Impulse is a community newsletter produced by the Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology (NCSPP) and distributed electronically at no cost to subscribers. We envision Impulse as an integrative source for local news, events, and thinking of interest to the psychoanalytically inclined. Our goal is to be your guide as you explore the Bay Area's rich array of analytic resources.

We invite you to become a member of NCSPP, if you are not already. And, we welcome you as a subscriber to Impulse. Join us as we highlight the exceptional diversity of psychoanalytic thought and practice in Northern California.

by Tanisha Stewart, Psy.D.

Dear NCSPP members,  

It’s that time of year again when we’re seeking nominations for our open 2022 Board Officer positions. This year we are seeking nominations for several elected Officer positions, as well as inviting inquiries into appointed committee chair positions. All positions will begin with the new calendar year, January 2023.   

We invite our members and associate members to consider submitting your nomination for any of the electable Board Officer positions and/or nominate another person. If you would like to nominate someone else, please confirm with them that they are willing to run prior to sending in a nomination. When submitting your nomination, please provide the nominee's name, phone number, and email address. To submit your nomination, and if you would like more information on these positions, please contact us.

We are seeking nominations for the following Board Officer positions: 

  • President Elect (3-year term) 
  • Treasurer (2-year term) 

In addition, with a few of our dedicated chairpersons ending their two-year terms in January, NCSPP is recruiting for committee chair positions, including our Programming Committee and our Membership & Community Events Committee. Please contact us if you would like to learn more about what each committee does or how you can become a part of NCSPP.  

Psychoanalytic Couple Psychotherapy Group (PCPG)

14TH ANNUAL PSYCHOANALYTIC COUPLE PSYCHOTHERAPY LECTURE

Please join PCPG for our 14th Annual Psychoanalytic Couple Psychotherapy Lecture in-person at the Brower Center in Berkeley, CA (available online as well) as we host our very own internationally recognized Dr. Shelley Nathans. Dr. Nathans will present her paper “Oedipus for Everyone: Revitalizing the Model for LBGTQI Couples and Single Parent Families," where she argues that the misguided application of Oedipal theory has led to pathologizing people with different gender identities or sexual orientations. Despite this harm, Oedipal dynamics are often viewed as a central organizing schema for understanding the dynamics in couples and families.

Dr. Nathans will revitalize Oedipal theory, divorce it from its historical heterosexist bias, and highlight its relevance for working with all relationships, including LBGTQI couples and single-parent families. Dr. Gary Grossman will discuss her paper. The event is on Saturday, October 29, 2022, 9 am - 2 pm.

Register here.

San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis (SFCP)

2022 - 2023 SF YEARLONG CONTINUOUS CASE CONFERENCE

SFCP invites registered postgraduate and pre-licensed clinicians, as well as licensed clinicians in the early-to-mid-stages of their career, to join our San Francisco Yearlong Continuous Case Conference led by five SFCP psychoanalysts. The case conference is designed to be a gathering place where clinicians come together and form a work group to present, listen to, and reflect on clinical material from active cases shared by the group members. This is an opportunity for participants to experience how theory and practice come alive in the consulting room and to benefit from the extensive collective experience of the group leaders. 

If you choose, this is also an opportunity to become part of the SFCP network, form supportive professional relationships within the cohort, and discover new opportunities for involvement and learning within the SFCP community. 

Dates: Fridays, October 7, 2022 – May 26, 2023
Time: 1:45 pm - 3:00 pm PT Location: Online via ZOOM Only
Program Fee: $650 (General), $585 (SFCP Members) 

This program is open only to registered postgraduate and pre-licensed clinicians as well as licensed clinicians in the early-to-mid-stages of their career. Please click here to register.

ON BEING ALONE TOGETHER

My brother is five years older than me and has severe ADHD. Growing up, I didn’t know what “ADHD” meant, except that it occupied an inordinate amount of my parent’s attention. For adults, my brother was a problem child, but I adored him and followed him around the house. I was content to spend my days sitting beside him while he played video games. I rarely played. Just being near him was enough.

