Welcome to IMPULSE's August issue. Join us as we look ahead to an exciting new season of growth and fellowship in our dynamic community. We hope you enjoy this month's issue, and we hope you'll join NCSPP to assist us in fostering a vibrant psychoanalytic community in Northern California.

In August many of us enjoy our summer vacations, and then we begin to anticipate the start of the new academic year. Our children return to school one grade older. We and our patients resume our more regular rhythms and schedules. And our own educational efforts resume.

At NCSPP, this means the beginning of the new Intensive Study Group year, kicked off by the Introductory Event. These study groups tend to take on cutting edge or innovative subjects that have often not before been taken up in depth in the Bay Area.

This year's San Francisco/East Bay ISG, true to its legacy, invites us to take a deep look at gender and sexuality, complex issues about which the psychoanalytic community holds many differing and sometimes disparate views. Looking at gender and sexuality opens up questions such as how the individual subject's gender is formed and defined and what lies beyond the limits of traditional binary theoretical notions of masculine and feminine psychology. How do we think about such fundamental theories as the Oedipus complex in light of all that we've learned since Freud about the psychic formation of gender identity?

This topic, perhaps more than any other in psychoanalysis, compels us to think about the individual's psyche within a context of culture and history. The aim of this year's ISG is to engage us, with an outstanding roster of Bay Area analysts, in the play of vital and varied ideas (in the spirit of Winnicott's idea of the freedom to play) about how sexuality and gender are at play in the psyche.

The South Bay is presenting a year-long intensive study program entitled Transforming Bion: The Bionian Development. Among topics studied will be Bion's transformations of Freudian and Kleinian concepts; transformations of his own concepts within his prolific career; descriptions of transformations within the complex process between the patient and analyst; and a positing of the Bionian Development. The class will look at Bion influences on Meltzer, Ogden's influence regarding the alpha function, as well as the function of the analyst as an auxiliary dreamer.

Both study groups seek to broaden our ability to use our mental and emotional capacities to think, dream and play -- with our patients and in our own thinking. I think these study groups embody the best of what our psychoanalytic community has to offer: an alive and creative place to gather with colleagues to study, learn and grow. I really look forward to following the progress of these programs as the year progresses.

The deadlines for registration for the Intensive Study Groups are August 8th (South Bay) and September 8th (East Bay/San Francisco).

Beth Steinberg, Ph.D.
President, NCSPP

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The term "blog" refers to a web-based journal wherein individuals offer up their personal experiences to anyone with a web browser. The editors IMPULSE seek out local analytic candidates willing to "blog" their experience in training. Our second volunteer is finishing a residency in psychiatry and is a first year candidate at a psychoanalytic training institute. Following are some anonymous reflections on the experience of attending his/her first American Psychoanalytic Association meeting.

The faraway landscape peeled further and further away, lifting up. I sat looking out the window of the airplane. Up and away, the cold harshness and wintry snow blanket on the ground dissolved into the hum and click of a machine that was now taking me home.

"Home. I miss home," I thought. The plane droned on.

My first psychoanalytic meeting! I thought about the people I met, the new friends, and the new ideas I discovered. "Hi. My name is.. I am a first-year candidate from the...Institute. It's nice to meet you." Every time I said that, the years would flash in my mind that it took to get where I was. Every time it was like another little victory. I would say it proudly.

My thoughts drifted. I thought of the various discussion groups.

"When the work is done, termination proceeds. Certainly, there is physicianly compassion." A particularly regal, older analyst and a significantly younger one argued point and counterpoint on termination and post-termination contact. "Physicianly?" The younger Ph.D. analyst interjected. "Well, yes, physicianly. Regardless, the values are the same." The older analyst blushed slightly.

I was in awe. It was not because of what was being said though, or one argument or another, but rather because it was clear that they both passionately and deeply cared about their patients. In that moment, I couldn't help thinking of my own analyst.

I also wondered about beginnings. I thought to myself, "everything that has a beginning must have an end." I paused. But not today. Not now.

Then, I found myself stepping off of the airplane. I thought forward to the next meeting of the American Psychoanalytic Association. I was finally home.

