We hope that you enjoy this month's issue, and we hope you'll join NCSPP or contribute to our scholarship fund to assist us in fostering a vibrant psychoanalytic community in Northern California.

Okay, that does it. Yesterday, I was in a grocery checkout line and looked over to see Sarah Palin on the cover of Newsweek with a hunting gun slung over her shoulder. At first, I thought it was a spoof and had to look closely to see that it was actually Newsweek. I felt dissociative. Do I really live in this country? Then, I became outraged. I live in utter dismay this month. We are hemorrhaging and in need of thoughtful leadership with insight and vision. This presidential campaign has been difficult to follow. It seems Americans ride the waves of a desperate hope for change fueled by naiveté or rationalization/dissociation/denial. I am drawn into watching Larry King Live, Anderson Cooper 360, and for relief, Bill Maher’s Real Time to check the pulse of commentators. New rule: no stepping into a voting booth until you can prove you have a mind of your own. I am upset by media reports and polls and puzzled to hear callers sounding off on NPR’s Talk of the Nation. I fear I live in a country where people actually do not give serious thought to choosing leaders. I find it surrealistic that men and women are not thinkers but followers, and some are willing to be led by religion and some sense that Washington is somehow looking out for us as people. I am anxious about the November election and advocate for all of us to do what we can to help people think about their choices. Forgive my indulgence, but someone who hunts caribou and wolves from a helicopter for sport seems more appropriate for a Ridley Scott film about some fictitious futuristic nation than a possible President of my country.

Warm regards,

Drew Tillotson, Psy.D.
NCSPP President
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Green Your Psychoanalysis

Conserve your energy; lie on the couch. Recycle your patients’ projective identifications. Beta into alpha is Bion’s version of compost. Go organic; free associate. Use solar energy and schedule sessions during daylight. Consider fueling manic episodes with biodiesel or ethanol. Think of the environmental impact of your patients’ shouting or your shouting in your analyst’s office. Walk, bike, skate or take MUNI to sessions, remaining secure in your analytic identity even if clutching a bus transfer or a skateboard. Recycle your ghosts and turn them into ancestors.

Be mindful of toxic runoff of psychotropic medications into the Bay. Zero emissions are a good thing, but don’t waste the analytic hour in silence. Save trees by eliminating paper checks and paying or taking fees in cash. (Full disclosure: After reading Argentinean analyst, Horacio Etchegoyan, mention the 'French way' of paying for analysis in cash, I presented my analyst with a very large wad of green bills at the end of the month, which he promptly refused.) Think of reverie as the power saver feature. If unanalyzed, consider your carbon footprint on others around you to be ... well, Bigfoot. The half-life of transference is twice that of plutonium. You, your patient and the entire treatment constitute an ecosystem. As analytic therapists, we all drill for fossil fuel.

Your analyst is not a renewable resource. You only have one life. Use it wisely. You only have one analyst. Or two. Well, maybe three. Remember, Freud described the unconscious as something only glimpsed as if a shadow on the wall cast by a lamp. Last one to terminate, please turn off the lights.

Cleopatra Victoria, MFT
IMPULSE Editor

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NCSPP and BACPPG* are presenting ‘The Macbeths in the Consulting Room: Proleptic Imagination and the Couple, A Day with James Fisher.’

Shakespeare, the shared couple unconscious, literary theory and post-Kleinian ideas will be inter-woven during this unique event. Acclaimed London couples' therapist, James Fisher, will talk about the destructive marriage of the Macbeths, and what it tells us about certain states of mind embedded in couples. We will view film clips from a powerful RSC production of Macbeth, followed by a thought-provoking paper by James Fisher and a discussion by Shelley Nathans. Our focus on couples will continue in the afternoon with Dr. Fisher discussing a couple case presentation by Julie Friend.

Saturday October 18th, 9 to 4, CPMC, Enright Room.

Registration & Information

Dr. Fisher is also available for individual consultations Friday, October 17th (contact lbenioff@sbcglobal.net).

*BACPPG, the Bay Area Psychoanalytic Couple Psychotherapy Group, is dedicated to the study, teaching, and practice of psychoanalytic couple psychotherapy.

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While students of literature are routinely trained in the use of psychoanalytic theory to enhance their understanding of texts, training opportunities for clinicians to mine the enormous potential of great literature to enrich their clinical work are rare. NCSPP is offering such an opportunity in ‘Great Works: Literature and Poetry for Clinicians’, with literature professor and psychoanalyst Michael Zimmerman. Only a few days remain to sign on for this learning adventure. Discover what Plath, Lowell, Frost, Melville, Faulkner, Conrad and Hemingway can teach us about language, narrative and the human condition.