After graduate school, when I worked providing behavioral therapy to autistic children, I learned the term to describe this is “parallel play.” Parallel play is when children play alongside each other but do not interact. During behavioral therapy, we would try to train kids to be more interactive in their play and rely less on parallel play by rewarding interaction with other kids. I see now that my brother did not always have the capacity for interactive play.

Today, I (and many members of the autism community) consider behavioral therapy to be a dehumanizing and traumatic experience for children. Through behavioral therapy, autistic children come to learn that their natural way of interacting and living is somehow wrong and needs changing. These days, as an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, I attract many neurodivergent clients because of my professional and personal experience with this population, but the therapy I provide is thankfully a far cry from Applied Behavioral Analysis.

Classifieds: 

BEAUTIFUL 550 SQ FT. LEGAL/PSYCHOTHERAPY OFFICE. Central Berkeley. One block from UC Berkeley, 1 block from BART and 1 1/2 blocks from city parking lot across from Berkeley Rep. Pristine condition, freshly painted with high ceilings, curved double-hung windows, well lit. AC. Elevator. Private waiting room has modern call button panel. Building has combination of legal offices, psychotherapy offices, and private businesses. Great landlord. Contact Lisa Jeko at 415-674-3884 or drlisajeko@protonmail.com

  

  

  

Old couches, new books, hot jobs, cool internships, office rentals? List them in Impulse's Classifieds for a modest fee. Please see our submission guidelines for details.   

Appointment Book: 

Seasoned Clinicians Program
Wed, Sep 7 (begins) / 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm / Zoom
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / J. Harasemovitch, LCSW, et al. / $460 - $510

Student Seminars: Social Work in Community Settings
Wed, Sep 7 (begins) / 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm / 444 Natoma St. / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / S. Gaspar, LMFT; J. St. George, LCSW / free

Fractional Distillation: On Psychoanalysis’s (Mis)Formulation of Autism
Thurs, Sep 8 (begins) / 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm / Zoom
NCSPP / (415) 685-0488 / B. Morsa, Psy.D. / $68 - $158

EB Yearlong – The Individual in the Group and the Group in the Individual
Fri, Sep 9 (begins) / 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm / 1672 University Ave. / Berkeley
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / J. Chess, Ph.D., MFT, et al. / $697.50 - $775

Alexander Technique and the Psychology of CG Jung
Sat, Sep 10 (begins) / 10:00 am – 12:00 pm / 2610 Mission Street / San Francisco
Jung Institute / (628) 688-0646 / L. Ball; M. Norcia / $100

South Bay Extended Study Series
Wed, Sep 14 (begins) / 10:00 am – 11:30 am / Zoom
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / E. Loewenstein, Ph.D., et al. / $1000 - $1150

SF Yearlong - Experiencing the Other
Fri, Sep 16 (begins) / 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm / Zoom
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / C. Scott, Ph.D., et al. / $670 - $742.50

Child Colloquium 
Sat, Sep 17 / 10:00 am – 12:00 pm / Zoom
SFCP / (415) 563-3366 / Y. Quoc, Psy.D.; J. Khor, LMFT / free

Early Career Case Conference – San Francisco
Wed, Sep 21 (begins) / 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm / Zoom
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / J. Sandler, M.D., et al. / $250 - $500

CCSW Clinical Evening Series: On Unceded Land
Wed, Sep 28 / 6:45 pm - 9:00 pm / 444 Natoma St. / San Francisco
SFCP / (415) 563-5815 / J. Cordero, Ph.D., et al. / free

Early Career Case Conference - East Bay 
Wed, Sep 28 (begins) / 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm / Zoom
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / M. Holub, Ph.D., et al. / $250 - $500

Jungian Psychology for Everyday Life
Sun, Oct 2 (begins) / 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm / Online
Jung Institute / (628) 688-0646 / J. Beebe, M.D. et al. / $600

Early Career Case Conference – Distance
Tue, Oct 4 (begins) / 5:15 pm - 6:45 pm / Zoom
PINC / (415) 288-4050 / L. Slome, Ph.D., et al. / $250 - $500