WCSPP
INTOUCH
Westchester Center for the Study of Psychoanalysis & Psychotherapy Westchester Center for the Study of Psychoanalysis & Psychotherapy
Spring/Summer 2012
In This Issue... WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
3 EDITOR’S PAGE
Before You Disavow a Weed. by Terry Klee
4 OUT IN THE COMMUNITY
When not in our chairs, we are...
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12 FEATURE: MEMBERS’ GARDENS WCSPP members show us their gardens.
18 WORTHWHILE PICKS
Books, sites, & music for the analytic gardener.
20 MEMBERS’ ENDEAVORS WCSPP members inspire...
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25 WRITERS’ WORKS
Conversations with authors Suzanne Burger and Kenneth Barish.
34 INTOUCH PONDERING
To Do or Not To Do: On the Search for Balance by MaryAlice “Qui Qui” Balascio
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36 NOVEMBER ANNUAL CONFERENCE Mark your calendar for Nov 17th and other upcoming opportunities.
38 WCSPP HAPPENINGS
So many occasions in review.
40 CANDIDATES’ TOWN HALLS Look back at a tour de force.
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42 READY? HIBERNATE.
Three mind-relief media choices.
45 RETREAT 2012: POETRY OF DESIRE Each year more join WCSPP’s annual three-day private gathering. See this year’s photo recap.
62 WCSPP DOSSIER
WCSPP behind-the-scenes.
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INTOUCH MASTHEAD 69 WCSPP’s Mission Statement & How to Contact the InTouch Editor
Editor’s Note: Before You Disavow a Weed By Terry Klee, LCSW
Every gardens got dirt and weeds. Ralph Waldo her the feat that accounts for my genuine laughter: Emerson who, as a transcendentalist, encouraged compassionate psychoanalysis. individual freedoms (much like psychoanalysis does), Something else Emerson wrote reminds me of wrote: “What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have this. It’s a quote I recite when I am tired, when I fear not yet been discovered.” I am only a no-good weed. It’s one that I hope you In our work and in our own personal growth, we might bear in mind as you enjoy this edition of dig-in to appreciate misunderstood weeds. We find InTouch: “To laugh often and much, to win the respect vitality. We discover overlooked virtue. of intelligent people and the affection of children...to I once thought I was just a weed. (Sit with me find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, sometime to know why.) But, not any more. Because whether by a healthy child, a garden patch...to know of my weeds, I am able to touch so many lives. I am even one life has breathed easier because you have able to turn outward with compassion for others. lived. This is to have succeeded.” n This InTouch acquaints us with how WCSPP and psychoanalysis turn outward. Start with “Out in the Community” (p. 4) as WCSPPers enjoy volunteerism. Terry Klee, InTouch Editor Then, find inspiration in “Members Endeavors” (p. 20) and “Writers’ Works” (p. 25). Glance back at past months’ events (p. 38), like the “Town Halls” (p. 40), the “Dossier” (p. 62), and the annual retreat (p. 45). There, you’ll witness even more encouragement of individuality. No less, MaryAlice Balascio reminds us to ponder our sense of balance (p. 34). Lastly, as green fades to auburn, view “Members’ Gardens” (p. 12) and get “Worthwhile Picks” of psychoanalytically amusing media on pages 18 & 42. Recently, my niece announced, “I like when Aunt Terry visits.” How’s that? My sister asked. “Because I really like her laugh!” she exclaimed. When my niece “What is a weed? A plant whose virtues grows beyond her seven years of have not yet been discovered.” age, when she begins to mistaken ~ R. W. Emerson her virtues for weeds, I will tell 3
WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
OUTINTHECOMMUNITY
When not in our chairs, we’re swimming the breadth of the Hudson or are in far-away Guyana... Analytic experience invites a will and liberty for joy beyond the mundane facts of life. The previous edition of InTouch welcomed this new column with a warm reception by our readers. The column
returns with more “out in the community” stories. This time it’s about inner-city gardens, Guyana, river-swimming fundraisers, blue-ribbon therapy dogs, and the poetry of nature’s seductive lines. 4
