The upcoming spring meeting of the American Psychoanalytic Association to be held June 18-22 in Atlanta promises to be an unusually thought-provoking one with many rich clinical presentations and discussions focused on specific clinical problems.
Ronald Britton will be the featured discussant for the two-day “Clinical Workshop in Analytic Process and Technique,” chaired by Irene Cairo. Britton, who is among the most eloquent and thoughtful members of the contemporary Kleinians in London, is in high demand as a teacher, supervisor, consultant and discussant around the world, so this will likely be a very stimulating and popular workshop. The two-day “Workshop on Psychotherapy Technique and Process,” chaired by Alan Pollack, will feature Phillip Freeman, with Laura Westen of Atlanta presenting. Freeman is a training and supervising analyst at Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute (BPSI) and author of the recently published, Adaptations: Disquisitions on Psychoanalysis. Alexandra Harrison, also from BPSI, will be the discussant for the two-day “Child and Adolescent Clinical Workshop,” chaired by Ruth Fischer, APsaA's 2008 National Psychoanalytic Woman Scholar.
How do analysts from different persuasions understand the concept of the “analytic stance”? How do they create it? What kind of difficulties do they encounter in their daily work that challenge it? When do analysts know that they are “on their game”? These are several of the questions that will be addressed in the panel, “What Do Analysts Need to Be Analysts?” Chaired by Sydney Pulver the panelists are Darlene Ehrenberg, Jay Greenberg, and Shelley Orgel. Henry Smith will serve as the discussant.
A panel on “Symptoms in Analysis,” chaired by Anne Erreich, will take a cross-cultural clinical approach to understanding how different analysts understand the concept of symptoms and how they analyze them. It will feature Ronald Britton, Dale Boesky, and Steven Cooper.
Patients who care little about the impact of their words and actions on others can be difficult for analysts of any level of experience. Through the use of a case presentation by Helen Stein and discussions with Jane Kite and Beth Seelig, a panel on “The Non-Judgmental Analyst Revisited,” chaired by Donald Moss, will explore the challenges that emerge in work with these patients who lack a “capacity for concern.”
A panel on “The Effects of Internet Interaction on Our Patients,” chaired by Bonnie Litowitz, will feature Mel Lansky, Kimberlyn Leary, and Caryle Perlman, who will explore this cutting-edge topic.
Finally, clinicians and researchers interested in the minds and development of young children will not want to miss June's Child and Adolescent Panel, “Treating the Under Five Child,” chaired by Ruth Karush. The panelists, Denia Barrett, Paul Hollinger, and Judy Yanof, will each present clinical material using different treatment methods, including work via the mother, psychotherapy, and psychoanalysis.
The distinguished Plenary speaker at this June's meeting will be Steven Levy, editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, Bernard C. Holland Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, and training and supervising analyst, Emory University Psychoanalytic Institute.
The Gertrude and Ernst Ticho Memorial Lecture, given annually by a mid-career analyst who is currently making significant contributions to psychoanalysis, will be presented by Arnold Wilson of the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Research and Training. His topic will be “On Believing in One Theory or Another, or One Analyst Reports in Mid-Career.”
What can we learn from a conversation between a behavioral neuroscientist, an anthropologist, and psychoanalysts? Find out at the University Forum featuring psychobiologist Lisa Parr from The Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University, and anthropologist/psychoanalyst Robert Paul, who is dean of Emory College. Analysts Alexandra Harrison and David Olds will moderate.
Ralph Roughton will chair an “Oral History Workshop on Recent Developments in Atlanta, New Orleans, and Birmingham.” The workshop will provide a regional history of these southern cities, covering the important new developments since the 1991 workshop in New Orleans emphasizing the effects of Hurricane Katrina on local analysts. APsaA's oral history workshops serve a vital function for the organization by preserving the history of psychoanalysis through recording the recollections of our colleagues who took part in these events. These workshops act as catalysts, awakening the interest of younger members and candidates in our Association's past, and provide a comprehensive archive for use by future researchers.
Candidates, affiliates, and students will be particularly interested in attending the Senior Analyst Presentation Program, chaired by Ethan Grumbach. This is a unique opportunity
Gary Grossman, Ph.D., is member and faculty at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis, where he also serves as chair of the Community Education and Service Division, and is a member of APsaA's Program Committee.
for students at every level to hear and discuss a week's worth of analytic material presented by a seasoned psychoanalyst. Presenting at the June meetings will be Fred Griffin, training and supervising analyst at the New Orleans-Birmingham Psychoanalytic Center and director of psychodynamic psychotherapy training at the University of Alabama School of Medicine.
Be sure to make it to Atlanta, and keep your eyes out for the Preliminary Program for details on symposiums, additional clinical workshops, seminars, the plenary address, scientific papers, research programs, stimulating discussion groups, special programs for psychiatric residents, psychology and social work students, and an array of social events.