Houston Psychoanalytic Society

Join us in this all-level study group as we utilize Nancy McWilliams’ text, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, as a guide to exploring the defining and distinguishing features of a psychoanalytic approach. Through reading and discussion, we will discuss some of the values and assumptions associated with a psychoanalytic sensibility, examine key considerations such as therapeutic frame and […]

This presentation is about interweaving somatic approaches from outside of psychoanalysis into psychoanalytic treatment, especially for patients suffering from early developmental trauma and severe dissociation. Dr. Levit is a psychoanalyst who trained in Somatic Experiencing (SE). Developed originally as a treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder, SE is rooted in neurophysiology, biology and ethology. As its […]

A Brief History of Psychedelic Psychoanalytic Therapy and an Introduction to Psychedelic Phenomenology presented by Jeffrey Guss, MD This talk will begin with a brief review of the history of psychedelic psychoanalytic treatment in the United States and Europe. Following this an introduction to psychedelic phenomenology from a psychoanalytic perspective will be offered, focusing on 1) […]

In this three part study group, participants will explore the trends and controversies that have occurred over time in the psychoanalytic conceptualizations and treatment of trauma. The purpose is not to examine history as static and resolved, but to consider how the prior issues keep evolving, influencing the ways in which we view trauma, its […]

Ketamine and Trauma On the Couch presented by Megan Rundel, PhD In this interactive presentation, we will explore the biological and psychological effects of ketamine on mental health issues, with a special focus on trauma. We will learn about how to carefully and effectively utilize the power of ketamine for patients with different kinds of […]

The concept of self-alienation is inextricably linked to shame. Working with adult children of traumatizing narcissists, and with others who experience narcissistic abuse, Shaw’s way of working with these clients shifted as he began to study and integrate concepts and techniques from some of the contemporary traumatologists. What he has learned has led Shaw to […]

This event will focus on ideas from Galit Atlas’ new book "Emotional Inheritance."  It will address silenced experiences that belong not only to us or to our patients, but to their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, and the ways they impact our lives. The clinical tales will focus on emotional material that is passed down from […]

This study group is based on a book authored by Carl Shubs, PhD, titled Traumatic Experiences of Normal Development: An Intersubjective, Object Relations Listening Perspective on Self, Attachment, Trauma, and Reality (Routledge, 2020). It describes a new conceptualization of trauma, so we can be better prepared to work with it. The book presents a psychoanalytic […]

Presented by Johanna Dobrich, LCSW-R Working with Survivor Siblings in Psychoanalysis: Ability and Disability in Clinical Process explores a previously neglected area in the field of psychoanalysis, addressing undertheorized concepts on siblings, disabilities and psychic survivorship, and broadening our conceptualization of the enduring effects of lateral relations on human development. What happens to a person’s […]

Presented by Jean Goodwin, MD Electra, like Oedipus, is a character from Greek mythology. The founders of psychoanalysis used their names to denote a psychosocial developmental phase. However, Electra’s story, like the biography of Oedipus, teaches us more about murderous violence than about internal conflict. Electra can also teach us something about recovery; she and […]

Presented by Richard Gartner, PhD Research suggests that in the United States one in six boys is directly victimized sexually by age 16. It has also become increasingly apparent in recent years that adult men, like women, are subject to sexual abuse, harassment, and assault. In order to treat this population, it is crucial that […]

Presented by M. Gerard Fromm, PhD In January, 2002, an annual Group Relations Conference was held as it had been for many years, and one of its large-group events began ordinarily enough. But, four months after 9/11/2001, members could not stay in the room to do the work of that session. Even though the recent […]

In this presentation, Dr. Peter Shabad describe how shame results from traumatic ruptures in human relationships. I will describe the developmental trajectory of shame in self-pity, resentment, entitlement, and regret for missed opportunities. I will illustrate shame with a clinical example, and talk more generally of my clinical values and principles in working with people […]

When catastrophic events overtake adult lives, they can often scar the psyche in ways that psychodynamic clinicians struggle to understand. The adult survivor of a catastrophe--whether a life-threatening assault, a serious accident, an act of terrorism, or a natural disaster- experiences a near fatal disruption of fundamental aspects of self experience. Many who have physically […]

Treating people suffering with trauma disorders present the clinician with several challenges and dilemmas. How does one diagnose and treat a trauma survivor from a psychodynamic or psychoanalytic perspective? How does the clinician understand changes in self-states, moods, and shifting affective states? Are we treating developmental trauma, or the kind of trauma that leads to […]

One of the most damaging sequelae of trauma is the loss of trust and security in interpersonal relationships (Fonagy & Allison, 2014.) When encountering a patient with traumatic interpersonal experiences, we cannot assume a capacity to trust or to form a safe, secure attachment. Nor can we assume the capacity to learn or benefit from […]

Vitality is considered a manifestation of life, of being alive (Stern, 2010). While most of us have an embodied, intuitive sense of aliveness or deadness in our daily interactions and clinical processes, few of us have systematically studied the concept of vitality. Though the concept remains largely undertheorized in psychoanalysis, there is some available literature […]

Presented by Jeanine M. Vivona, PhD We tend to think of language as an abstract system that is imposed upon us from outside. Yet, as Hans Loewald knew, language is also an inner system, one that is learned from particular others in particular lived moments, one that is idiosyncratic and inherently relational. Indeed, every person’s […]

Presented by Stephen Seligman, DMH, Anne Alvarez, PhD, M.A.C.P. & Christopher Bonovitz, PsyD Vitality might be considered the essence of aliveness. Louis Sander and Daniel Stern drew our attention to vitality as a core component of human development and psychotherapeutic treatment. They were the most visionary of the first group of infant observation researchers, along […]

