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 Elise Geltman, LCSW
The past is what makes the present coherent, and the past will remain horrible for exactly as long as we refuse to assess it honestly.
--James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son, 1984
James Baldwin was a great mind, a feeling man, and a profound social critic. Baldwin was also critical of psychoanalysis. He warned that psychoanalysis could be used to normalize, reinvent, and reinvest in the status quo. He noted the potential for those with power and privilege to use psychoanalysis as a means of narcissism, avoidance, denial, and escape from accountability.
I find his critique and skepticism of psychoanalysis compelling, important, and interesting. For when I hear and read Baldwin's words, it strikes me that he too was engaged in a profoundly deep social psychoanalysis of America and its people. His incredible ability to listen carefully, to look beyond surface, to feel as a way of knowing, and to think and speak clearly about murky, hidden, or disavowed terrain seems quite close to the psychoanalytic endeavor.
His words remind me that we must practice our craft with integrity, self-analysis, and intentionality because "the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do" (Baldwin, The Price of the Ticket: Collected Nonfiction, 1985).
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THINKING ABOUT THE BODY: Conversion Disorder
In March, Dr. Jamieson Webster, a spirited and esteemed psychoanalyst from New York, will be in discussion with the Bay Area's own Dr. Israel Katz for a special workshop entitled "Thinking about the Body: Conversion Disorder," which will be held at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis. This is a unique opportunity to think with Dr. Webster who will only be in town for a short visit.
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SEEKING: Program Division Chair
This is an important role that serves on both the NCSPP Board and the NCSPP Executive Committee.
TRAUMA AND ESCAPE: A Night at the Oscars
Our movies, ourselves: the Oscars invariably reflect the American zeitgeist, and this year's ceremony is no exception, especially given its topsy-turvy ending in which the presumed winner unexpectedly loses.
La La Land had been the clear favorite of the top four contenders for best picture. It's the type of film Hollywood always loves because it's about--well, Hollywood. It's also been welcomed as an escape from the dismal reality of the current political landscape. Deliverance comes through saturated colors and a love story about attractive people who don't sing and dance all that well. La La Land embodies the American fantasy that life works out if you follow your dreams.
by Molly Merson, MFT
Why China Is Ripe for the Couch. Psychoanalysis is "hot" in China, where some are willing to open up about how individual and collective identity have been shaped amidst the country's political and social history.
Roomy, Artful Women's Clothes - From a Former Psychoanalyst Through totem-like, primitive design elements and making use of the "uncanny," this fashion designer draws on her training as a psychoanalyst to inspire and shape her clothing line.
Psychiatrists Debate Weighing in on Trump's Mental Health Accurate or not, useful or not, ethical or not? Some psychology and psychiatry professionals are weighing in publicly on their assessment of Trump's mental health.
by Monika Telichowska, PsyD
MOVING FROM WITHIN THE MATERNAL: The Choreography of Analytic Eroticism
Presenter: Dianne Elise, PhD
Saturday, March 18, 2017
1:00 - 4:00 pm
The Wright Institute
2728 Durant Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704
CE: 3 Credits
Tuition: $15 General Public | Free NCSPP Members
Additional $10 fee for CE Credits
Drawing upon the choreography of dance, Dr. Elise will link this art form with a clinician's creative impulse in shaping the movement of a session. She refers to this clinical investment and responsiveness, expressing the unique libidinal connection and excitement of an analytic couple, as analytic eroticism. Dr. Elise will highlight the analyst's activity derived from her erotic self as analytic vitality, rather than neutrality. Kristeva (2014) indicates that a child relies on the mother's eroticism in developing a vibrant sense of self. This presentation will focus on clinical work with a woman for whom maternal eroticism failed, where the mother-infant dance did not develop.
For more information: https://www.ncspp.org/events/scientific-mtg-2017
joredwood@mac.com.
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.
Freud's Bar: From Muses to Composers
Wed, Mar 1 / 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm / 5433 College Ave / Oakland
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / S. Winkel, PhD / free
Depth Psychotherapy and Spiritual Inquiry
Wed, Mar 1 / 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm / 2040 Gough St / San Francisco
Jung Institute / (415) 771-8055 / B. Wittine, PhD, LMFT / $175 - $250
East Bay Psychotherapy Forum
Wed, Mar 1 / 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm / 2001 Dwight Way / Berkeley
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / L. Bograd, MFT; D. Newton, PhD / free
East Bay Happy Hour
Thu, Mar 2 / 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm / 2020 Shattuck Ave / Berkeley
NCSPP / (415) 302-1150 / N/A / free
San Francisco Psychotherapy Forum
Thu, Mar 2 / 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm / 444 Natoma St / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / D. Yu, LCSW; M. McClure, DMH / free
The Uncanny and the Double in Film and Psychoanalysis
Thu, Mar 2 / 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm / Private Residence / San Francisco
NCSPP / (425) 652-2673 / D. Borden, PhD; E. Essman, MA / $105 - $250
Child Psychotherapy Training Program Open House
Sat, Mar 4 / 11:00 am - 12:30 pm / 444 Natoma St / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / M. Muralidharan, PsyD / free
29th Annual International Control Mastery Theory Workshop
Tue, Mar 7 / 10:00 am - 5:15 pm / Fort Mason Center / San Francisco
SFPRG / (415) 346-2744 / M. Bush, PhD et al. / $475
William Kentridge: What Do We All Do...
