This 5 week course, taught by Gretchen Hermes, MD, PhD, offers an exploration of memoir writing as a therapeutic tool within prison settings. Through writing exercises, guided reflection, and psychoanalytic insights, participants will examine themes of transformation, conscience, trauma, creativity, and social change. Readings will include excerpts from “The House of the Dead” by Dostoevsky; “The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness” by Simon Wiesenthal; “The Man Died” by Wole Soyinka, “Orange is the New Black” by Piper Kerman; and “The Autobiography of Malcolm X.” The course is structured to help participants gain a deeper understanding of the psychological and emotional impact of incarceration, as well as to create practical, therapeutic resources for use in jails and prisons. Instructors and healthcare professionals will work collaboratively to develop a workbook that integrates prompts addressing themes such as internal conflict and enactment, the development of conscience and moral reckoning, drives and desires, insight and self-awareness, projective identification, and forgiveness and repair.
APsA Publications

The Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association (JAPA)
JAPA is a peer-reviewed journal publishing original articles and commentaries, ground-breaking research, thoughtful plenary addresses, in-depth panel reports, and more.

The American Psychoanalyst (TAP)
APsA’s triannual magazine, TAP, offers a psychoanalytic perspective on current events in psychology, the arts, and culture for mental health professionals, students, and the general public.

Psychotherapist Newsletter
The Psychotherapist Newsletter features scientific programs and publications about psychoanalytic psychotherapy, personal reflections, social and community issues, and advocacy.
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