Impulse is a community newsletter produced by the Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology (NCSPP) and distributed electronically at no cost to subscribers. We envision Impulse as an integrative source for local news, events, and thinking of interest to the psychoanalytically inclined. Our goal is to be your guide as you explore the Bay Area's rich array of analytic resources.

We invite you to become a member of NCSPP, if you are not already. And, we welcome you as a subscriber to Impulse. Join us as we highlight the exceptional diversity of psychoanalytic thought and practice in Northern California.

by Karisa Barrow, PsyD

With every social progression, there is regression.In the United States, we are in a state of political polarization, especially with respect to social issues. Though NCSPP doesn’t align itself with partisan politics, as a conscientious leader, I sometimes feel like it’s impossible to remain motionless in the face of the unbearable political tide: inflammatory rhetoric replete with sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and so on. Yet I sometimes also grow weary of swimming against this powerful current and resign myself to treading water.

by Alexandra Guhde, PsyD

DEAR MUM:

I write from my new home in Australia. The hardworking editors at Impulse are content to let me stay on and continue my quarterly contributions from Down Under, which is a pleasure for me, because the decision to close my Bay Area practice--at least for the time--being-was immensely difficult. I had to leave important friends, close colleagues (and clients), and a decade-long analysis. But, there was also something bracing about taking such a certain step into such a vast unknown. (Australia is a long way from Kansas.) It's been a wrench, but it's also been a thrill to feel years' worth of internal--often painstaking--"process" shift into action.

by Ripple Patel, MA

Why We Pick Leaders with Deceptively Simple Answers. Gianpiero Petriglieri uses Freud's theory of leadership to explain current political phenomena.

Freud and the American Death Drive. The contempt, cynicism, and moral indignation that this author feels toward American culture are potent illustrations of the very destructiveness that he decries.

The Forced Heroism of the "Survivor". According to Parul Sehgal, the term "survivor" has become a uniquely American projection onto individuals who have suffered experiences of powerlessness and vulnerability.

by Demetry Apostle, PhD

NSCPP Education Committee Upcoming Courses Fall 2016

The Boom in Aging and Illness:
Utilizing Modern Psychoanalytic Approaches with Tamara McClintock Greenberg, MS, PsyD

Saturdays, September 17-24, 2016
10:00 am - 2:00 pm
San Francisco

Difference Matters!
Speaking Psychoanalytically of Race, Culture, and Immigration with Sue Saperstein, MFT, PsyD.

Fridays, October 7-28, 2016
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
San Francisco

Foundations:
More About Winnicott with Reyna Cowan, PsyD, LCSW

Mondays, October 10 - November 14, 2016
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Berkeley

Introduction to Brief Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy:
With Peter Hobson, PhD

Friday & Saturday, November 4-5, 2016
9:30 am - 4:30 pm
San Francisco

Classifieds: 

WRITING SUPPORT GROUP. Openings in group that meets one Saturday a month in Oakland. Contact: Anniesweetnam@gmail.com or (510) 531-5212. CONSULTATION GROUPS: Openings in two consultation groups: Mondays, The Treatment of Adolescents and Young Adults; Fridays, Deepening the Work: Psychoanalytic Process in the Treatment of Adolescents and Young Adults. Each meets weekly, 12:00 pm - 1:15 pm, from September 2016 to mid-June 2017. Contact Mary Brady, PhD, at mbrady66@earthlink.net; or Robert Tyminski, DMH, at robert.tyminski@ucsf.edu.

Old couches, new books, hot jobs, cool internships, office rentals? List them in Impulse's Classifieds for a modest fee. Please see our submission guidelines for details.   

Appointment Book: 

Working with Children and Adolescents in Depth, Part I
Sat, Jun 4 / 10:00 am - 4:30 pm / 2040 Gough Street / San Francisco
Jung Institute / (415) 771-8055 / S. Kimbles, PhD; S. Spradlin, PhD / $80 - $160

Visualizing the Mundus Imaginalis--Psychology, Art, Mysticism
Sat, Jun 11 / 9:30 am - 1:30 pm / 2040 Gough Street / San Francisco
Jung Institute / (415) 771-8055 / R. Bush, PhD; S. Nouriani, PhD, MFT / $25 - $35

Opera on the Couch: Don Carlo
Sun, Jun 12 / 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm / 301 Van Ness Avenue / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-3366 / J. Harasemovitch, LCSW; L. E. Keller, PhD / free

PPTP, PAPPTP, CPTP Graduation Ceremony 2016
Sun, Jun 12 / 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm / 444 Natoma Street / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-3366 / A. Wolfson, PhD; L. Case, PhD / free

Self-Representing Events in the Transference
Mon, Jun 13 / 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm / 444 Natoma Street / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-3366 / R. P. Hobson, PhD, et al. / free

Networking Doesn't Have To Be a Dirty Word
Fri, Jun 17 / 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm / Mad Oak Bar, 135 12th Street / Oakland
NCSPP / (415) 827-5446 / Community Events Committee / no-host bar

Working with Adolescents and Their Technology
Sat, Jun 18 / 10:00 am - 4:30 pm / 2040 Gough Street / San Francisco
Jung Institute / (415) 771-8055 / P. Speier, MD; R. Tyminski, DMH / $80 - $160

Opera on the Couch: Jenufa
Sun, Jun 19 / 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm / 301 Van Ness Avenue / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-3366 / V. Bonfilio, JD, PhD, et al. / free