing out of doors at the forthcoming Annual Meeting in Seattle, June 8-12. I believe you will find they succeeded but would urge everyone who is making the trip to Seattle to stay on an extra couple of days if you can. That way you will not miss any facet of the meeting that intrigues you, and you will still have some time to explore this thriving metropolis filled with great food, music, theater, art, and scenery in its many parks and along the waterway.
You may find yourself musing about how the intellectual enterprises of psychoanalysis and the relatively new treatment mode of dialectical behavioral therapy both thrive in the area. To answer that question—and others—there will be a workshop on the history of psychoanalysis in the northwest and a special seminar with invited presenter Marsha M. Linehan, the founder of dialectical behavior therapy, chaired by Joan Wheelis.
As usual, applications of psychoanalysis and the pragmatics of clinical work will also be highlighted in a series of two-day workshops on “Process and Technique.” To address the needs of clinicians at different times in their careers, there will be special programs for mid-career analysts as well as workshops for psychiatric residents and psychology and social work students. Continuing with the theme of innovations in contemporary psychoanalytic practice, the plenary presentation by Daniel Stern is entitled, “Exploring Inner Subjectivity and the ‘Now’ of the Here and Now.” Afternoon panel sessions will include “Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis: 50 Years Later,” “Forgiveness,” and “The Role of the Age of the Child in Psychoanalysis.”
Our “Meet-the-Author” session will feature Arnold Cooper, discussing his new book, The Quiet Revolution in American Psychoanalysis: Selected Papers of Arnold M. Cooper. He will be introduced by Elizabeth Auchincloss, who edited the volume; Peter Fonagy and Peter Loewenberg will be the discussants. In keeping with the changing zeitgeist in our field and in our world, important cultural phenomena such as celebrity, prejudice, telephone psychoanalysis, and the sociopolitical as well as the clinical mentions of forgiveness will be highlighted.
Two of the numerous offerings that address the role of the analyst or therapist in the hour will be Alexandra Harrison's “Moment to Moment Process of Interpretation via Video Micro-analysis” and Stanley Coen's psychoanalytic course, “Managing Feelings—Patients' and Analysts'.”
Space does not permit naming each discussion group, workshop, or special program on the menu, but I hope that this article whets your appetite for the smorgasbord of choices available at the upcoming meeting. The breadth and range of faculty, presenters, special guests, and panelists augur for a highly productive and personally rewarding program.
Kathryn J. Zerbe, M.D., is professor of psychiatry and obstetrics and gynecology; vice chair for psychotherapy; director of outpatient services, Department of Psychiatry; director of behavioral medicine, Center for Women's Health, at Oregon Health & Science University. She is also training and supervising analyst at the San Francisco and Oregon Psychoanalytic Institutes.