The Scientific Program at the 95th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., offers an exciting array of choices. The five panels will present contemporary psychoanalytic topics, emphasizing varying points of view. Friday afternoon's panel, “Current Views on the Oedipus Complex,” chaired by Warren Poland, will include presentations by Dale Boesky, Marcia Cavell, and Jay Greenberg. On Saturday morning, James Frosch, Stephen Seligman, Doris Silverman, and Steven Cooper, as chair, will offer their perspectives on “Beyond Whether or Not: Pluralism in Action.” Karen Gilmore will chair Saturday morning's “Child and Adolescent Panel” with presentations by Wendy Olesker, Alan Sugarman, and Judith Yanof. The Saturday afternoon panel, “Close Process Attention: Clinical Advantages and Disadvantages,” chaired by Henry Smith, will feature a case presentation by Lawrence Levenson with commentary by Lawrence Friedman, Steven Levy, Shelley Orgel, Alexandra Harrison, and Cecilio Paniagua. Sidney Phillips will chair the Sunday morning panel, “Teacher as Analyst/Analyst as Teacher: A Confusion of Tongues in the Analytic Classroom?” Ellen O'Neil Helman and Dawn Skorczewski will offer their perspectives.
Recognizing that the place of psychoanalysis is not restricted to the consulting room, several programs will highlight our broadening scope. The interplay of psychoanalysis and the current political climate will be explored in Saturday afternoon's Psychoanalytic Dialogue Program: “Red, Blue and You: The Analyst in a Social Context,” chaired by Irene Cairo. The two presenters will be Richard Almond and Steve Portuges.
Friday afternoon will feature three concurrent Symposia that will surely be difficult to choose from. Kerry Sulkowicz and New York Times journalist Louis Uchitelle will meet in conversation for the program: “Journalists and Psychoanalysts: A Dialogue.” “Psychoanalysts Meet the Streets” will include presentations by Judith Broder, Lola Greenspan, Corrine Hatton, and Carol Tanenbaum. If you're looking for a more hands-on experience, consider a trip to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for “The Analyst at the Morgue: Helping Families Deal with Traumatic Bereavement” for presentations by Bruce Sklarew and Stephanie Handel. Transportation and lunch will be provided.
Stephen Kerzner and Bruce Sklarew will chair the Saturday afternoon Symposium, “Educators and Psychoanalysts: Working Together in a School-Based Mental Health Program, A Critical Partnership.” Sponsored by the Liaison to Schools Committee, this symposium will feature presentations by Olga Acosta, William Granatir, and Mary Gardiner Jones.
Established at the Annual Meeting in 2004, the University Forum brings together academics and psychoanalysts for discussion of contemporary topics. This upcoming University Forum on Saturday morning is entitled: “Implicit Associations: Race in Politics and Clinical Practice.” Our presenters will be Jane Flax, whose interests have included critical race theory, gender theory, and psychoanalysis, and Brian Nosek, whose research on implicit cognition and racial bias was highlighted in a January 30, 2006, article in the Washington Post. APsaA members Sandra Walker and Forest Hamer will moderate.
The 2-Day Clinical Workshops have consistently been very popular at our meetings and the four offerings in June will be no exception. The two workshops on “Psychoanalytic Process and Technique” will feature Jay Greenberg, from the William Alanson White Institute in New York, and Cecilio Paniagua from Madrid, who was strongly influenced by Paul Gray during his training at the Baltimore-Washington Psychoanalytic Center. Lizbeth Moses will present a case in the “Psychotherapy Technique and Process Workshop,” with Robert Michels as discussant and Alan Pollack as chair. The “Child and Adolescent Workshop,” chaired by Judith Fingert Chused, will feature a presentation by Rachel Seidel.
We are fortunate to have two exciting speakers for the meeting's plenary addresses. The Friday morning Plenary Presentation by Paul Schwaber is entitled, “Hamlet and Psychoanalytic Experience.” The first Gertrude and Ernst Ticho Memorial Lecture entitled, “The Second Person,” will be presented by Bonnie Litowitz on Friday afternoon.
Our Meet-the-Author will be James McLaughlin, discussing his recently published and highly acclaimed book, “The Healer's Bent: Solitude and Dialogue in the Clinical Encounter.” McLaughlin, known for his sensitive and thoughtful discussions of the patient/analyst relationship in over 30 publications spanning 40 years, will be joined by Nancy Chodorow, Theodore Jacobs, and Evelyne Albrecht Schwaber.
Of special interest to candidates will be a presentation by Beverly Betz at the Affiliates' Forum: “Boundaries and Boundary Violations.” APsaA program chair, Glen Gabbard, who has published widely on therapist/patient transgressions, will be the discussant.
In addition to these program highlights, the June meetings will feature an abundance of discussion groups and several scientific papers, so keep an eye on your mail for the Preliminary Program and check the APsaA Web site: frequently for program updates. We look forward to seeing you in Washington, D.C.
Gary Grossman, Ph.D., is a member and faculty of the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute and Society and has recently joined the Program Committee.