Chaim “Emi” Bromberg, Ph.D.: On July 21, Emi crossed the Hudson River with approximately two hundred and fifty other swimmers. He splashed in at the Newburgh waterfront and arrived in Beacon some 45 minutes later. 2012 marks the ninth year of The Great Annual Newburgh to Beacon Hudson River Swim, and Emi’s third year as a swimmer. Emi writes, “The one-mile swim across the beautiful Hudson River celebrates that we can -- because it is clean enough.” This is thanks to years of work by Dr. Emi Bromberg with his father at a WCSPP event. volunteer organizations like River Pool with its thousands of individual volunteers. The swimmers are raising funds to benefit River Pool at Beacon. In particular, Beacon’s chapter has installed a small, flow-through pool that allows for safe entry into the river. In the last several years, thousands of people have experienced the Hudson River in this pool. Now, as River Pool works to build a larger pool, they aspire to make something that could be replicated up and down the Hudson--and in other rivers around the country. If you would like to learn more about the River Pool organization, check it out at >> www.riverpool.org. If you want to make a donation or join next year’s swim, you will become a part of a larger collective effort, one that gives others the pleasure of being in the water on a hot summer day and fosters larger lessons about river access and water quality. To donate, click here >>
Michaelann A. Cox, Psy. D.: “InTouch discovered a troupe of dog lovers and trainers in its Winter 2012 edition. As a follow up, we share a photo of Michaelann who, after years of patience and tenderness, earned a rare First Prize title at the Garden State Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club Specialty Show with her Canadian Champion named Mapleleaf's Goodnight Irene, who prefers if we dismiss formality and just call her Irene. Ah, modesty! Anyway, Michaelann helped Irene earn the Herding Instinct Certificate (HIC), the Canine Good Citizen (CGC), and the Therapy Dog International (TDI) designations. With credentials like therapy dog, it’s no surprise that Michaelann’s patients enjoy the days when Irene and her buddy, a Corgi puppy named Eddie, join sessions. Michael writes, “They are true full-time therapy dogs, although sometimes they sleep through many sessions.” Dr. Michaelann Cox (far right) receives blue ribbon for her registered therapy dog, Irene.
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
OUTINTHECOMMUNITY continued from previous page
Photograph by WCSPP’s Barbara Hyde Messer
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Barbara Hyde Messer, LCSW: We know Barbra as doing most of WCSPP’s photography over the years as well as contributing to candidates’ development. Now, Barbara also shares the seduction of nature’s lines and shadows. People could view her photography and poetry on two recent occasions: first, at an opening reception on March 4th by Iona College Council on the Arts, which along with five other interdisciplinary artists and poets was defined as “Women’s Work: A Celebration of Poetry and Visual Art” and then, in late May, with an exhibit entitled “From the Southwest to the Hudson Bay: A Photographic Exhibit” at Larchmont’s Watercolor Cafe. continued on next page
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
Enjoy video footage of the event. >> Click the image above. And, yes, that is also Barbara’s art (above) too.
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Photograph by WCSPP’s Barbara Hyde Messer
Dr. Deborah Verlen (left) and her husband (right) stand with Barbara Hyde Messer (center) in the foreground of one of Barbara’s pieces. The Verlen’s bought the piece to hang in Deborah’s clinical office.
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
...Out In Community, continued from previous pages Randi Roth, Ph.D., a former director of WCSPP’s Psychotherapy Services, recently joined Builders Beyond Borders (B3) and Green Village Initiative (GVI). B3 is an organization that does both local projects and takes High School kids abroad, usually to South American countries, to help people with less resources build needed projects such as schools, homes, bridges, and more. Randi may join one of their upcoming projects in South America’s Guyana next year as a trip advisor. GVI is best known in Bridgeport for constructing edible gardens at schools in the city. Volunteers like Randi recently constructed the Bridgeport-based Tisdale Elementary School, glimpsed on page 17. Randi says, “I had the best day helping to build a vegetable garden at an elementary school in Bridgeport. My back is killing me from shoveling dirt and wood chips for four hours but it was worth it!” Check out more garden pictures on the next pages.
Dr. Randi Roth recently joined Green Village Initiative (GVI) which is best known in Bridgeport for constructing edible gardens at schools in the city. They partner with the residents and local businesses. Photo, courtesy of GVI.
