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 Julie Friend, LCSW

INTENSIVE STUDY PROGRAM IN PSYCHOANALYTIC COUPLE PSYCHOTHERAPY 

The Psychoanalytic Couple Psychotherapy Group is currently inviting applications for the 

2020-21 intensive study program. Deepen your knowledge and develop your skills in the challenging and fascinating work with couples in the context of a warm, collaborative learning community. For detailed information about the curriculum, faculty, and the application process, please visit our website at www.pcpgbayarea.org

Contact Julie Friend, Program Director at juliefriendlcsw@gmail.com or Sandra Seidlitz, Admissions Chair at sseidlitz@mindspring.com with any questions.  

Applications due February 15, 2020

by Andy Harlem, Ph.D. 

PSYCHOANALYSIS AT CIIS: CORE FACULTY POSITIONS AVAILABLE

Over the past twenty years or so, most graduate training programs have gradually turned their attention away from psychodynamic psychotherapy. While it continues to receive cursory attention in some quarters, most graduate schools now emphasize what Todd Essig terms “algorithmic” therapies. 

At CIIS, however, my colleagues and I have moved in the opposite direction. Our PsyD Program focuses on insight-oriented depth psychotherapy. Our mission is to provide clinical training that combines the principles of integral education with the clinical efficacy of contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy. Students in our program take courses on the philosophical foundations of psychodynamic psychotherapy, the therapeutic relationship, and the unconscious; they take course in gender and sexuality, in cultural psychology, in Eastern thought and in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Some of them travel to Sri Lanka to study Buddhism, ayurvedic medicine, and village life. Throughout the curriculum, we promote an ethos of open and holistic inquiry that emphasizes the centrality of relationships in people’s lives.  

by June Lin-Arlow, MA

DECENTERING WHITENESS IN PSYCHOANALYSIS 

When I go to a lecture or workshop by well-meaning therapists who claim to value diversity and equity, I anticipate the inevitable disclaimer: “I know all these theories are from dead white, straight, cis-men. They are incomplete and don’t represent the patients we work with in the Bay Area, so let’s learn and critique them.” The problem with this viewpoint is that it still centers whiteness and views the critique as secondary. As I was brainstorming for my Master’s program thesis, I realized that I could only think of theories from white perspectives because they were all that I was exposed to. I’m complicit too, and I’m sick of it. 

If we at NCSPP want to live up to our new Equity Clause, we need to actively read, discuss, and feature perspectives from outside the dominant paradigm. It takes more than a hand-waving disclaimer; it takes work. My intention for writing this article is to find theorists of color who are overlooked in our foundational understanding of psychoanalytic theory. 

Classifieds: 

VICTORIAN ROCKRIDGE/OAKLAND OFFICE SUBLET. Spacious, appealing, with lots of natural light and decorative window. Quiet. Seven-minute walk from Rockridge BART. High ceilings, Congenial work atmosphere. Clients tend to appreciate the easy access to cafes and restaurants. Arguably one of the best psychotherapy office locations on the avenue. Available Tuesdays all day; Thursdays until noon; Fridays all day. Available starting mid- to late-January $550. 5313 College Ave, Oakland. Contact (510) 654-2288, jcrismft@sbcglobal.net

LAUREL HEIGHTS SUBLET. Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. $650/month. Includes utilities and cleaning. Analytic couch, adjustable, Stressless armchairs. Contact Tom Richardson at (415) 279-2145. 

UPPER MARKET/CASTRO OFFICE. Elegant, quiet, unfurnished space with high ceilings, wood floors, and excellent light in recently built-out suite shared with psychoanalytic clinicians. $1565, full-time, 120 sq ft (10.5 x 11.5). Market Street near 16th. Must be licensed. Contact Kirsten (415) 401-7180.

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.   

Appointment Book: 

Focus On – Elasticity in Psychoanalytic Technique
Thu, Feb 13 / 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm / 530 Bush St. / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / R. Kaywin, DMH / $35 - $85

Seeing Blind: Envisioning Ourselves and Others
Fri, Feb 14 / 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm / 530 Bush St. / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / G. Kleege, Ph.D.; A. Sweetnam, Ph.D. / free - $40

When Witnessing Re-inscribes Transgenerational Trauma
Sat, Feb 15 / 10:00 am - 12:00 pm / 530 Bush St. / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / K. Gentile, Ph.D. / free - $50

PINC Symposium – The Whiteness Taboo
Thu, Feb 27 / 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm / 530 Bush St. / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / M. Merson, MFT J. Riley, MFT, et al. / free - $45