Fri, Mar 10 / 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm / 530 Bush St / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / H. Grubb, PsyD; R. Cowan, PsyD, LCSW / free - $40
The Self and Individuation: Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence
Sat, Mar 11 / 9:30 am - 4:30 pm / 2040 Gough St / San Francisco
Jung Institute / (415) 771-8055 / L. Cunningham, MSW; M. Leahy, MD / $170 - $510
The Clinical Implications of Laplanche
Sat, Mar 11 / 9:30 am - 12:30 pm / 444 Natoma St / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / J. House, MD; I. Katz, MD; M. Levin, PsyD / $45 - $65
Listening to the Unconscious
Sat, Mar 11 / 9:30 am - 4:30 pm / Presidio Log Cabin / San Francisco
SFPRG / (415) 346-2744 / E. Gann, MD; T. Richardson, PhD; M. Bush, PhD / $200
Après-Coup is Central to Gender and Infantile Sexuality
Mon, Mar 13 / 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm / 444 Natoma St / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / J. House, MD; M. Wilson, MD / free
Working With Difficult Moments in Psychotherapy
Wed, Mar 15 / 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm / 444 Natoma St / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / W. Beckman, PhD / $40
Robert Bly: A Thousand Years of Joy Film Screening/Discussion
Thu, Mar 16 / 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm / 2040 Gough St / San Francisco
Jung Institute / (415) 771-8055 / H. Reiss; A. Ruskin / $10 - $30
Palo Alto Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Open House
Thu, Mar 16 / 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm / Private Residence / Palo Alto
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / C. Phillips, LCSW / free
Seminar IV in Preparation for Visiting Scholar Anne Alvarez
Fri, Mar 17 / 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm / Private Residence / Palo Alto
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / A. Sowa, PsyD, MFT / free - $15
The Role of the Divine Feminine in the Transformation of Consciousness
Sat, Mar 18 / 9:30 am - 1:30 pm / 2040 Gough St / San Francisco
Jung Institute / (415) 771-8055 / N. Lowinsky, PhD, et al. / $105 - $150
Scientific Meeting: Moving From Within the Maternal
Sat, Mar 18 / 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm / 2728 Durant Ave / Berkeley
NCSPP / (510) 982-1280 / Dianne Elise, PhD / free - $25
7th Annual Evening at the Movies: "Mustang"
Sat, Mar 18 / 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm / 444 Natoma St / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / R. Cowan, PsyD, LCSW / free
Hearts and Minds on Fire: Struggling to Be in Ethical Community
Sun, Mar 19 / 12:30 pm - 4:00 pm / 530 Bush St / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / C. Brandes, PhD; G. Alexander, MFT / $25 - $90
South Bay Psychotherapy Forum
Tue, Mar 21 / 7:15 pm - 9:00 pm / 401 Quarry Rd / Stanford
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / L. de Mello, LCSW; A. Martini, LCSW / free
Clinical Work With Adolescent Boys and Young Men: A Jungian Window
Thu, Mar 23 / 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm / 2040 Gough St / San Francisco
Jung Institute / (415) 771-8055 / R. Tyminski, DMH / $195 - $275
Fashion Victims: Dressing Up the Death Drive
Fri, Mar 24 / 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm / 530 Bush St / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / P. Gherovici, PhD; J. Webster, PhD / free - $35
Workshop on Lacan's L'Étourdit
Sat, Mar 25 / 10:00 am - 4:00 pm / CIIS, 1453 Mission St / San Francisco
Lacanian School / (510) 255-5788 / P. Gherovici, PhD, et al. / $40
Thinking About the Body: Conversion Disorder
Sun, Mar 26 / 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm / 444 Natoma St / San Francisco
NCSPP / (510) 982-1280 / Jamieson Webster, PhD; Israel Katz, MD / $15 - $30
Seminar V in Preparation for Visiting Scholar Anne Alvarez
Wed, Mar 29 / 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm / 530 Bush St / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / A. Sweetnam, PhD / free - $15
Foundations: American Relational Theory
Mon, Apr 3 / 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm / 2837 Claremont Blvd / Berkeley
NCSPP / (510) 852-9013 / I. Philipson, PhD / $160 - $315