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.

This is my final column for IMPULSE as NCSPP President. What an amazing ride this has been. Many talented and dedicated people helped make this a truly meaningful year, and without this rich experience, I would have been the poorer. I just returned from my friend Vicki’s 50th birthday weekend in suburban northern Virginia. Vicki and I met in the second grade and have been friends ever since. She was surrounded by her adult children and stepchildren, an amazing second husband, and the strength of an extended family that was affected by multiple divorces, betrayals and adversities. Out of these ashes, her family has reconstituted as a resiliently loving creation. My partner and I were embraced by their love, and I had more fun and familial joy than I have had for a while. They inspired and moved me with their heartfelt connection to each other, their respect and affection for all they each have become. I tell you about Vicki’s family because I associate to it when realizing the importance of the work we are all doing. Daily, we work to repair, reconnect the strands, revisit, reintegrate the vestiges of the past. Our work is difficult — we don’t always see the results immediately — and requires enormous courage, stamina, faith and hope (mixed with dread at times). As Vicki’s family did this weekend, I have been inspired by many of you to keep working faithfully and to not give up hope for profound changes to occur in my patients’ lives and in my own. I will end with the words of the character, Prior Walter, when he speaks directly to the audience in the final moments of the play, Angels in America. Somehow, it seems appropriate.

"The time has come ... So, bye now.
You are all fabulous creatures: each and every one.
And I bless you: More Life.”

Warm regards,

Drew Tillotson, Psy.D.
NCSPP President


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Black and White in Color

Right after the election, a black therapist friend remarked she was noticing more black woman / white man couples on the street lately. That day, I saw an Embassy Suites web banner, a Banana Republic magazine ad, and a tourism ad in Bon Appetit magazine, each one featuring a black woman partnered with a white man. Months before, Esquire magazine had declared Halle Berry — the product of a white mother and a black father — the sexiest woman alive. Culture and behavior were being shaped by politics. Was it any wonder when a man with a black father and white mother seized the nation’s driver’s seat? Despite the collective political ebullience, the dark side of the national psyche hovers.

In The City, retail stores sprout fields of bright colors, clothing in every shade of the rainbow, a pronounced departure from the traditional staples of black, blue, beige that are the backbone of San Francisco street couture. Are the vivid hues a manic defense against the dark, depressing financial and political uncertainties of our time? Victoria’s Secret posters feature models exhibiting the current mass ideal of increasingly larger bust size. In these dismal times, perhaps we’re all hoping for a warm, generous, nurturing mother bursting with abundant benevolence.

This endemic national depression may be reflected back in the popularity of the highly-buzzed AMC cable show, Mad Men. Making its debut less than a year ago, it won two Golden Globe awards and six Emmys. Set in the Manhattan advertising community of the early 1960s, it depicts a world where largely, men had the power, and women knew their place — generally at home in the 'burbs, wiping tiny noses and trying not to burn the tuna casserole as they silently suffered their husbands’ extracurricular activities. Divorce was shocking, birth control a license for licentiousness. Everyone sucked cigarettes, anxious as babies gasping for the breast. We may be progressive enough to finally elect an Obama, but secretly we’re still longing for the supposedly good old days — when someone doused in rose perfume waits at home in an apron, ready to welcome us back from the awful trenches of the modern world. As they say, got milk?

Cleopatra Victoria, MFT
IMPULSE Editor


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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.

On Corruption in Perversion: A Psychoanalytic Approach
Tue, Dec 2 (begins) / 7:30 PM - 9 PM / SFCP, 2340 Jackson St., 4th Fl. / San Francisco
NCSPP / (415) 457-9949 / Margo Chapin, MFT / $55 - $195

SFCP Community Members East Bay Clinical Forum
Wed, Dec 3 / 7 PM - 9 PM / Herrick Hospital, Conf Rm CC, 2001 Dwight Way / Berkeley
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Mitchell Wilson, M.D. / free

SFCP CDP Preschool Consultation Project Open House
Wed, Dec 3 / 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM / SFCP 2340 Jackson St., 4th Fl. / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Era Loewenstein, Ph.D., Eileen Keller, Ph.D. Lelsie Banta, M.A. / free

SFCP Eating Disorders Conference
Sat, Dec 6 / 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM / 2340 Jackson St., 4th Floor / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Mirta Oelsner et al. / $75

SFCP Scientific Meeting Panel on PIPE Report
Mon, Dec 8 / 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM / 2340 Jackson St., 4th Floor / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Panel discussion / free

SFCP Community Members South Bay Clinical Forum
Tue, Dec 16 / 7:15 PM - 9 PM / Psychiatry Buiding, 401 Quarry Rd. Rm 2209 / Stanford
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Noga Niv, Ph.D. and Lynn Alexander, Psy.D. / free

SFCP Community Members SF Clinical Forum
Tue, Dec 16 / 7 PM - 9 PM / 2340 Jackson St., 4th Floor / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / Edit Markoczy, Psy.D. and Mark Swoiskin, M.D. / free

To submit an event, please see our submission guidelines.

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I AM INTERESTED IN A SUBLET: In a downtown analytic office for T, W, and Th mornings. Please contact Marian Joycechild, (415) 346-9466.

CASE CONSULTATION: An essential part of post-graduate practice. Three openings in on-going study group with psychologist/psychoanalyst Eileen Keller. Adult and child work is welcome. We are currently reading Winnicott's Playing and Reality, alternating with case presentations. Thursdays, 12:30 - 1:50 pm, in Oakland. kellerphd@gmail.com for more info.

REFERRALS WELCOME: Community Institute for Psychotherapy in San Rafael has openings for individual and family therapy, couples therapy, eating disorders treatment and psychological testing. Phone (415) 459-5999 ext. 102.

NARRATIVE-FLAVORED THERAPY: Presented by Michael Mesmer, MFT. Mondays, starting January 26 (5 weeks). Registration by January 12: $150 members, $200 non-members. Late registration: $170 members, $240 non-members. Call (415) 459-5999 ext. 101.

UNDERSTANDING HAKOMI AND ITS USES IN PSYCHOTHERAPY: Presenter Rob Fisher, MFT. Wednesdays starting Jan 21 (4 weeks) San Rafael. Registration: $120 members, $160 non-members. Late registration: $140 members, $180 non-members. (415) 459-5999 ext. 101.

MINDFULNESS AND PSYCHOTHERAPY: Presenter Linda Graham, MFT. Wednesdays, starting February 4 (4 Weeks). Registration: $120 members, $160 non-members. Late registration: $140 members, $180 non-members. Call (415) 459-5999 ext. 101.


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.

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