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STROLLMEMBERS’GARDENS . Turn the page >>
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
InTouch asks members:
Show Us Your Garden Like our membership, the diversity of views delights.
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William (Bill) Behr’s garden view, above.
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
Left: an anonymous (Yeah, let’s just call it shy) submission by one of our members; photo is from trip to the U.K. Page to right: Uh-huh, more shy garden-pic submissions. But, wow, how delightful! Lavender allee is in the Hampton's area and the paper lanterns strung within a pergola, Garrison NY; picnic, same location.
Below, hydrangea and eight-foot high hedges curve around a languid bend in WCSPP member Irene Studwell’s garden
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
I had the best day helping to build a vegetable garden at an elementary school in Bridgeport. My back is killing me from shoveling dirt and wood chips for 4 hours but it was worth it!
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“
~ Randi Roth
Seen here is the Bridgeport-based Tisdale Elementary School garden, built by Green Village Initiative (GVI) volunteers like Randi Roth Read more about it on page 11 as part of InTouch’s “Out In the Community” column.
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VISITPRIVATEGARDENS Hundreds of private gardeners around the country open their gates to you. Click here >>
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Photos on this page are courtesy of the national Garden Conservancy’s Open Garden Program. Find out the open garden’s schedule by clicking above.
WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
Worthwhile Picks for
ANALYSTS&GARDENERS << VISIT the NYBG The New York Botanical Garden along with the MET is celebrating Monet and his passion for gardens. Visit their website to learn about seasonal gardens based on his paintings along with a calendar of films, evening concerts and poetry readings. But, hurry! This event ends soon.
What Veggie? WCSPP’s Qui Qui Balascio, whose veggie garden is shared to the right, writes: “I can’t pick just one favorite veggie to grow, but I love to grow herbs (thyme, parsley, oregano, basil, dill, cilantro, mint), tomatoes (beefsteak & cherry), pickling cucumbers, hot & sweet peppers (sweet banana are a particular favorite), eggplant (hit & miss in my garden), & zucchini.” ...Chefs, in addition to Qui Qui’s recommended veggies to grow, consider the cookbook below.
COOK: Claude Monet’s Kitchen Garden. Did you know that French Impressionist Claude Monet was an avid veggie gardener? With his second wife Alice Hoschede’, Monet held a passion for good food grown in their own kitchen garden, a work of art itself. Their dining was a ritual with lunch prepared for 11:30 (so that Monet could make the most of afternoon lighting in his painting.) Then, later, picnics were had in the evening with guests such as Degas, Whistler, Cezanne and Rodin ending with a walk to the water lilies afterwards. Image to left: the wife of Monet’s great grandson records recipes from Monet’s cooking journals. Out-of-print, buy used copy >> here.
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Little Known Fact: What do psychoanalysis, Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West have in common? Vita Sackville lead the gardening world towards today’s design of “garden rooms.” She met Virginia Woolf in 1925 with whom, according to scholars, became her lover two years later. Together, the two inspired several of the most notable gardens that are still in existence today. To plan a trip to Sissinghurst Castle, see England’s National Trust site >> here. (Okay, but how does psychoanalysis fit in? Read the next paragraph, below.)
READ. “A stunning, brilliant, absolutely compelling reading of Virginia Woolf through the lens of Kleinian and Freudian psychoanalytic debates about the primacy of maternality and paternality in the construction of consciousness, gender, politics, and the past, and of psychoanalysis through the lens of Woolf's novels and essays. In addition to transforming our understanding of Woolf, this book radically expands our understanding of the historicity and contingent construction of psychoanalytic theory and our vision of the potential of psychoanalytic feminism.”—Nancy J. Chodorow << Buy a copy.
MUSIC. Sultry tunes for in or out of the gardens. Left to right: (1) Ann Savoy, Melodie au Crepuscule; (2) Veronneau, La Mar; (3) Hotel Costes 11, Eden. Try these songs at pandora.com >>
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
MEMBERS’ENDEAVORS As with every InTouch edition, WCSPP’s members encourage and inspire one another.
