IPS provides Conversations for its members and the wider mental health community. A variety of thought-provoking topics are explored in an open and collegial atmosphere.
Since the establishment of IPS, we have offered several Conversations each year. Our Conversations are an ideal way of exploring a psychotherapeutic idea with our members and the wider mental health community. Typically, a faculty member or candidate will introduce the Conversation topic by reflecting on a few therapeutic experiences. Our Conversations give us the opportunity to look at how these ideas can be applied to our clinical practices. Participants are encouraged to share clinical examples. Our goal reflects the philosophy of IPS, which is that we are all students who can learn from one another.
CONVERSATIONS
Before and After the Session
Date: Sunday, September 15, 2019
Time: 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Where: 655 Pomander Walk, Teaneck, NJ 07666
Fee: $25 for non-members of IPS
RSVP: Register
March 18, 2018: Conversation: Self Disclosure in Therapy
Conversation: Self Disclosure in Therapy</strong>Thomas Grace, PsyD, PsyA<br />On March 18, 2018, The Institute for Psychoanalytic Studies was host for a lively and thought-provoking conversation about aspects of self-disclosure of countertransference reactions and personal information by the analyst. Through the recollection of personal experiences, we explored how sharing our personal experiences might enhance and impede the therapeutic process.We began the discussion by identifying two aspects of “deliberate” self-disclosure; the analyst expressing induced reactions to a patient, and the analyst sharing personal details. Participants went on to clarify that the therapeutic value, efficacy, and safety of an analyst’s self-disclosure is simultaneously dependent on the clinical needs and wellbeing of patients, as well as the impulses and intentions driving analysts to disclose. The processes of character analysis might be further enhanced, and ruptures healed by follow up exploration of patients’ reactions and fantasies to analysts’ disclosures. The safety of a healthy therapeutic relationship, not a formula, affords rich opportunities to identify the energy and pervasiveness of needs, frustrations, and character traits. As for “unintended” disclosure of personal information, it might not be possible to completely avoid self-disclosure as we leave traces of ourselves in choices we make, how we present ourselves, and the therapeutic environments we create. Nevertheless, there can be boundary-crossing and vulnerability-inducing risks that occur when patients dig through the online activities of an analyst to actively discover personal details without the analyst’s intention or consent for the patient to know.If a goal of analytic treatment is to help patients to identify and disclose previously unknown and vulnerable aspects of themselves (e.g., aggressive and sexual fantasies and impulses) and then more freely choose how or if to use what they learn, then might it be possible that we as analysts can provide an important frame of reference and practice ground for our patients when we afford ourselves the possibility of using self-disclosure as clinically indicated. If we as analysts happen to benefit from that process, maybe that’s a good thing too. Thank you to all participants for your contributions. I believe we all benefited from each other.[/av_toggle]</p><br />
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February 11, 2018 Movie Night: Lion
<strong>Movie Night: Lion</strong>Margaret Debrot, LCSW, PsyA<br />On Sunday, February 11, 2018, the Institute sponsored the first of our Movie Nights, as members of our Institute and other mental health professionals viewed and discussed the 2016 film, Lion. The discussion was led by Cathy Lawrence and myself. Lion is based on the true story of a five year old Indian boy named Saroo, who is lost and separated from his family in India. He is eventually adopted by an upper middle class Australian couple. Twenty-five years later, after he spends four years searching for his birth-mother on Google Earth, Saroo is re-united with his birth-mother and biological sister.After watching the film, participants discussed the psychological dynamics of Saroo and his search for his biological family. Among the topics touched upon were the following: Freud’s theories of repression and the return of the repressed; the inborn temperament of infants; the character of the Saroo and how that character helped him to survive; trauma as it related to individuals who grew up in Uganda; ambivalent feelings expressed by Saroo in his relationships, which may have been a projection of inner conflicts and pain; resilience in people.According to the feedback forms, the participants found the discussion to be informative and helpful. We plan to have more Movie Nights and Discussions in the future.
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