Impulse is a community newsletter produced by the Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology (NCSPP) and distributed electronically to subscribers at no cost. 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 Candice Turner, Psy.D.
Happy New Year, Impulsers!
As your Past President, I am still here to keep you in the loop on all things NCSPP, so here are a few updates.
This year the Board will be trying what we are calling a “collective Presidency” with no one person being in the hot seat. We have found that we work really well as a group and like to collaborate together anyway, so you will not be hearing from one President this year but from all of us on the Board. Please, send your best wishes and if this is a disaster, we will let you know in December!
by Luba Palter, MFT
Happy Holidays!
Whatever you celebrate, dear reader, I hope you were met with warmth, beauty, and deliciousness!
Let's talk about what changes and what remains at Impulse in 2025.
by Psychoanalytic Couple Psychotherapy Group (PCPG)
PSYCHOANALYTIC COUPLE PSYCHOTHERAPY GROUP’S 2025-2026 INTENSIVE STUDY PROGRAM
PCPG is delighted to announce that we will begin accepting applications for our 2025-2026 Intensive Study Program in Psychoanalytic Couples Psychotherapy on January 15th, 2025.
The ISP is an in-person program for licensed clinicians that meets on Friday afternoons in downtown Berkeley. We will offer an Information Session via Zoom on Sunday, January 12th, 2025. Please see our website for details and to register.
by Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California (PINC)
PSYCHOANALYTIC INSTITUTE OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA OPEN HOUSE
Please join PINC faculty, administrators, graduates, and candidates, in person or on Zoom, to hear Francisco Gonzalez, M.D. in conversation with Elise Geltman, LCSW about the Holmes Commission Report. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions about training and the admissions process.
Thursday, January 16th, 2025, 7:00 pm – 8:45 pm.
by Lila Zimmerman, MFT
HELENE
I attempt again to write about a grief I don’t yet understand. A pending grief, an anticipated grief. But I hold myself as far back as I can from the depths of confrontation of the loss. This position is one where I feel comfortable, it’s theoretical and contemplative rather than submersive and more to the point, disastrous.
In September of last year, Hurricane Helene tore through the southern Appalachians, pouring rain that flooded the rivers and oversaturated the land. The creek banks and riverbanks have permanently moved and changed size, ripping apart roads that do not have another obvious place to be built. The land is transformed forever, homes and businesses washed away, many lives lost and thousands of others altered in perpetuity. A true disaster. This is where I grew up. Where I was raised. Where I learned to exist.
by Peter Silen, Ph.D.
We are pleased to announce that Liza Polly Veale, AMFT, is the winner of this year’s Annual Writing Award. Her personal essay, Writing for You, captures the loneliness of writing — to the elusive Other.
(OFFICE) ELEGANT, QUIET, WELL-APPOINTED SPACE. High ceilings, wood floors, and excellent light in a 5-office suite shared with psychoanalytic clinicians. Offices have an operable window, ceiling fan, and an air displacement ventilation system which brings outside air into each office and takes inside air out while not mixing air with other offices. Waiting room has a call light system and HEPA filtration unit. Full-time, unfurnished, 120 sq ft. Must be licensed. Excellent location on Market Street near 16th Street. Easily accessible by MUNI, street parking, or a 15-minute walk from 16th Street BART. Rent dependent upon terms. Contact (415) 401-7180.
SAN FRANCISCO PSYCHOANALYTIC PSYCHOTHERAPY TRAINING PROGRAM (SF-PPTP) FREE DINNER/INFORMATIONAL OPEN HOUSE. Thursday, March 6, 2025, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm. In-Person. 444 Natoma Street, San Francisco. The San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis (SFCP) is excited to open the application process for our two-year Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program (SF-PPTP) or one-year Foundations program. Through seminars, case conferences, and long-term individual clinical consultation, SF-PPTP offers an in-depth introduction to psychoanalytic psychotherapy theory and technique. Highlights: classes held Tuesday evenings, 6:15 pm to 9:00 pm. Program meets September 2025 - June 2026 (year 1) and September 2026 - June 2027 (year 2). Individual supervision focused on your development as a clinician. Study with psychoanalytically-oriented clinicians throughout the Bay Area. Application deadline, Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at 9:00 am. See the SFCP website for details. Feel free to email pptp@sf-cp.org with specific questions!
Embodied Cognition in the Therapeutic Experience
Fri, Jan 10 / 11:45 am - 1:15 pm / Zoom
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / M. Zellner, Ph.D. / $295 - $395
PINC Second Fridays — On Painting While Black
Fri, Jan 10 / 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm / Zoom
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / A. Keizer, Ph.D.; F. Hamer, Ph.D. / free - $40
PCPG's 2025 Intensive Study Program Information Session
Sun, Jan 12 / 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm / Zoom
PCPG / (510) 526-4859 / PCPG Faculty and Graduates / free
PINC Open House
Thu, Jan 16 / 7:00 pm - 8:45 pm / 530 Bush St. / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / F. Gonzalez, M.D.; E. Geltman, LCSW / free
The Creation of the Kinship Object: 7.5 CE event (5 weeks)
Fri, Jan 17 / 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm / Zoom
NCSPP / (415) 496-9949 / L. Koshkarian, Ph.D. / $112.50 - $337.50
The Unconscious Goes to School: A Class About Teaching
Fri, Jan 24 / 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm / Zoom
NCSPP / (415) 496-9949 / R. Newcombe / $60 - $140