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Qui Qui Balascio, LCSW, returns annually to the Cape Cod Institute every summer. These are weeklong smeinars, and this year Qui Qui enrolled in Working with Men in Accelerated ExperientialDynamic Psychotherapy (AEPD). Kenneth Barish, Ph.D., a well-known faculty of WCSPP and chairperson for many of WCSPP’s scientific meetings, has published his second book, Pride and Joy: A Guide to Understanding Your Child's Emotions and Solving Family Problems, Oxford University Press. His first book-release was in 2009 and entitled Emotions in Child Psychotherapy: An Integrative Framework. Read more about Ken’s book-writing experience in the issue’s InTouch Profile, page 25. Or, buy his books by clicking here. But, wait, Ken is a busy guy; he’s also been writing some quality blogs for PsychologyToday. Worth a read! Click here >> Lee Bowbeer, LCSW, has been hired as an adjunct faculty at Fordham Graduate School of Social Service. He will be teaching an integrative seminar for Children First scholars. Children First is a grant program that provides several million dollars towards the training and educating about abuse and neglect in New York. The CF scholars commit to work with children in Westchester County in exchange for free tuition.. Lee has also expanded his private practice to include infant-parent mental health and adoption. He professionally speaks on attachment, the adoption process, and the brain in play therapy. Suzanne Burger, Psy.D., a recent graduate of WCSPP’s Couples Counseling Training Program, published Steering Your Marriage: Navigating the Road Together now available at Barnes & Noble and at Amazon >> Get to know Suzanne a bit better in the issue’s InTouch Profile, page 25. Congratulations, Suzanne. Rumor has it you were so modest in this year’s WCSPP training class on couples that you didn’t even peep about this impressive piece of work. Hmmm? Gerald Gargiulo, Ph.D. was invited to speak at the National Psychological Assocation for Psychoanalysis this past spring in late April. With Ruth Rosenbaum, he discussed how quantum theory not only provides a useful framework for thinking about our concept of the unconscious, but also has implications for how and what we pay attention to when working with patients. Jerry is the author of Psyche, Self and Soul and Broken Fathers/Broken Sons, as well as articles on quantum theory. He is on the editorial boards of Psychoanalytic Psychology and The Psychoanalytic Review. Beverley Goff, LCSW-R, a WCSPP supervisor and faculty member, facilitated a film discussion of The Grifters (1990) for the Rockland County Chapter of the NY State Society for Clinical Social Work this past April. Those present appreciated how Stephen Frears' darkly funny and intricately layered look at life's seedy side lent itself to a beautifully complex study in psychopathy with a fascinating Oedipal configuration--played by a superb cast, no less: John Cusack, Anjelica Houston, and Annette Benning. 21
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
Members’ Endeavors, continued from previous page
Judith Levy, Ph.D. presented a beautifully written paper to both the large forum of the NY State Society of Clinical Social Workers and to WCSPP’s intimate Fireside Chat. Having interviewed twentyone psychoanalytically trained clinicians who defined themselves as parents of difficult children, Judith crafted an eloquent paper, “The Impossible Bond: Challenges of Being a Psychotherapist Parent of a Difficult Child.” Her work addresses the interlinked effects on therapists’ personal and professional lives when they find themselves to be parents of troubled children, and describes some of the paradoxes inherent in maintaining these dual roles. Phil Maniscalo, Ph.D. has accepted the opportunity to teach WCSPP’s initial course for incoming two-year psychotherapy candidates. It is called “Principles of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy.” Phil, the incoming class is lucky to have you! Marian Marguiles, Ph.D., opened an additional office in New York City near West End Avenue and 93rd Street. She also still maintains her Mamaroneck location as well. You are welcome to learn more at drmargulies.com Eric Mendelsohn, Ph.D., a WCSPP supervisor and faculty member, shared in the panelists-speakers for this years’ consortium of psychoanalytic institutes, March 24, at Mt Sinai Hospital. This year's conference dealt with how loneliness and solitude are constructed and enacted, particularly in ways that, on the one hand, are painfully constricting and selfalienating and, on the other hand, are nourishing and self-defining. Eric’s panel looked at loneliness within the psychoanalytic training experience.
