More than any other month, December embodies fantasy. Like our patients, we may delve into the holidays with a fantasy of joyous family time, exciting travel, and sumptuous meals and gifts. We can be crushed by the reality of annoying kin, flight delays, gastrointestinal upset, and dizzying credit card bills. There are fantasies about the holiday break and what one will do with one's time away from patients. As one busy analyst realized, he'd come down with the flu during the holidays because he simply didn't have the time to do so the rest of the year! And our patients have fantasies about who we spend our time with and what we do while we're out of the office.

As Freud warned, the masses "demand illusions, and cannot do without them. They constantly give what is unreal precedence over what is real." Of course, some of our fantasies are conscious; many others are unconscious. As psychoanalysis proves, it's useful to understand the dark forces that propel us and how they might muck with our ordinary, everyday happiness. This month, we wish all your holiday fantasies come true...but as an ancient Chinese proverb proclaims, "be careful what you wish for — you may get it."

The end of the year is approaching, as is the end of my term as president of NCSPP. I want to sign off with a giant thanks both to the board and to the committee members of NCSPP whose hard work nourishes our community.

After 20 years, NCSPP remains the largest local affiliate of Division 39 of the American Psychological Association. Historically, many of the regional affiliates of Division 39 have ceased to exist once a local psychoanalytic institute arose in which psychoanalytic practitioners became involved. It's a sign of of our vibrant community and the dedicated, excellent work of our committee members that our local organization endures. Please note that all our board and committee members are volunteers with busy careers or educational demands. That we continue to create such high-caliber offerings year after year is a testament to all of you. My hat's off, and thanks!

And finally, best wishes for the next year and welcome to our incoming president, Drew Tillotson.

Adam Kremen, Ph.D.
President, NCSPP

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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.

When Everything Stays Inside: Treating Obesity
Sat, Dec 1 / 9 AM - 1:30 PM / 2420 Sutter Street / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / R. Deutsch; S. Fisk; A. Jones; J. Schiller; M.J. Otte / $75

Friends of SFCP and NEXMAP: Conversations on Culture, "Grain de sable"
Sun, Dec 2 / 4 - 6 PM / Recombinant Media Labs, 763 Brannan St / San Francisco
Friends of SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Louis Dufort / $13 - $18

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)

SFCP Seminars for Scholars: Psychoanalysis and War
Thu, Dec 6 / 7:30 - 9 PM / Conference Room, 2538 Channing Way / Berkeley
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Noa Farchi (Visiting Scholar UCB) / free

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

SFCP Farewell Event
Fri, Dec 7 / 5:30 - 8 PM / 2420 Sutter Street / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / free

Robert Caper: "What Do We Observe in Psychoanalysis, How, and Why?"
Sat, Dec 8 / 10 AM - 12 PM / 450 Sutter St., Floor 9, Rm. 941 / San Francisco
Institute for Psychoanalytic Studies / (415) 679-0997 / Robert Caper, M.D. / $10 -$45

Robert Caper: Case Conference
Sat, Dec 8 / 1:30 - 3:30 PM / 450 Sutter St., Floor 9, Rm. 941 / San Francisco
Institute for Psychoanalytic Studies / (415) 679-0997 / Robert Caper, M.D. / $10 -$45

SFCP Let's Talk Opera, Doc? "The Rake's Progress"
Sun, Dec 9 / 4 PM / Books Inc., 601 Van Ness Ave. / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Milton Schaefer; Linda Lagemann / free

SFCP Scientific Meeting with Kenneth Gottlieb, M.D.
Mon, Dec 10 / 7:30 - 9:30 PM / 2420 Sutter Street / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Kenneth Gottlieb, M.D. / free

Friends of SFCP San Francisco Clinical Forum
Tue, Dec 18 / 7:30 - 9:30 PM / UCSF Mt. Zion, Room 3805, 1600 Divisadero / San Francisco
Friends of SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Danny Yu, L.C.S.W. (presenter);
Era Loewenstein, Ph.D. (discussant) / free

Friends of SFCP South Bay Clinical Forum
Tue, Dec 18 / 7:30 - 9 PM / Psychiatry Building, 401 Quarry Road / Stanford
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Krista Regendanz, Psy.D. intern; Mary Jane Otte, Ph.D. / free

SFCP Foundations of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
Wed, Jan 2 (begins) / 12 - 2:45 PM / 2340 Jackson Street / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / J. Dunn, S. Chase; E. Simpson; C. Wallis; C. Fisher / $900

To submit an event, please see our submission guidelines.

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CROSSING THE SYNAPSE: (1) PINC San Francisco Intermediate Neuropsychoanalytic Study Group: Reading Group on Dynamical System. Meets Fridays bi-weekly, beginning January 11, 12:15 PM to 1:30 PM. PINC, Library, $300. Instructor: Tom Herington, M.D. Psy.D. (2)PINC East Bay Study Group: Neuroscience for the Psychoanalytically-Minded. Meets bi- weekly,beginning January 11, Fridays, 12:15 PM - 1:45 PM, $600. Instructor: Maggie Zellner, L.P. New York City. Information and registration: (415) 922-4050.

SFIPS UPCOMING PROGRAMS: (1) Jan. 19: Walter Stone, M.D. Dynamic group treatment of persons with persistent and severe mental illness. (2) Mar. 1: Dr. Woodrow Donovan Program: Film, discussion with Diane Borden, Ph.D. and Mark Levy, M.D.; moderator Frank Lossy, M.D. (3) Apr. 27: Diane Santas, Ph.D. and Sharon Witkin, Ph.D. Child assessment. See www.sfips.org/programs.php or contact frozy@concentric.net or (415) 679-0997.

PSYCHOTHERAPY SUITE: On University Ave., Sacramento. Large corner office, good location. Share rent, expenses with two psychotherapists. Contact Chris Larsen, M.D. (916) 920-4028 or Carol Ekstrom, Ph.D. (916) 564-6248.

LOW-FEE PSYCHOTHERAPY GROUP: Work on relational dynamics in group. The group will meet Tuesday evenings 6:00 - 7:30 at Access Institute. If interested, call (415) 861-5449. Fee: $15/ per session.

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

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. Join us.

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Adam Kremen, Ph.D., NCSPP President
Cleopatra Victoria, M.A., MFT, Editor
Cate Corcoran, Psy.D., Features Editor
Meg Earls, M.A., Copy Editor
Brad Falconer, M.A., Managing Editor

Each month, IMPULSE reaches over 1,800 psychoanalytically interested professionals and students in Northern California and beyond.

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IMPULSE is a monthly newsletter published by the Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology for the purpose of connecting Northern California psychoanalytic practitioners, students, and scholars. IMPULSE aims to foster the development of psychoanalytic practice and thought in our region through collaboration and understanding.

For information on submitting event listings and other content to IMPULSE, please see our guidelines and policies page 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 contact form.

You are receiving this monthly newsletter from the Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology (NCSPP) because of your interest in psychoanalysis. Any mental health professional or student interested in psychoanalytic thought may subscribe free to IMPULSE, regardless of organizational affiliation. To ensure that IMPULSE isn't misidentified as junk mail, we recommend adding impulse@ncspp.org to your email program's address book. If you haven't done so already, click to confirm your interest in subscribing. To unsubscribe, click the SafeUnsubscribe link at the bottom of this message.

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