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 Katherine Eng, Ph.D.
COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD NOMINATION
Do you know someone who deserves recognition for their exceptional community service in the field of psychoanalytic psychology? The NCSPP 2026 Community Service Award seeks to honor individuals or mental health organizations that have shown outstanding dedication to building stronger communities and promoting social well-being. We believe that this crucial work often goes unnoticed and want to acknowledge those who have invested their time and energy into this cause. Nominations of individuals or organizations led by people of color are encouraged. Nominees should demonstrate excellence in leadership, creative commitment to social well-being, and a strong dedication to community service.
If you would like to nominate someone or an organization for recognition, please provide a detailed paragraph explaining why you believe they deserve to be honored. It is not necessary for nominees to be affiliated with NCSPP, and if you have previously nominated someone who did not win, you are welcome to nominate them again.
We will announce the award in the January Impulse.
To view a list of past Community Service Award recipients, click here.
by San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis
SFCP: CURIOUS ABOUT BECOMING A PSYCHOANALYST?
Join faculty and current candidates for an online informational evening about psychoanalytic training at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis.
When: Thursday, October 15th, 2026 | 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Where: Zoom
If you are considering training now, or simply wondering whether it might fit a future chapter of your professional life, you are warmly invited. We’ll offer an overview of SFCP’s Psychoanalytic Training program and answer practical questions about when to apply, course work, clinical consultation, personal analysis, financial considerations, and making training work with an existing practice and schedule.
Applications for Fall 2027 are open now. To attend, RSVP at https://www.sfcp.org/ped-open-house/.
Questions? Contact Adam Goldyne, M.D., Chair of Outreach, at adamgoldynemd@gmail.com or (415) 826-9639 for a personal conversation.
by San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis
THE PLAY OF EROS: THE STORY OF AN ADOLESCENT BOY
Most teens play video games. What happens when the virtual world becomes a space for growth and healing during a family rupture?
Bruce Reis, Ph.D., will present his work on Saturday, October 24th from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm with free lunch and social hour to follow at SFCP. Terrence Owens, Ph.D. will be the discussant.
by Anthony Gannon Robledo, Pre-Doctoral Intern
GHOSTS, UNRETRIEVED
Seated across from me in an empty classroom, an eleven-year-old client describes last night’s dream. As he doodles on a sheet of construction paper, he tells me, haltingly, of a funeral for a family member who died during the pandemic; in waking life, the funeral never happened. Then he remembers another dream from when he was five, foretelling the death of the same family member. He stops, as if on the edge of something.
I write from the shallow depths of pre-licensure, amidst an abyss of sociopolitical, cultural, and personal change. My clients, mostly elementary school boys, struggle with abandonment, the aftermath of violence, severe systemic pressures, or some combination thereof. My willpower is tested daily, and I find solace in Selma Fraiberg’s writing on transgenerational trauma (1994, 1974); indeed, I see many "ghosts in the nursery" as my client tells me his dreams, his ancestors swirling around, bidding for our attention.
Tú eres mi otro yo–I am you, you are me–is my community agency's framework, which I have at heart every day working with children of immigrant families, often conducting sessions in Spanglish. At the same time, my wife is home, pregnant with our first child. I choose to tell my clients about the pregnancy so my abrupt disappearance, when it comes, might not be a mystery.
by Loong Kwok, Psy.D.
CALL FOR ANNUAL WRITING AWARD SUBMISSIONS
Do you have ideas you’ve been developing in supervision, class, or your private thoughts? Are you exploring questions that feel alive in your clinical work, your reading, or your experience of the world? NCSPP invites all graduate students and early career clinicians to put those ideas into writing and submit a paper for our 2026 Annual Writing Award.
We’re looking for original work that engages psychoanalytic ideas in creative and meaningful ways. Papers can be clinical, theoretical, or interdisciplinary, as long as they make use of psychoanalytic ideas. This is an opportunity to refine your voice and take part in a wider conversation about what psychoanalysis can be today.
The winning paper will be published in fort da, NCSPP’s journal, and the author will be invited to present their work at an NCSPP-sponsored event alongside an invited discussant. The winner will also receive a $250 cash prize.
Submissions are due by October 31st, 2026. To learn more about the award and how to submit, visit ncspp.org/fortda/call-entries-annual-writing-award or contact fortda@ncspp.org.
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.
PCPG Fall Event: Too Close, Yet Too Far: Working with Couples
Sat, Oct. 3 / 9:00 am - 3:00 pm / David Brower Ctr. and Online via Zoom / Berkeley
PCPG / (415) 508-7664 / K. Thompson, M.A.; P. Mandel, Ph.D. / $55 - $255
Western Regional Child/Adolescent Psychoanalytic Conference
Sat, Oct. 3 / 9:00 am - 3:30 pm / 444 Natoma St. / San Francisco
SFCP / (206) 271-0839 / Y. Kwon, Ph.D. et al. / $85 - $225
Western Regional Child/Adolescent Psychoanalytic Conference
Sun, Oct. 4 / 9:30 am - 12:45 pm / 444 Natoma St. / San Francisco
SFCP / (206) 271-0839 / K. McCormick, M.A., LMFT; A. Lieberman, Ph.D. / $30-$225
PINC 2nd Fridays: A Creative Ritual for Interdependence
Fri, Oct. 9 / 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm / Private Residence / Berkeley
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / J. Wade; J. Leavitt, M.D. / $0 - $20
PINC Neuropsychoanalysis Saturday: Internal Generative Model
Sat, Oct. 10 / 9:00 am - 12:00 pm / Online via Zoom / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / M. Zellner, Ph.D. / $25 - $65
PINC Visiting Scholar Gila Ashtor: Radical Intimacy
Sat, Oct. 17 / 10:00 am - 12:00 pm / Hybrid, location TBA / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / G. Ashtor, Ph.D. / $0 - $20
On Queering Psychoanalysis (6 CE Course)
Sun, Nov. 1 (begins) / 9:30 am - 11:00 am / 5655 College Ave. / Oakland
NCSPP / (650) 427-0268 / E. Seidel, Psy.D. / $90 - $270