Class begins October 6th. See www.ncspp.org for more details!

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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.

SFCP SF Student Outreach: Principles of Psychoanalytic Technique
Wed, Oct 1(begins) / 7:30 PM - 9 PM / 2340 Jackson St., 4th Floor / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Kenneth Roberson, Ph.D. / free

SFCP Community Members East Bay Clinical Forum
Wed, Oct 1 / 7:30 PM - 9 PM / Herrick Hospital, Conf. Room CC, 2001 Dwight Way / Berkeley
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Orit Weksler, M.F.T. and William Glover, Ph.D. / free

Surviving the Madness: The Psychodynamics of Becoming a Psychotherapist
Sat, Oct 4 / 1 PM - 5 PM / CPMC, Enright Room / San Francisco
NCSPP / (415) 457-9949 / Panel: Sam Gerson, Ph.D. and Melissa Holub, Ph.D. / $45 - $100

New Course: Great Works: Literature and Poetry for Clinicians
Mon, Oct 6 (begins) / 10:30 AM - 12 PM / PINC Library / San Francisco
NCSPP / (415) 457-9949 / Mike Zimmerman, Ph.D. / $650 - $1000

Law, Ethics & Personal Values
Sat, Oct 11 / 9 AM - 4 PM / 9 Funston Ave., The Presidio / San Francisco
SFPRG / (415) 561-6771 / Jules Burstein, Ph.D. / $75

SFCP Child Colloquia
Sat, Oct 11 / 10 AM - 12 PM / SFCP / 2340 Jackson St., 4th Fl. / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Glen Elliott / free

SFCP Conversation on Adolescents: Psychosexual Development of Adolescents
Sat, Oct 11 / 10 AM - 12 PM / Flamingo Conf. Resort and Spa, 2777 4th St. / Santa Rosa
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Mali Mann, M.D. / free

PINC - In the Shadow of Time: Freud and the Visual Arts
Sat, Oct 11 / 10 AM - 12 PM / Calvary Presbyterian Church, 2515 Fillmore Street / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 922-4050 / Jeanne Wolff Bernstein, Ph.D. / $40 - $60

SFCP Scientific Meeting: Music in the Head: Living At the Brain-Mind Border
Mon, Oct 13 / 7:30 PM - 9:25 PM / 2340 Jackson St., 4th Floor / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Leo Rangell, M.D. / free

Clinical Neuropsychoanalysis: Impact on Transference and Countertransference
Wed, Oct 15 / 10 AM - 12 PM / Epworth Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins / Berkeley
NCSPP / (415) 457-9949 / Enid Young, Ph.D. / $125 - $325

PINC - Answering the Shuttered Heart: Developing a Poetic Voice in Analysis
Thu, Oct 16 (begins) / 7 PM - 9 PM / PINC Library, 2252 Fillmore Street / San Francisco
PINC / (415) 922-4050 / Gene Alexander, M.F.T. and Nina Shuyler, M.F.A. / $90 - $145

Introduction to Control Mastery Theory
Sat, Oct 18 / 9 AM - 4:30 PM / JCC, 3200 California St. / San Francisco
SFPRG / (415) 561-6771 / Steve Foreman, MD; Steve Kanofsky, PhD; Jan Schreiber, PhD / $50

Psyche, Politics, and Transformation
Sat, Oct 18 / 9 AM - 5:15 PM / 1187 Franklin Street / San Francisco
C. G. Jung Institute / (415) 771-8080 / Senator Bill Bradley / $125

Spectrum - Art Auction and Cocktail Party
Sun, Oct 19 / 6 PM - 9 PM / 444 Jessie St. @ Mint / San Francisco
Access Institute / (415) 861-5449 ext. 382 / $125

SFCP Community Members SF Clinical Forum
Tue, Oct 21 / 7 PM - 9:30 PM / SFCP / 2340 Jackson St., 4th Floor / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Marilyn Gradeck, Ph.D., Charles Fisher, M.D. / free

SFCP Community Members South Bay Clinical Forum
Tue, Oct 21 / 7 PM - 9 PM / Psychiatry Building, 401 Quarry Road / Stanford
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / TBA / free

The Ethnic Other and Current American Politics
Wed, Oct 22 / 7:30 PM - 9 PM / SFCP, 2340 Jackson St., 4th Floor Auditorium / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Maureen Katz, M.D. / free

SFCP Public Lecture Series: Race and Current American Politics
Wed, Oct 22 / 7:30 PM - 9 PM / 2340 Jackson St., 4th Floor / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Maureen Katz, M.D. / free

