The idea for daylight saving time is that we turn back the clock in autumn, arising in darkness, so that we can enjoy an extra hour of light in the evening. Perhaps this concept is familiar to us as psychoanalytic clinicians? Hopefully, a deep, rich, and textured treatment feels something like this. We choose to enter the shadows of our past, our demons and our unconscious, to find the dragons and meet them so that, if all goes well enough, we emerge into more lightness at the end of treatment...or perhaps a better understanding and compassion for our own darkness.

The point? Sometimes one has to endure the gloom and embrace discomfort, in the hopes of discovering light at the end of the couch. It can be cataclysmic for analyst and patient alike, to stumble around in the dark fumbling for things, disoriented, where nothing looks familiar in the blackened landscape. One falters, falls, and curses the darkness, to use a familiar expression. We turn on harsh lights and gaze into the blindingness of our own pitch-black depths. The sacrifice can be worth it, illuminating, the glimmering of light, and the flickering of hope. This month, may all your hours glow in the dark.

In my last column I touched on some of the projects the Board of NCSPP has been working on this year. In this column I'd like to describe some plans for the future.

Classifieds: 

CLINICAL PROCESS CONSULTATION GROUP: Robert Carrere, Ph.D., ABPP. Fridays 10:00 - 11:30 AM. Alternating weeks starting November 16, 2007. San Francisco. Through case presentations and discussion as well as discussion of professional issues that arise in clinical work, participants will learn how to discern and conduct a psychoanalytic process that emphasizes the development and maturation of the therapist's use of self in therapeutic engagements. A focus on living into transference and countertransference states will position us to formulate unconscious dynamics operating in the dyad and in group work. Working with hateful transferences and difficult treatment issues/impasses is expected. (415) 970-1572 orcarrere@sbcglobal.net for more information. $65 per session. CE Credits (LCSWs & MFTs) Approval No. PCE 3686. MCEP Approval Pending.

ANALYTIC GROUP THERAPY: Mixed group, two spaces available, especially interested in male referrals. Group relational experience is either adjunctive to individual therapy or independent treatment. Tuesdays, 7 - 8:30 PM, San Francisco. Fee: $60-$100 Group Leader: Sue Saperstein, Psy.D. Contact: (415) 641-4146 ordrsuesaperstein@sbcglobal.net.

STUDY ON MEDICAL ILLNESS: Seeking volunteers for brief phone interview regarding experiences related to medical illness: I am seeking volunteers to do a brief phone interview regarding their experiences with medical illness. The purpose of this is for my new book with Jason Aronson/Rowman publishers. Although I treat a number of people who have medical illnesses, I would like to talk with mental health clinicians who have experienced illness, as mental health clinicans often have a unique ability to articulate the ramifications of illness, including (but not limited to) the problems with the current U.S. medical system, implications of illness on physical and psychological functioning, how illness affects relationships, the need to be more internally focused during illness, and how illness impacts self-esteem. All information will be kept confidential and if used in the book will be disguised and cited in composite form unless additional explicit consent is obtained. This is an opportunity to contribute to the literature in an area that deserves more attention, especially as the population ages. I have published and taught widely in this area and can provide you with samples of my writing before consenting to an interview, if you are interested in reading more about my approach. Please e-mail or call if interested. Tamara McClintock Greenberg, Psy.D., M.S., tamaragreenberg@sbcglobal.net or (415) 775-7220.

SF INSTITUTE FOR PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDIES PROGRAMS: · Dec. 8: Robert Caper: Paper: Klein and Bion; Case Consultation / · Jan. 19: Walter Stone. Dynamic group treatment of severe mental illness. / · Mar. 1: Dr. Donovan Memorial Program: Film, discussion with Diane Borden, and Mark Levy / · Apr. 27: Diane Santas and Sharon Witkin. Child assessment. See www.sfips.org/programs.php or contactfrozy@concentric.net or (415) 679-0997.

GOT CONSULTATION? Find a Bay Area consultation or study group through thebulletin board maintained by the Friends of SFCP and SFCP's Extension Division.