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NCSPP and PINC invite you and your artistic spirit to Revisioning Gender, the Intensive Study Group Introductory Event on September 16 at Laurel Heights Conference Center, from 9 AM to 4 PM.

The ISG is entering the world of gender where our minds will be stretched in many new directions. Acclaimed gender theorists Ken Corbett, Ph.D., and Donna Bassin, Ph.D., will take up confines and expansions in our conceptualizations of gender and sexuality, supplemented by Dr. Bassin's slides of her own and other women artists' iconoclastic creations.

We will view a compelling documentary about the impact of a family member's sex change on her three nieces. We'll conclude with a lively conversation between the audience and our speakers offering a closer understanding of our guests' clinical (re)visions of gender and sexuality. To whet your appetite, don't miss the candid interviews with our two speakers Ken Corbett and Donna Bassin on the NCSPP website.

Want EVENT SPOTLIGHT to shine on your upcoming analytic happening? You'll find our submission guidelines illuminating.


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Appointment Book offers a sampling of the psychoanalytically oriented events taking place in Northern California over the coming month. Where available, simply click an event title to view details on the sponsoring organization's web site.

Friends of SFPI&S 30th Anniversary and Open House
Sat, Aug 26 / 10 AM - 12 PM / SFPI&S Library / 2420 Sutter Street / San Francisco
Friends of SFPI&S / RSVP (415) 563-4815 / free & open to non-members

Child Psychotherapy Seminars
Wed, Sep 6 / 7:30 - 9 PM / 2420 Sutter Street / San Francisco
SFPI&S / (415) 563-5815 / $1,400

2006-07 Peninsula/South Bay Intensive Study Group: Transforming Bion
Wed, Sep 6 (begins) / 10 - 11:30 AM / Menlo College, 1000 El Camino Real / Atherton
NCSPP / Barbara Blasdel, Ph.D.; Ivria Spieler, Ph.D., Psy.D., MFT; Lynn Alexander, Psy.D., MFT; Angela Sowa, Psy.D., MFT; Annie Sweetnam, Ph.D. / $1700

To submit an event, please see our submission guidelines.

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PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDY & CASE CONSULTATION GROUP: Mind-Body Issues. Mondays beginning in September, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM, 5845 College Avenue, Oakland, Dori Dubin, Psy.D., (510) 547-2522, $40 per meeting.

OFFICE FOR SALE: Individual psychotherapy suite in professional building near Mt. Zion. Private entrance, large consulting room, wait and bath rooms, closet, storage, built-in book cases and cabinets, parking. $139K. Call Dr. Jim Faircloth, (415) 931-4333.

TREATMENT OF ADOLESCENTS & YOUNG ADULTS: Weekly Consultation Group Led by Mary Brady, Ph.D. & Robert Tyminski, D.M.H. Mondays, 12:00-1:15, beginning September 11. $40/meeting. Approved for CE credit. Information call (415) 776-3174.

STUDY GROUP: Well-established psychoanalytic study group meets weekly from Sept-May, Fridays, 12:30-2 pm at PINC in SF. Weekly classes include reading, discussion, some case presentation. Each year we explore different topics with four different instructors per year. One year commitment required. Contact Brook Stone, L.C.S.W. at (415) 789-8527 or Greg Clinton, Ph.D. at (415) 255-6213.

EATING DISORDER CONSULTATION & READING GROUP: One Monday evening per month beginning October 2006, 7:30 to 9:00 PM. Location to be detrmined in the Penninsula/South Bay area. Individual sponsors: Ann Martini, LCSW, (408) 358-1862, and Jana Kahn, Ph.D., (650) 947-0262.

CLINICAL APPLICATIONS OF BION: Bion's works on thinking and states of mind are wonderfully useful in clinical work, though sometimes hard to grasp in isolation. In this class we will use early theoretical work to help us understand our own and our patients' defenses against psychic pain. Alternating clinical presentations with study of theory will help us integrate Bion's work into our clinical technique. We'll use Winnicott's brilliant work on mothers and infants to round out our study. Thursdays 12:30 - 1:50, Sept. 14 through Dec. 7, except Nov. 23. 5435 College Ave. #201, Oakland. Cost is $45 per session, payable monthly. Contact Dr. Eileen Keller at (510) 654-2420 or drkeller@kellerphd.com.

