Be sure to come to the thought-provoking 105th Annual Meeting of the American Psychoanalytic Association to be held in Chicago June 17-19 at the Palmer House Hotel, right in the middle of the central business district in the Loop. Once again the Program Committee has combined a list of innovative programs with the classic programs that have stood the test of time. Below are some of the highlights of the 105th Annual Meeting. A more detailed listing is available in the preliminary program on APsaA's website: apsa.org.
Our opening panel, “So What Is Gender, Anyway? And Who's Having Sex with Whom?” on Friday morning will focus upon a re-examination of gender and sexuality through the prism of transgender. Ethan M. Grumbach will chair this event, where an episode of the television show Transparent will be shown, followed by commentary by Robert M. Galatzer-Levy and Susan McNamara. This will be followed by a small group discussion, ending with an opportunity to share experiences in the large group along with a chance to query the panelists.
On Saturday morning, we will offer another fascinating Clinical Plenary Address, “Beyond the Miles, Memories and Usual Modes of Functioning: How We Change as We Help Our Patients Change,” presented by Aisha Abbasi with discussions by Adrienne Harris and Dominique Scarfone. Nancy Kulish will chair.
On Friday evening, Monisha Nayar-Akhtar will present the Ticho Award winning lecture, “Psychic Space, Structural Space, Cyber Space: Desire and Intimacy in a Digital World.” She will be introduced by Fred L. Griffin. Harriet L. Wolfe, who will be president at that time, will chair this noteworthy event.
A central part of our twice-yearly program has been the Two-Day Clinical Workshop, and we have a host of excellent ones, with erudite speakers, hard-working case presenters, chaired by distinguished members of
the Program Committee. This June, we will have seven Workshops focusing on adult analysis, child analysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Check the preliminary program for a complete listing of these dynamic two-day sessions.
Other twice yearly events with an avid following will also take place. This year, the University Forum will offer a special program, organized by Stanley J. Coen, “Revitalizing the South Side of Chicago,” chaired by Robert M. Galatzer-Levy. Presenters on this program will include Angela Hurlock, executive director of Claretian Associates, Laurence Ralph, John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University, and Janet Smith, co-director of the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement.
The Meet-the-Author program will feature the work of Aisha Abbasi, author of The Rupture of Serenity: External Intrusions and Psychoanalytic Technique. She will be joined by Gil Katz, who recently has written The Play Within the Play: The Enacted Dimension of Psychoanalytic Process. Their presentations will be followed by discussion with the audience, led by chair, Henry J. Friedman.
After their introduction at the 2016 National Meeting, four new Discussion Groups will continue this June. “Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy” will be chaired by Ralph Beaumont. Another new Discussion Group, chaired by Dorothy E. Holmes, Donald B. Moss and Stephen Seligman is “Applying Historical and Social Factors in Clinical Psychoanalysis.” The third Discussion Group, “The Difficult Child to Reach: A Kleinian Perspective on Psychoanalytic Work with Children” will be chaired by Karen Proner Finally, Daniel A. Plotkin will chair his new Discussion Group, “Psychoanalytic Treatment for Older Adults.” And, of course, you will still be able to attend the ongoing Discussion Groups to which you have become attached.
We also are pleased to announce two fine Symposia. The first, “(Not) Being Seen/(Not) Being Heard: How Do We Think About the Disregard of the Other in the Case of Flint, Michigan?” will be moderated by Maureen A. Katz. The second Symposium, “Recognizing and Helping to Break the Intergenerational Chains of Transmission of Trauma: Black Men and Boys,” will be moderated by Darlene Bregman Ehrenberg.
We are featuring a program sponsored jointly by APsaA and the North American Psychoanalytic Confederation (NAPsaC): a panel titled, “Psychoanalysis Informs Creation of Courage to Know Violence Against Women.” This program will be chaired by Nancy R. Goodman, introduced by Maureen Murphy, with presentations by panelists, Margarita Cereijido, Goodman, Vivian Blotnick Pender and Arlene K. Richards. Please join me in welcoming the inauguration of what we hope will be one of many such co-sponsored events.
We look forward to your joining us in Chicago on the Magnificent Mile.