The Politics of Anxious Masculinity; From 9/11 to the Current Election
Fri, Oct 24 / 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM / Redwood City
NCSPP / MJ Myatt (650) 364-8095 / Stephen Ducat, Ph.D. / $25

The Sexual Intelligence of Men
Sat, Oct 25 / 9 AM - 12 PM / JCC, 3200 California St (at Presidio St) / San Francisco
SFPRG / (415) 561-6771 / Michael Bader, DMH / $40

SFCP Peninsula Seminar: The Mystery of Therapeutic Action
Sat, Oct 25 / 8 AM - 12 PM / Christ Episcopal Church, 1040 Border Road / Los Altos
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Michael Smith, Ph.D. / $75

Pan's Labyrinth
Sun, Oct 26 / 1 PM - 5 PM / 2040 Gough Street / San Francisco
C. G. Jung Institute / (415) 771-8080 / Virginia Beane Rutter, MS. / $50

PINC - Bearing the Unbearable: Living with Genocide
Sun, Oct 26 / 10:30 AM - 3:30 PM / Kanbar Hall, Jewish Comm Ctr, 3200 California St. / S.F.
PINC / (415) 922-4050 / Sam Gerson Ph.D. and Dori Laub Ph.D. / $65 - $120

SFCP Grand Rounds: Analyzing the Unanalyzable: Learning from Bion
Wed, Oct 29 / 6:15 PM - 7:30 PM / Psychiatry Buiding, 401 Quarry Rd. Rm 2209 / Stanford
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Lynn Alexander, Psy.D. / free

Building a Reflective Process in Adolescent Psychotherapy
Sat, Nov 1 / 10AM - 1 PM / Santa Clara
NCSPP / Terry McLarnan (408) 247-9399 / Peter Carnochan, Ph.D.

Henri Rey and the Reparative Function
Wed, Nov 5 (begins) / 7:30 PM - 9 PM / St. John's Presbyterian Church / Berkeley
NCSPP / (415) 457-9949 / Bob Bartner, Ph.D. / $110 - $265

Geographical Dislocation, Mourning, and the Healing Impact of Poetry
Sat, Nov 8 / 9 AM - 3:30 PM / Preservation Park, Nile Hall, 668 13th Street / Oakland
The Psychotherapy Institute / (510) 548-2250 ext. 108 / Salman Akhtar, M.D./ $105 - $155

To submit an event, please see our submission guidelines.

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PSYCHOTHERAPY OFFICE TO SHARE: In beautiful landmark building. Centrally located Sutter at Hyde. 2.5 days per week Monday, Thursday and Friday. Schedule negotiation possible. Available immediately $318/ month. (415) 271-0576 Susan Greene, susangreene@mindspring.com

PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDY GROUP: Listening for Transference. Readings and case discussions will help us understand how our patient’s manner of relating to us reflects his/her inner world. We will conceptualize the influence of transference in the patient’s presentation, what to interpret, and how to listen to our interpretation’s impact. Ongoing. 2 groups, Thurs or Fridays 1-2:30 pm, $45 per session, San Francisco. Holly Gordon, DMH, (415) 346-4494 or hollygordon4@hotmail.com

PSYCHODYNAMIC PEER CONSULTATION GROUP: Meets in Oakland 1st and 3rd Tuesdays each month (Lake Merritt/Rockridge.) We’re looking for two or three additional members to share their work and ideas. Contact Steve (510) 287-9024 or Jan (510) 381-3090

CLINICAL WORK GROUP FOR PSYCHOANALYTIC PSYCHOTHERAPISTS: This group will make use of psychoanalytic thinking to inform a collaborative and supportive environment in which members will develop skills and capacities of central importance to their work as psychoanalytic psychotherapists. Listening together to ongoing case presentations, we will study and consider all elements of the therapeutic relationship, focusing particularly on transference, countertransference, containment and the art of interpretation. Mondays 12:50 pm–2:15 pm. 3321 Sacramento Street, San Francisco. Contact Beth Steinberg, Ph.D., (415) 441-5302, besteinberg@comcast.net


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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Drew Tillotson, Psy.D., NCSPP President
Cleopatra Victoria, M.A., MFT, Editor-in-Chief
Bruce Weitzman, MFT, Managing Editor
Meg Earls, M.A., Features Editor
Terra Morais, M.A., Appointment Book Editor
Drew Hutchinson, M.A., Editor-at-Large
Michele McGuinness, Production Manager
Cate Corcoran, Psy.D., Brad Falconer, M. A., Editors Emeritus

Each month, IMPULSE reaches over 1,830 psychoanalytically interested professionals and students in Northern California.

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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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