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 Sydney Tan, PsyD
4 3 2 1
Paul Auster's new novel, 4 3 2 1, takes us through the life of Archie Ferguson. Born in 1947 to middle-class Jewish parents, it is the story -- or rather four versions of the story -- of his life.
Four versions of one boy's life -- each version subject to chance and circumstance. In the first version, a six-year-old Archie falls off an oak tree, breaks his leg, and is confined to a summer of convalescence. In the second version, an unexpected death occurs. In the third version, a tragedy tears Archie's world apart. In the fourth version, the business flourishes and the family attains newfound affluence.
Yet, a few constants remain -- he was born in New Jersey (as was Auster), his father is a furniture salesman, his mother is a photographer. All the versions bear witness to the political and social tumults of the 1950s and '60s. In all of the versions, Archie maintains a relatively close and loving relationship with his mother, Rose Ferguson.
by Francisco Gonzalez, MD
A HOLE IN THE NET:
Working with What's Missing in Adults and Children
Join us for a day with internationally renowned psychoanalytic therapist Anne Alvarez as we explore the effects of emotional neglect in clinical work with adults.
In this daylong event, internationally renowned psychoanalytic scholar and therapist Anne Alvarez will present her paper, "The Role of Emotion in Thinking and the Effect of Emotional Neglect." Her elaboration of states of withdrawal, helplessness, and neglect elucidates the importance of curiosity and active engagement on the part of the therapist.
by Alexandra Guhde, PsyD
HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE
Here, in this "potential space," I am granted the freedom to write about whatever I choose, so long as it relates to psychology. (And, really, what is there under the sun that isn't?) But, this month, I find myself constrained. I feel obligated to write about President Donald Trump. It is as if I must. If I don't write about Trump -- the man to whom tens of millions of daily journalistic sentences are dedicated (I made that number up, as is my post-factual constitutional right) -- I am shunning my liberal, sociopolitical duty as a blue-state-native psychologist-citizen of the United States of America.
But, if I do write about Donald Trump, I give him what he wants. I pay him yet more attention. Regardless of my tone -- be it critical, complimentary, or downright contemptuous -- he gets richer. (Yes, Donald, we're all watching you.) In all likelihood, I don't have anything to say about our new president that this choir hasn't heard (and sung) many times. So, how, then, to write about what's happening in our world without writing about You-Know-Who (or, He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named-So-Obscenely-Often)?
by Molly Merson, MFT
Saving Sigmund: Psychoanalysts Fight to Make Their Profession Relevant. How can psychoanalysis stay relevant in an era of randomized controlled trials, a billion-dollar pharmaceutical industry, and with an aging practitioner population? Psychoanalysts weigh in.
Inside the Making of Mulholland Drive, David Lynch's Dark, Freudian Masterpiece. Dream narrative, pseudo-narrative, and deadly eroticism all intertwine in Mulholland Drive, where director David Lynch seems to command something mysterious, confusing, demonic, and irresistible within his actors and the film's audience.
Why Does Pakistan's Horror Pulp Fiction Stereotype 'the Hindu'? Dominant ideology relies on popular narrative to perpetuate its message and reinforce its power, often including a Kristevan/Lacanian rejection of the "not I" in order to define and strengthen the "I." In this way, Pakistan's horror pulp fiction genre reinforces a simplistic, stereotypical Hindu-Muslim incompatibility narrative, overlooking the complex political and social history of India and Pakistan.
by Garrett Howard, MFT
30th ANNUAL EVENT AND LECTURE
CROSSING THE THRESHOLD:
First Impressions in Psychoanalysis and Negotiation
Presenters: Kimberlyn Leary, PhD, Mary Margaret McClure, DMH, Mahima Muralidharan, PsyD, David Cushman, PsyD
Moderator: Francisco Gonzalez, MD
Saturday, May 6, 2017
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
David Brower Center
2150 Allston Way
Berkeley, CA 94704
Tuition: $40 - $250
clinicalpsych@ndnu.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.
The Forgiven, the Unforgiven, and the Unforgivable
Mon, Apr 3 / 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm / 444 Natoma St / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / D. Moss, MD; F. Hamer, PhD / free
Keeping on Thinking in Difficult Times
Wed, Apr 5 / 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm / 5433 College Ave / Oakland
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / M. Margaret McClure, DMH / free
San Francisco Psychotherapy Forum
Thu, Apr 6 / 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm / 444 Natoma St / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / J. Rousell, PsyD; C. Mallouh, MD / free
Smelling Adolescent Sexuality
Fri, Apr 14 / 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm / 530 Bush St / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / A. Jones, MD; R. Cowan, PsyD, LCSW / free - $40
South Bay Psychotherapy Forum
Tue, Apr 18 / 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm / 401 Quarry Rd / Stanford
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / M. Smith, PhD / free
Exploring Freud's Seminal Cases
Wed, Apr 19 / 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm / 444 Natoma St / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / D. Weisinger, PsyD; S. Klein, PhD / $40
What Is the Unconscious Anyway? Comparison and Implications
Mon, Apr 22 / 9:30 am - 12:30 pm / 530 Bush St / San Francisco
NCSPP / (425) 652-2673 / I. Philipson, PhD / $105 - $210
Beyond the Consulting Room
Fri, Apr 28 / 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm / Private Home / East Bay
NCSPP / (415) 810-8654 / F. Castrillon, PsyD / $8 - $12
Jungian Psychotherapy and Analysis with Muslim Patients
Sat, May 1 / 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm / 2040 Gough St / San Francisco
Jung Institute / (415) 771-8055 / S. Nouriani, PhD / $90 - $125
Crossing the Threshold: First Impressions in Psychoanalysis
Sat, May 6 / 9:00 am - 4:00 pm / 2150 Allston Way / Berkeley
NCSPP / (510) 982-1280 / Kimberlyn Leary, PhD / $40 - $250