Houston Psychoanalytic Society

Presented by: Lisa Madsen, MD This special presentation will focus on complex cases which have reached an impasse with little forward movement or even a regression on the part of the patient. What do you recommend when a patient is no longer progressing in weekly psychotherapy? What do you do when a patient needs more? […]

Presented by: Christian Roesler, PhD Dreams have been used in psychotherapy since Freud’s publication, The Interpretation of Dreams. First, the prominent dream interpretation theories of Freud and Jung are presented in comparison, as well as the resulting therapeutic approach. These concepts are then compared with the results of empirical dream research, which has developed since […]

Presented by: Jon Allen, PhD Decades of research shows that factors common to various therapies contribute more to their effectiveness than the differences among them. These common factors pertain largely to the quality of the patient-therapist relationship. Prototypical are the Rogerian triad (empathy, positive regard, and genuineness) and the extensively researched therapeutic alliance. These factors […]

This presentation is appropriate for psychotherapists of all levels, interested in learning more about sandplay technique, its underlying theory, utility, and interpretation. It is a 10-session study group and workshop on Friday mornings from January 9 to April 10, 2026. Presented by Joann Ponder, PhD.

This conference on risks involving ethics, exposure, and eroticism in the psychoanalytic process features talks by two authors and clinicians, Charles Levin, PhD and Avgi Saketopoulou, PsyD, who have numerous publications on these important topics. Commentary will be offered by Elizabeth Wallace, MD, who has published papers about the immediate and long-term effects of losing […]

Presented by: Lisa Madsen, MD This consultation group will focus on complex cases which have reached an impasse with little forward movement or even a regression on the part of the patient. We will consider systemic or environmental factors impinging on the dyad, the patient’s comorbid conditions, intrapsychic variables (i.e., personality, resources, defenses), interpersonal issues, […]

Presented by: Karen Hopenwasser, MD While moments of attunement with individuals manifesting dissociated self-states are often confusing, dissociative attunement can be used as a valuable tool in therapeutic process. Attunement is a synchronized awareness of implicit knowing that is nonlinear and bidirectional. It is an embodied rhythmic encounter that can be understood, in part, through […]

Presented by: Donnel Stern, PhD In the interest of integrating the social and the individual in psychoanalysis, Dr. Stern examines the relation of Althusser’s concept of interpellation and the psychoanalytic idea of dissociative enactment. Interpellation is a way of conceptualizing the creation of subjectivity via individual participation in the ideological tropes of power. Dissociative enactment […]

Presented by: Shir Shanun, PhD Civitarese (2024) writes we have a need to exist in the eyes of others, it is what makes relationships meaningful. Such loving connections and freedom in complex analytic system and the positive relationship between them are at the center of this paper. I will argue that restriction or expansion of […]