Ofra Eshel was invited to review and discuss Joseph Aguayo's book, Introducing the Clinical Work of Wilfred Bion (Routledge, 2023). After reading the book, she decided to focus on what she discerned as the complex relationship and the significant gap between Bion's theoretical and clinical work, as documented by Bion's own writings from the critical […]

What do you want to be when you grow up? This provocative question is the title of one chapter as well as the theme woven throughout Thomas Ogden’s book, Coming to Life in the Consulting Room: Toward a New Analytic Sensibility. While the question seemingly refers to occupational goals, Ogden clarifies that he really means […]

Presented by Ricardo Ainslie, PhD Cities are interesting and complex psychological spaces that shape our subjective experience in ways that are both conscious and unconscious. Drawing from Bion, Winnicott, and other psychoanalytic theorists, but also from the work of architects and researchers from a variety of disciplines. This presentation examines the thesis that we simultaneously […]

Presented by Giuseppe Civitarese, MD, PhD with Discussant Joseph Aguayo, PhD Terms such as vitality and authenticity are difficult to define. Moreover, they are not truly psychoanalytic concepts. However, when psychoanalysis attempts to theorize the non-specific aspects of treatment, such as those related to the person of the analyst, it becomes inevitable to refer to […]

Presented by Donnel B. Stern In my first model of unformulated experience (Stern, 1983, 1997), my intention was to study our capacity to reflect on our own experience; and that meant that the boundary between formulated and unformulated experience needed to be defined by verbal language: My first model held that if you can think […]

6 Tuesday Evenings - Nov 5 - Dec 17 Facilitated by Joseph Aguayo, PhD In the aftermath of Wilfred Bion’s notable contributions to psychoanalysis, there have been succeeding generations of psychoanalysts who have addressed underdeveloped themes in his many papers and books. This seminar addresses the succeeding psychoanalysts, primarily in Europe and the United States […]

Presented by Robert S. White, MD From the point of view of classical psychoanalytic theory, I will survey what is established as the standard model of Freud, including drive/defense, compromise formation, oedipal conflict and development, free association, and interpretation. This is a one-person, intrapsychic model. Klein's addition did not fundamentally alter the Freudian model. Klein […]

Presented by Mark Winborn, PhD In our discussion, we’ll review some of the major ideas of Bion and Ogden that the authors reinterpret or recontextualize within field theory, bringing these ideas alive through clinical vignettes. We will also touch on Winnicott’s transformative ideas on play, Ogden’s depiction of “aliveness and deadness” in psychoanalysis, as well […]

Discussion with author David Mintz, MD with discussion by Catherine Stevenson, MD The histories of psychoanalysis and biomedical psychiatry have promoted a polarization between these disciplines. Often, this has led psychoanalysts to adopt a narrowly biomedical view of psychopharmacology (while simultaneously being critical of biopsychiatry for holding a biomedically-reductionist focus). Under scrutiny, a dualistic understanding […]

A Note from the HPS Program Chair: Metaphor is a fitting topic for our 2024-2025 educational program this year, in that it evokes both depth and vitality. It will be fun to explore this form of symbolism and word play with Gretchen Heyer, who is a published writer and poet as well as a practicing […]

Presented by Daniel Goldin, PsyD Aristotle believed that having a grasp of metaphor was a sign of genius, as it "implies an intuitive perception of the similarity in dissimilarities." Freud saw this metaphoric grasping together in the art of the dreamer, who compresses into a single story a day's worth -- perhaps even a life's […]

What if the leading purpose of the therapeutic relationship is to elevate the process of play? And when this capacity is absent, how might we find ways to fertilize the imagination? These questions were posed by Nora Swan-Foster, a Jungian analyst and art therapist who was invited to review and discuss Steven Cooper's recent book. […]

Presented by Steven H. Cooper, PhD with discussion by Joyce Slochower, PhD Through a series of clinical vignettes, the author explores the ethical undergirding of play in analytic work with adult patients. He defines play as a form of idiomatic, verbal responsiveness that emerges in the context of the analytic intersubjectivity, one that can illuminate […]

Presented by Perrine Moran, M.A. The dilemma of how to be emotionally dependent on another without losing oneself permeates many popular love songs and underlies issues that couples often bring to therapy. Its management results in different dynamics which place partners in couples on a spectrum going from too close to too far apart. This […]

An Online Reading and Discussion Group facilitated by Donald R. Ross, MD & Asli Baykal, PhD, LCSW A Note from the Program Chair: Many clinicians have heard of psychoanalytic treatment as a process of transforming ghosts into ancestors. However, there is much more than the ancestor concept to be learned from the writings of Hans […]

Discussion with Author David Mintz, MD with interview by Catherine Stevenson, MD This event would be of interest to a general audience of psychodynamic clinicians as well as those who prescribe medications. Though the book is generally aimed at prescribers, with a framework for how to integrate psychodynamic understandings and techniques to address dynamics driving […]

Explore the mysterious and haunting ways activated childhood memories can play out in our adult lives. The Lost Daughter, which premiered in 2021, is Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut based on Elena Ferrante’s novel of the same name. It centers on the character of Leda, a 48 year old literature professor who is vacationing by herself […]

Presented by Marilyn Charles, PhD, ABPP Nowhere do we see our psychic struggles so clearly as in the world of dreams, where images call to our attention the emotionally-charged, aesthetically-driven aspects of experience, and patterned relationships help reveal aspects of our stories that have remained hidden. Dream images afford metaphors embedded in the person's own […]

A Book Review and Discussion of The Necessary Dream: ?New Theories and Techniques of Interpretation in Psychoanalysis by Giuseppe Civitarese, MD, PhD, presented by Mark Winborn, PhD Civitarese takes the title of the book from a passage in Bion’s volume (p. 33), Cogitations, “the way in which the necessary dream is constructed”. The emphasis taken […]