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 Stephanie King, Psy.D.
Dearest NCSPP members and Impulse subscribers,
It’s that time of year again when we’re seeking nominations for our open 2020 Board positions. This year we have open both an elected position and several appointed committee chair positions.
If you would like to nominate someone for our elected position, please confirm with them that they are willing to run prior to sending in a nomination. When submitting your nomination, please provide the nominee's name, phone number, and email address. If you would like more information on this position, please contact us.
We are seeking nominations for the following board member:
- President Elect (3-year term)
In addition, with a few of our dedicated chairpersons ending their two-year terms in January, NCSPP is recruiting for several committee chair positions. We are eagerly looking for people who are interested in the following committees: Digital Media and Technology, Programming, and Membership. Please contact us if you would like to learn more about what each committee does or how you can become a part of NCSPP.
by Kara Swedlow, Psy.D.
COMMUNITY PSYCHOANALYSIS AT PINC
We are excited to announce the Community Psychoanalysis Track, approved by the PINC board last May, as a new training opportunity for candidates at PINC. The CPT was the collaborative work of the Community Consortium, a working group of community mental health agencies and PINC members. The Consortium conducted a pilot project last year at Partnerships for Trauma Recovery, a Berkeley-based non-profit that provides mental health services to refugees and asylum seekers.
After the pilot was evaluated, a prerequisite course, Intro to Community Psychoanalysis, was established and taken by candidates, two of whom will begin work at PTR this fall, inaugurating the CPT. The Community Consortium and the CPT seek to rigorously investigate the definitions and settings that allow psychoanalytic process, and to develop a model of psychoanalytic education that is responsive to social inequities and cultural plurality.
Contact Kara Swedlow, CPT program coordinator at CPT@pincsf.org
by Lorrie Goldin, LCSW
I recently listened to back-to-back episodes of This American Life. “Ten Sessions" is about a young woman dealing with the trauma of being sexually assaulted at age 13 after decades of never talking about it, even during years of traditional therapy. Finally, with the help of a psychologist specializing in Cognitive Processing Therapy, she makes significant and lasting progress in just 10 sessions.
The other story, “What You Don’t Know”, is the basis of Lulu Wang’s recently released film, The Farewell. It’s about her Chinese family’s decision to keep secret a terminal cancer diagnosis from a beloved elder, and the pretend wedding celebration they concoct as a way to gather under the pretext of a joyous occasion to say goodbye.
“Ten Sessions,” apart from evoking qualms about the inefficiency of long-term therapy, at least had recognizable elements: helping clients identify and overcome their pathogenic beliefs and patterns of stuckness, rewriting narratives, a relationship based on warmth, authenticity, encouragement, and humor. And above all, a belief that squarely facing what’s painful is crucial for healing.
“What You Don’t Know” runs counter to this belief. A former suitemate of mine had a wall-hanging of Freud’s famous adage, “The truth will set you free,” with the added line, “But first it will make you miserable.” Wang’s story persuasively advocates side-stepping that misery by side-stepping the truth.
by Molly Merson, MFT
Couples Therapy: Why would anyone agree to televise their sessions? In psychoanalyst Orna Guralnik’s new television show, four couples go to the couch to work through their traumas and their desires in their marriages.
Psyche on Campus: A blog about teaching psychoanalysis in the undergraduate classroom (and beyond). This new blog describes ways in which students and instructors alike grapple with psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic theories in undergraduate settings.
The Culturing of Psychoanalysis. Karim Dajani’s essay on culture– a missing piece in most psychoanalytic theorizing– speaks to the ways culture helps form the unconscious, and how, by taking up the social and the cultural as psychoanalytic, we as psychoanalysts and psychoanalytically-oriented people can move toward a greater representation of diverse cultural experiences in our theory and practice.
by Loong Kwok Psy.D.
The NCSPP Board invites current and recently graduated students and early-career clinicians with up to two years licensure to submit original papers to be considered for the NCSPP Annual Writing Award. This award offers graduate students and new clinicians who have not published the opportunity to publish in the NCSPP journal, fort da, and present the winning paper at an NCSPP Scientific Meeting with invited discussants. Also, NCSPP will award the winning author $250.
We invite papers that contain original thinking and creatively address topics from a psychoanalytic perspective. They may be theoretical, clinical, or interdisciplinary and should make use of psychoanalytic ideas to further the author's argument. The integration of psychoanalytic theory with clinical material should extend beyond case reporting to include theoretical or technical hypotheses. We also welcome essays that contain interdisciplinary and culturally diverse perspectives. We will judge papers on psychoanalytic content, writing ability and style, integration of theoretical concepts, and original thinking. Previous award winning papers are available on the NCSPP website.
UPPER MARKET/CASTRO OFFICE. Elegant, quiet, well-appointed space with high ceilings, wood floors, and excellent light in recently built-out office suite shared with psychoanalytic clinicians. $1565, full-time, 120 sq ft (10.5 x 11.5). Minimum three-year term w/ 3% annual increases. Excellent location on Market Street near 16th Street. Must be licensed. Best for established clinician seeking long-term space. Contact Kirsten (415) 401-7180.