“Please mention just how grateful I am for the encouragement I got from my institute colleagues to write and
Alexa Servodidio, LCSW, announced the opening of
present [the paper that I recently
her Mamaroneck-based private practice in July. For those of us who know Alexas, we will be happy to start referring to her. Thanks, Alexas!
published] and for the sensitivity with which it was received at the Retreat.” ~ Vera Stein, LCSW Vera’s paper has since been
Vera Stein, LCSW, will see her article “Being a published the July 2012 edition of Participant/Outsider: Experiences in Psychoanalysis Psychoanalytic Dialogues. and Psychohygiene in the 1960s and 1970s in Uruguay and Argentina” published in the July 2012 edition of Psychoanalytic Dialogues. Vera first wrote and presented this paper for one of WCSPP’s retreats. Notably, Vera adds, “please mention just how grateful I am for the encouragement I got from my Institute colleagues to write and present and for the sensitivity with which it was received at the Retreat.”
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Please note: InTouch no longer includes email addresses alongside members’ endeavors. This is to prevent email spam and hacking. If you are a WCSPP member and want to contact one of your colleagues, please refer to your WCSPP Psychoanalytic Association Directory. Not part of the Association? Visit WCSPP’s homepage to join or click here >> If you are a general reader and want to inquire with one of the WCSPP persons listed, you may try googling them or contact info@WCSPP.org.
Lori Walsh, Psy.D., co-hosted the fourth workshop in a series of parenting seminars at Pediatrics on Hudson. Entitled Building Healthy Relationships with Teens, her discussion explored teenparent challenges through the lens of adolescent development and temperament. Glenn Wolff, L.C.S.W.: Determining style and content for a website, especially one in the psychotherapy field, can be time-consuming and even nerve-wracking at times. So it is worthwhile to mention here that Glenn announced his web presence this past spring at http:// wolffpsychotherapy.com. Pst, he’s happy to share some tips as well as his webmaster’s name. Julie Willstatter, LCSW, whom we know as the former editor of InTouch and, most recently, as WCSPP’s 2012 Retreat Chairperson (see pages 45) presented a clinical case at the White Institute’s Summer Educational Intensive. The case was supervised by Lawrence Epstein, PhD. On an on-going basis, Julie is also working as an expert witness with lawyers in their defense of mental health professionals accused of malpractice. The work consists of evaluating whether the mental health professional has met the standard of care ethically required of them, reviewing documents pertinent to the case, preparing reports for the court and testifying as required.
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
WRITERSWORKS
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Dig in. Recently published books by WCSPP members are both intelligent and handy. The next pages introduce the authors >> 25
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
WRITERSWORKS “ I have tried to write a book that is different in several ways. First, I present a balanced approach to the problems of raising children. Extreme parenting methods may get the most attention, but...” Ken Barish, PhD WCSPP Faculty and Chairman of WCSPP Scientific Meetings; Clinical Assoc. Professor of Psychology, Weil Medical College
Writers’ Works: A chat with Ken Barish WCSPP author of this spring’s newly published Pride & Joy takes a “tiger” by the tail. Courtesy Oxford University Press with additional Qs by Terry Klee
There is so much advice offered to parents. How does your book differ from other parenting books? I have tried to write a book that is different in several ways. First, I present a balanced approach to the problems of raising children. Extreme parenting methods may get the most attention, but most parents struggle to find a balance – between empathy and firmness; between challenging kids to work harder and letting them be kids; between insisting on rules and limits and (sometimes) giving in. Second, my recommendations are based, whenever possible, on scientific research. I have tried to present to parents the best of recent advances in clinical, developmental, and neuroscience research. Finally, most parenting advice continues to focus less on understanding our children’s emotions and more on how to manage a child’s difficult behavior. In these programs, parents are taught more effective parenting “skills” and “techniques.” Although
this advice is undoubtedly helpful to many families, these methods have limitations. Understanding and responding to our children’s emotions, creating more moments of encouragement and joy, are more important to being a parent – and to our children’s emotional health – than counting to three when they don’t listen or learning the right words to use when stating a command. Even in the best advice offered, I often find something missing, something that goes to the heart of being a parent. We do not stop often enough, I believe, to consider how our children look up to us and how we remain, throughout their lives, sources of affirmation and emotional support. This is so important – and so easy to lose sight of, especially when kids are acting badly. Many parent advisors believe that we have become too permissive, that we are too ready continued on next page