Appointment Book: 

Happy Hour (hosted by NCSPP's Prelicensed Clinicians Committee)
Thu, Nov 1 / 6 - 8 PM / Varnish, 77 Natoma St. / San Francisco
NCSPP / (510) 273-9229 / free

SFCP Theater on the couch: The Rainmaker by Richard Nash
Fri, Nov 2 / 8 PM / ACT Theater, 415 Geary Street / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-3366 / Mardi Horowitz, M.D.; Linda Lagemann, Ph.D. / $19 - $82

SFCP Child Colloquium: One Mind
Sat, Nov 3 / 10 AM - 12 PM / 2420 Sutter Street / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Roy Aruffo, M.D. / free

SFCP Ext. Div. Peninsula Saturday Seminar: Wrecked by Success 
Sat, Nov 3 / 9 AM - 12 PM/ Christ Episcopal Church, Fireside Rm., 1040 Border / Los Altos
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Sharon Levin, L.C.S.W. / $75

Psychoanalytic Views On Working With Foster Children
Sat, Nov 3 / 10 AM - 1 PM / CPMC, 2333 Buchanan (at Clay) / San Francisco
NCSPP / (510) 717-5330 / Diane Ehrensaft, Ph.D.; April Fernando, Ph.D; Kelley Gin, Psy.D.;
Eileen Keller, Ph.D / $0 - $10

Gayle Wheeler Memorial Filmfest Screens Almodovar's Volver
Sat, Nov 3 / 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM / Nestrick Room, 142 Dwinelle Hall, UCB / Berkeley
PINC / (415) 921-1166 / Jeanne Wolff Bernstein; Barbara Artson; Diane Borden; Eric Essman; Marilyn Fabe; Francisco Gonzales / free

SFCP Child Development Program: Annual Lecture 2007
Wed, Nov 7 / 7:30 - 9:30 PM / 2420 Sutter Street / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Prof. Alicia Lieberman; Lynn E. Hazen, M.A.;
Era Loewenstein, Ph.D. / free

Friends of SFCP East Bay Clinical Forum (Case Presentation and Discussion)
Wed, Nov 7 / 7 - 9 PM / Herrick Hospital, Conf. Rm. CC, 2001 Dwight Way / Berkeley
Friends of SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Carolina Bacchi, Psy.D. (presenter);
Sandy Bemesderfer, Ph.D. and Barbara McSwain, L.C.S.W. (discussants) / free (CE $15)

Beyond the Consulting Room: A Conversation with Susana Winkel
Fri, Nov 9 / 7 - 9 PM / Private Home, Emailed to Registrants / Oakland
NCSPP / (510) 273-9229 / Susana Winkel, Ph.D. / $10

New Treatments, New Hope: Update for Families & Professionals
Sat, Nov 10 / 9 AM - 3 PM / Marin Civic Center, 10 Ave. of the Flags / San Rafael
Community Institute for Psychotherapy / (415) 459-5999 x101 / Dr. Susan Smiga, M.D.; Dr. Stephen P. Hinshaw, Ph.D.; Dr. Scott Smolar, D.O. / $10 - $95

SFCP Scientific Meeting with Danielle and Jean-Michel Quinodoz
Mon, Nov 12 / 7:30 - 9:30 PM / 2420 Sutter Street / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Danielle and Jean-Michel Quinodoz / free

SFCP Friends Clinical Forum in San Francisco
Tue, Nov 13 / 7:30 - 9 PM / SFCP Library/2420 Sutter Street / San Francisco
Friends of SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Genie Dvorak, Psy.D. (presenter); Phyllis Cath, M.D. (discussant) / free (CE $15)

Friends of SFCP South Bay Clinical Forum
Tue, Nov 13 / 7 - 9 PM / Stanford Psychiatry Building, 401 Quarry Rd / Stanford, CA
SFCP / (650) 248-0754 / David Lake, M.D. SFCP / free

SFCP Extension Division Day Long with Danielle and Jean-Michel Quinodoz
Sat, Nov 17 / 9 AM - 3:30 PM / UCFS Laurel Heights, 3333 California St. / 
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Danielle and Jean-Michel Quinodoz / $55 - $145

SFCP Ext. Div. East Bay Student Outreach: Adolescence
Tue, Nov 20 (begins) / 6:30 - 9 PM / Herrick, 2001 Dwight Way, CC Conf. Room / Berkeley
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Madeleine Lansky, M.D. / free

SFCP Stanford Grand Rounds: Timelessness, Time and Transference
Wed, Nov 28 / 6:15 - 7:30 PM / Psychiatry Building, 401 Quarry Rd., Rm 2209 / Stanford
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Jeanne Harasemovitch, L.C.S.W. / free

Friends of SFCP East Bay Clinical Forum (Case Presentation and Discussion)
Wed, Dec 5 / 7 - 9 PM / Herrick Hospital, Conf. Rm. CC, 2001 Dwight Way / Berkeley
Friends of SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Megan Rundel, Ph.D. (presenter); Bob Bartner, Ph.D. (discussant) / free (CE $15)

Happy Hour (hosted by NCSPP's Prelicensed Clinicians Committee)
Thu, Dec 6 / 6 - 8 PM / Beckett's Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. / Berkeley
NCSPP / (510) 273-9229 / free