SUITE WITH THREE PSYCHOTHERAPISTS. Mondays, Fridays, Sunday until 3pm, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays till noon. Large, quiet, beautifully furnished. Fireplace, built-in cupboards, closet, Wi-Fi, and fax. Available now. Amount of rent is based on number of days used. Contact Ellen Salwen, salwenellen@gmail.com or (415) 710-2524.
CONSULTATION GROUP. This small collegial group seeks to develop the capacity to go deeper into the therapy process by openly inquiring into our subjective responses to our experiences and refining and articulating them with a focus on how we each arrive at the individual perspectives that feel authentic to us. We then work together to integrate these multiple points of view into a richer and fuller picture of what is happening in the therapy encounter. Los Gatos from 10:30 to 11:50 on Tuesdays. The fee is $70. Hugh Grubb Psy.D. (408) 395-7592 or hughgrubb@att.net.
TWO SPACIOUS PSYCHOTHERAPY OFFICES. Located in established 4 office suite, 350 Parnassus Avenue. Panoramic views of Downtown, East Bay, Marin Headlands. Rent for one is $1,600, or $2,500 for both, available now. One year lease. Contact Elizabeth Schiff, (415) 681-8112.
FOR SALE: Analytic couch, $400. Pristine Standard Edition, $1000. Contact svonbaeyer@gmail.com.
BEAUTIFUL, NATURAL-LIGHT FILLED OFFICE AVAILABLE. Located in Market Hall in Rockridge. Hours available: Tuesday from 4:00-8:00 ($150), Wednesday from 8:00 am - 3:00 pm ($260), Thursday from 4:00-8:00 ($150) and Friday from 3:00-8:00 ($185). Saturdays all day also available. Preference given to those who can use multiple days. Contact Leigh Lyndon, leigh@drleighlyndon.com or (510) 842-7245.
NICELY DECORATED OFFICE AVAILABLE. Beautiful, historic office building in Lower Pac Heights. The office is bright with a large window. Comfortable couch, chairs, desk, storage cabinet, and locked filing cabinet. Shared waiting room and kitchen. The building is centrally located, has beautiful gardens and excellent street parking. It is a nice community and there are many therapists who work in the building. The office is available all day/evening Mondays and Thursdays; Wednesday evenings, 5 pm to close. $575. Contact Katharine Vila, kathy@kathyvila.com or (415) 871-4330.
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.
Early Career Case Conference – South Bay
Fri, Oct 4 / 12:30 pm - 2:00 am / 2440 West El Camino Real / Mountain View
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / D. Facchino, Ph.D.; K. Hess, MFT / $225 - $250
Deep River: Soul Making in the Valley of the Shadow
Sat, Oct 5 / 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm / 2040 Gough St / San Francisco
Jung Institute / (415) 771-8055 / N. Lowinsky, Ph.D. / $350
Focus On – Boys in a Bubble
Tue, Oct 8 / 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm / 530 Bush St / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / R. Tyminski, D.M.H. / $75 - $170
Discovering Biological Family Following Genetic Testing
Fri, Oct 11 / 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm / 530 Bush St / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / J. Melendi / free - $40
Visiting Scholar Kimberlyn Leary – Town Hall
Sat, Oct 12 / 10:00 am - 12:00 pm / 530 Bush St / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / K. Leary, Ph.D., M.P.A. / free - $40
Embracing Your Body, Nourishing Your Soul
Sat, Oct 12 / 10:00 am - 5:00 pm / 868 Kearny St / San Francisco
Jung Institute / (415) 771-8055 / T. Stromstead, Ph.D. / $100
The Other Within and Without: A Literary Approach
Sat, Oct 19 / 10:00 am - 4:00 pm / 2040 Gough St / San Francisco
Jung Institute / (415) 771-8055 / F. Brewster, Ph.D., et al. / $250-$275
Fall Movie Matinee: Clouds of Sils Maria
Sun, Oct 20 / 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm / 4229 18th Street / San Francisco
NCSPP / (415) 596-0567 / D. Borden, Ph.D. / $15-$18
Early Career Case Conference – San Francisco
Wed, Oct 23 / 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm / 530 Bush St / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / M. Murphy, Ph.D.; J. Meyers, MFT / $225 - $250
The Application of Self Psychology to Couple Psychotherapy
Sat, Oct 26 / 9:00 am - 3:30 pm / 2150 Alston Way / Berkeley
NCSPP & PCPG / (202) 415-6690 / C. Leone, Ph.D.; R. Cooke, Psy.D. / $40 - $250
Christine Anzieu-Premmereur – The Skin Ego Theory
Sat, Nov 2 / 10:00 am - 12:00 pm / 530 Bush St / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / C. Anzieu-Premmereur / free - $40
Dreaming and Imagination in the Hollywood Style
Sat, Nov 2 / 10:00 am - 5:00 pm / 2040 Gough St / San Francisco
Jung Institute / (415) 771-8055 / J. Beebe, M.D.; R. Borutta / $125