Events

2026 Grand Rounds Series Speaker: Rhoda Olkin, PhD Clients come to therapy with entrenched ideas about illness, health, and disability. How they conceptualize disability impacts all aspects of therapy, including goals, acceptable interventions, and the therapeutic relationship. These conceptualizations, called Models of Disability in the literature, are one aspect of Disability Affirmative Therapy. The models […]

The Erikson Institute of the Austen Riggs Center and the Association for Psychoanalytic Medicine are collaborating on a morning seminar focused on Hamlet and its enduring themes of grief, conscience, identity, and inhibition. The program will bring together psychoanalytic, clinical, and theatrical perspectives. Morning Seminar 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Austen Riggs Center, Stockbridge, Massachusetts Presenters will […]

Psychoanalytic Studies Program (PSP) A two-year program for licensed clinicians and advanced scholars interested in psychoanalytic approaches to enrich their clinical and academic work. Who Should Apply: The Psychoanalytic Studies Program is open to licensed mental health professionals, including licensed psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and professional counselors. Academic scholars interested in psychoanalytic theory are also […]

Psychoanalytic Institute Training Program Prepare to practice as an Adult Psychoanalyst. Child and Adolescent training is also offered. Who Should Apply: Applicants to both Adult and the Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Training Programs must be independently licensed in a mental health field. These include (but are not limited to) psychiatry, psychology, social work, professional counseling, […]

2026 Grand Rounds Series Speaker: Mareike Ernst, PhD This presentation introduces the concept of intersession processes—patients’ thoughts, feelings, fantasies, and internalized experiences of therapy and therapist between sessions—and examines their relevance from a contemporary psychodynamic perspective. Drawing on psychodynamic theory and empirical research, the talk will discuss how intersession processes may illuminate clinically meaningful fluctuations […]

This course defines postpartum depression (PPD) and explores it through the lens of psychoanalytic framework. The course will examine the role of ego regression in PPD, as well as specific triad of unconscious conflicts: dependency, anger, and maternal identification.

A Two-Year In-Person Training Based on the Esther Bick Infant Observation Model. Who Should Apply: The Observational Studies In-Person Program is open to mental health professionals, trainees, educators, researchers, and others with a serious interest in psychoanalytic thought and observation. No prior psychoanalytic training is required. Format: In-Person Classes will meet from October to May […]

In-person attendance: $250; limited to 50 people at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, MA Virtual/remote attendance: Free CE/CME available: 6 hours (pending approval) Hope in Hard Times: Building Community is a hybrid conference designed for mental health clinicians and allied professionals seeking to think together about the ethical, clinical, and institutional challenges of practicing […]

Beginning in 1996 with the essay “Traumatic Abuse in Cults: A Psychoanalytic Perspective,” up to the release in 2026 of his latest book, Traumatic Narcissism Theory: A Contemporary Introduction, Daniel Shaw has studied the psychology of the individual he terms the “traumatizing narcissist,” and the specific ways that they seduce and then subjugate others. The […]