Impulse is a community newsletter produced by the Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology (NCSPP) and distributed electronically to subscribers at no cost. 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 Ryan Stubblefield, Psy.D.
The year 2025 has been a bizarre year to be alive. It follows up a series of bizarre years, a sequence that tests the mind’s capacity for reality testing. Did that just happen? That thing I read on Reddit, that thing my patient told me about, that Tweet or that TikTok, was that actually real? What did I just see and hear? Perhaps in an attempt to cope or make meaning, my mind has recently been repeating a familiar refrain from Game of Thrones:
Winter is Coming.
by Rebecca Shapiro, Psy.D.
It's been just a few months since I began working for Impulse, but at the close of the year, it’s already time to say goodbye to two longtime staff members, Dr. Nicholas Hack, Psy.D., the newsletter’s Managing Editor, and Staff Writer Claire Greenwood, MFT. Nick has anchored Impulse for many years, working with four different Editors-in-Chief across our pre- and post-pandemic worlds. Claire, similarly, has written for the newsletter since 2023. Thanks to both of you for your dedication to Impulse, to NCSPP, and for your important contributions to the community. You will be missed. It also goes without saying that thanks are in order to Luba Palter, MFT, Impulse’s former Editor-in-Chief, for helming the ship and so graciously overseeing my transition to the role.
Given Nick’s departure, Impulse is looking for a new Managing Editor. Additionally, if you’re interested in writing for Impulse, we’re interested in you. Please reach out to learn more.
by Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California (PINC)
DREAMS, DAYDREAMS, AND REVERIE: ENRICHING CLINICAL WORK WITH A NEUROPSYCHOANALYTIC PERSPECTIVE
January 9th - June 5th, 2026
Meeting once monthly via Zoom from 11:45 am - 1:15 pm
This seminar will explore the neurobiological underpinnings of dreams, daydreaming, and fantasy. Neurobiological findings show ways to expand how we work with dream material and attend to reverie in the clinical moment. A neuropsychoanalytic perspective has the ability to illuminate the ways in which unconscious fantasy can be expressed in dreams, bodily sensations, and repeated patterns of behavior. We will explore how fantasy facilitates memory reconsolidation and the development of new learning, allowing us and our patients to update old predictions and expand the ability to work, love, and play. This exploration will both support established psychodynamic methods of attending to fantasy, and may suggest new ways to work with dreams and reverie.
Instructor: Dr. Maggie Zellner, Ph.D., L.P., psychoanalyst and behavioral neuroscientist
To register, please click this link!
by Christi Baker, AMFT
MANIC DEFENSE MEETS THE MOMENT
We are living in an era of brutal, authorized state violence. And yet in therapy, my patients and I rarely have words for our circumstances. Perhaps it feels too dangerous—or too overwhelming—to speak this reality into an existence that in fact already is. Or maybe we are locked in a treacherous dance of manic defense, denying what is really happening within and around us in a desperate attempt to feel safe.
The backdrop of capitalism has honed our capacity for manic defense. Why feel anxious, helpless, or powerless—emotions both produced and exploited by capitalism—when we can stay busy cycling through consumption, overwork, and denial? Manic defense has become an almost invisible response to the trauma of our everyday. It makes sense that my patients and I might extend this defense to authoritarianism.
by Rikki Feuerstein, Psy.D.
My name is Rikki Feuerstein, and I recently completed my Psy.D. at The Wright Institute, where my dissertation examined intergenerational resilience. The research explored how grandchildren’s identifications with grandparents who survived the Holocaust inform their own sense of strength. The study also considered how contemporary global crises catalyze dormant intergenerational phenomena across political and religious lines.
I have trained at community mental health clinics throughout the Bay Area. Over the past two years, I’ve worked at RAMS. Since graduating, I’ve continued on at RAMS’ County Adult Assistance Program (CAAP), where I provide individual and group therapy, pre-vocational counseling, and assessment services to adults receiving General Assistance in San Francisco.
I joined the Intensive Study Group (ISG) Committee in September 2024 and have enjoyed the opportunity to connect with our community and support spaces for shared learning. If there’s a topic you’d like to learn (or teach!), I’d love to hear from you at rfeuerstein@wi.edu. I look forward to meeting more of you in the months ahead!
by Mara Gerson, Psy.D.
"NOBODY TEACHES YOU HOW TO SUPERVISE"
I’ve heard this phrase many times as a therapist, and imagine you have, too. It’s a truism that comes to life only once you have a sour interpersonal experience with a supervisor, or when you begin supervising and realize how distinct it is from being a therapist. A good clinical supervisor is undoubtedly skilled, yet often appears to be working intuitively. Like a good therapist, her technique rests within authentic relationality: something organic, highly responsive, and emergent through collaboration.
by Candice Turner, Psy.D.
NCSPP ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY
December 12th, 2025 | 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Ramsess Art Garden | 2511 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612
All NCSPP members are invited to celebrate another year of provocative programs, classes, and events at our Annual Holiday Party. As analytic therapists of all generations gather together for support, this event reminds us of our collective commitment to growth, vitality, and deep thought. Come mingle with new and old NCSPP friends and toast with us in style!
Hors d’oeuvres will be served, and a wine/beer bar will be available (cash/donation-based). We hope to see you there!
Parking Note: Please be aware that parking is limited. We recommend carpooling or ridesharing if possible.
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.
Following the Unconscious in Groups
Fri, Dec 5 / 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm / 3330 McKinley Blvd. / Sacramento
Sacramento Psychoanalytic Society / (415) 814-6585 / I. Gabor, MFT / $10 - $25