FACILITATE DEVELOPMENT: NCSPP's scholarship fund makes analytic classes available at reduced fees for students in need. Contribute today.

Old couches, new books, hot jobs, cool internships? Post classified ads on NCSPP's online bulletin board at no charge. We will also feature your listing in IMPULSE for a modest fee. Please see our submission guidelines for details.

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The Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology (NCSPP) is committed to the study of psychoanalytic psychology and the encouragement of its interest in the professional and general communities. We are a multi-disciplinary, non-profit membership organization open to mental health professionals and all others interested in the study of psychoanalytic psychology.

Our more than 650 members form a community that spans the greater Bay Area and Northern California. NCSPP is a local affiliate of Division 39 (psychoanalysis) of the American Psychological Association. Our vast array of lectures, intensive study groups, scientific meetings, courses, our journal fort da, and numerous special events and projects are all brought to you by scores of volunteers who work to support NCSPP's mission. Our educational programs include continuing education credit for psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and licensed clinical social workers. We welcome you into the psychoanalytic community in Northern California. Please join us.

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Beth Steinberg, Ph.D., NCSPP President
Cleopatra Victoria, M.A., MFT, Editor
Cate Corcoran, M.A., Features Editor
Brad Falconer, M.A., Managing Editor

Each month, IMPULSE reaches over 1,400 psychoanalytically oriented professionals and students in Northern California.

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Event listings in APPOINTMENT BOOK are available for your psychoanalytically oriented educational or professional event. To submit your event for consideration, please use our online form. Please note that we only list organizationally sponsored events in APPOINTMENT BOOK. Individually sponsored events, such as consultation or reading groups, can be promoted via a classified ad, described below.

Contributions to PIECE OF MIND, our feature profiling Northern California psychoanalytic organizations, will be assigned on a monthly basis. If you'd like to suggest an organization to be featured in this space, please send an email via our online form with the subject PIECE OF MIND. Please do not send attachments or files.

EVENT SPOTLIGHT lets you promote your upcoming analytic event in more depth and detail than is possible in APPOINTMENT BOOK. The cost is $100 per month for up to 150 words describing your event. A maximum of one EVENT SPOTLIGHT will run each month. Please begin by expressing interest in EVENT SPOTLIGHT in an email via our online form. Once approved, send payment to NCSPP, c/o Michele McGuinness, 12 Hampton Ave., San Anselmo, CA 94960, and send your copy via our online form. Please do not send attachments or files.

POTENTIAL SPACE is a place within IMPULSE for play — a home for a creative, unconventional, or otherwise novel contributions. Submissions should be emailed via our online form. Due to length restrictions and thematic constraints, we cannot guarantee that your submission will be published. However, we encourage you to express yourself and help us open the space. Please note that you must be the copyright owner of anything you submit, and your submission constitutes permission for IMPULSE to publish your submission via email and on the web in perpetuity without any compensation.

You can list your psychoanalytically oriented jobs, internships, for sale items, announcements, etc. in CLASSIFIEDS. The cost is $20 per month for every 30 words. Please send payment to NCSPP, c/o Michele McGuinness, 12 Hampton Ave., San Anselmo, CA 94960. Email your ad copy via our online form with the subject CLASSIFIEDS.

DEADLINES: To be considered for publication, submissions must be received by the 15th of the month prior to publication. (For example, September 15 for the October issue.) NCSPP and IMPULSE staff reserve the right to decline any submission at our sole discretion.

ORIGINALITY: To maximize the value of our limited space and preserve the newsletter's quality, IMPULSE does not accept submissions the essential substance of which has been or will be published elsewhere, whether in part or in whole.

IMPULSE's complete submission guidelines can be found on the NCSPP web site.

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IMPULSE is published electronically once a month by the Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology. Comments are welcome and should be sent via our online form.

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