Houston Psychoanalytic Society

6 Mondays | Oct 27 – Dec 8 | Presented by: Erica Ehrenberg, Licensed Psychoanalyst, MFA In this course we will discuss, respond to, and write together from the work of artists, writers, and analysts in order to explore the connections between their work, and the creative forces behind psychic change. What does it mean […]

Presented by: Carol Gilligan, PhD In a special presentation for HPS, renowned social psychologist and feminist Carol Gilligan, PhD will explore the roots of patriarchy and its persistence in contemporary American political and social life. She is best known for her groundbreaking book, In a Different Voice, published in 1982 and described by Harvard University […]

In this book discussion, we will discuss Borderline: The Biography of a Personality Disorder (Beacon Press, 2024), authored by Alexander Kriss, PhD. The presentation will consist of a conversation between the author and J. Christopher Fowler, PhD. Drawing on psychoanalytic theory, patient narratives, and shifts in psychiatric authority from antiquity to present day, the book […]

Presented by: J. Reid Meloy, PhD Although criminal violence in the United States has been incrementally decreasing for the past forty years, the incidence of targeted mass attacks has been increasing during the past decade. How can the psychoanalyst or psychotherapist assess the risk of such an attack by their patient–or when should the patient […]

Presented by: JoAnn Ponder, PhD This special presentation will examine castles as historical structures in reality and as symbols that may appear in sandplay therapy with children or adults. Castles are magnificent structures that capture our collective imagination. My own fascination with them began when I was a young child living in Darmstadt, Germany. From […]

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 […]

Facilitated by: Erica Ehrenberg, Licensed Psychoanalyst, MFA What do the great writers have to teach us about psychoanalysis, and in what ways do some of the most powerful psychoanalytic texts function as poetry? This writing workshop is predicated on the idea that creative writers have crucial contributions to make to how we conceptualize psychological experience, […]

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: Nancy McWilliams, PhD Dr. McWilliams will reflect on contemporary diagnostic conventions in mental health, emphasizing the unintended negative consequences for both patients and clinicians of diagnostic practices that focus solely on symptoms and observable behaviors. She will describe alternative taxonomies intended to remedy the weaknesses of the DSM and ICD for guiding treatment, […]

Facilitated by: Barton Jones, LCSW & Lindsey Hogan, PhD A collegial companion to Dr. Nancy McWilliams’ lecture, Diagnosis and Its Torments This seven-week, all-level study group invites clinicians to engage deeply with Nancy McWilliams’ widely respected and clinically invaluable text, Psychoanalytic Diagnosis: Understanding Personality Structure in the Clinical Process. Co-facilitated by Barton Jones, LCSW and […]

Presented by: Lauren Levine, PhD Discussion by: Janine de Peyer, LCSW In this presentation, Dr. Levine examines the transformative power of storytelling and witnessing in creating shared symbolic meaning and coherence from ungrieved trauma. She explores creativity as a transformative force that emerges within the clinical process, drawing on film, dance, literature, and dreams as […]

Presented by: Clara Mucci, PhD Dr. Mucci will use neurobiology of attachment and affect regulation theory (Allan Schore), developmental psychopathology (Giovanni Liotti) and contemporary relational psychoanalysis to illustrate her own contribution to the field through what she terms the “three levels of trauma of human origin” and what she indicates as “embodied witnessing” as a […]

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 […]

Facilitated by: J. Christopher Fowler, PhD & Stuart Weir, PsyD A foundational premise of psychoanalysis is Freud’s discovery of the unconscious and uncovering the meaning of latent content from dreams, parapraxes, and unintentional actions such as forgetting. This 6-week seminar will explore sources of latent (liminal) data from the analysand, as well as the analyst. […]

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 […]

Facilitated by J. Christopher Fowler, PhD & Stuart Weir, PsyD A foundational premise of psychoanalysis is Freud’s discovery of the unconscious and uncovering the meaning of latent content from dreams, parapraxes, and unintentional actions such as forgetting. This 6-week seminar will explore sources of latent (liminal) data from the analysand, as well as the analyst. […]

Presented by: Kathleen Adams, PhD In Part I of this two-part special presentation, author Kathleen Adams, PhD, discusses her book Attuned Treatment of Developmental Trauma: Non-abused, High Functioning People Living Outside of Time. Many therapists don’t even think of their patients as “trauma patients” despite descriptions of early neglect, abuse, separations and loss, and dysfunctional […]

Presented by: Kathleen Adams, PhD Discussion by: Robert Grossmark, PhD In Part II of this two-part special presentation, author Kathleen Adams, PhD, discusses her book Attuned Treatment of Developmental Trauma: Non-abused, High Functioning People Living Outside of Time. Group and individual therapists who frequently encounter patients with characters organized around melancholy, anxiety, entitlement, and rage […]

Presented by: Arthur Niesser, Dr. Med., Derek Hook, PhD & Leora Trub Discussion by: Todd Essig, PhD This conference will consider some clinical and theoretical considerations in telehealth versus in-person psychoanalytic treatments. Dr. Niesser will explore if there might be groups of patients for whom online analysis might be advantageous compared to the traditional in-person […]

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 […]

Presented by: Lauren Levine, PhD Discussion by: Janine de Peyer, LCSW Please join us whether or not you have read the book. Some people want to read and discuss the book; others want to learn more before deciding if they want to read it. All are welcome! In this presentation, Dr. Levine examines the transformative […]