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
Writers’ Works: Barish continued from previous page to be our children’s friend rather than an authority. Do you agree? Do you see this problem in your work with families? In my experience, more often than we are too permissive or indulgent (which, of course, we sometimes are) parents are too stressed – more burdened and more alone. Young parents now have less support available to them than my parents did when I was growing up. So often, families are stuck – children have become stubborn and defensive, and so have we. Criticism and punishment lead to anger and defiance, and then to more punishment and more defiance. These vicious cycles of conflict and argument undermine children’s initiative and confidence as well as their sense of responsibility. In the book, I offer parents a way out. I offer advice on how to repair family relationships, and replace frequent criticism with encouragement and problem solving. Can you explain why is it so important for parents to understand and value their child’s emotions? Among child psychologists, a consensus has emerged. A child’s increasing ability to “regulate” her emotions - to control and channel her expression of emotions, to express her feelings in constructive rather than hurtful ways – is now recognized as a critical factor in children’s psychological health. Improved emotion regulation leads to benefits in all areas of a child’s life – increased attention to
“We do not stop often enough, I believe, to consider how our children look up to us and how we remain, throughout their lives, sources of affirmation and emotional support.” Ken Barish, PhD
tasks, less disruptive behavior, better ability to resolve conflicts with peers, and lower levels of psychological and physical stress. Children who are able to regulate their emotions will also behave well (most of the time). They will more easily make and keep friends, and they will work harder and achieve more in school. How can we teach our children to be caring and empathic towards others, as you say in the book, to nurture a desire for giving, not just getting? Several decades of child development research have taught us that children learn caring behavior in a parent-child relationship of shared positive feelings; when they observe admired adults who act with nurturance and compassion; and when they are given responsibilities within their family. We need to teach our children that their feelings are important, but so are the needs and feelings of others. We should also make doing for others a more regular part of our family lives. Children learn important lessons from helping others – they learn how good it feels, to themselves and to others, to do good work. What is your opinion of so-called tiger parenting, as described in Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother? My advice to “tiger parents” is this: There is a better way. Discussions of Amy Chua’s book often overlook one its central lessons – her approach was not working. Although one of Amy’s daughters was doing well, her younger daughter had become angry, sullen, irritable, and withdrawn. We need to understand and respect our children’s individual temperaments. As often as tiger parenting may encourage exceptional achievement, it may also lead to discouragement and alienation, as it did in Ms. Chua’s own family. InTouch just can’t help but peek into other people’s book-bags. What’s in yours? My book bag includes some classics like Studies on Hysteria; The Interpretation of Dreams; and Kohut's The Analysis of the Self. More recently, I have been reading about emotions; such as Sandra Buechler's Making A Difference in Patients’ Lives; Jaak continued on next page
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Above: Ken Barish’s interview with Edwin Rutsch, founder of Center for Building A Culture of Empathy. Panksepp's Affective Neuroscience; and Martha Nussbaum's Upheavals of Thought. There’s also fascinating reads on
Well, let’s put it this way. Community is central
evolutionary psychology like Edward O. Wilson's The
to WCSPP members. You must know you are
Social Conquest of Earth. And, of course, there's always
(and here it comes) the poster boy of the
politics: Jonathan Haidt's The Righteous Mind: Why Good
WCSPP community.
People are Divided by Politics and Religion is on my list.
Poster boy? I don’t know about that. But, I do know what WCSPP has meant to me throughout my career. I
Will you blush when I write how your own book
came to WCSPP for psychoanalytic training in 1984 to
Pride & Joy is in other peoples’ book bags?
be be close to home when my children were young. I
InTouch interviewed author Suzanne Burger
have stayed because of the people I've met --smart,
(page 31), and she says your book is in her
caring, open, and fun to be with-- a great community to
book bag.
be part of. n
I am blushing. Period.
Don’t think that our crowd tweets? Oh, yes! We do! The Oxford University Press asked Ken Barish to tweet about his new book Pride & Joy. Not only does he tweet, but he tweets often. He has 200 followers. Lady Gaga, watch out! (She has 4,500,000.) 29
WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
gether
WRITERSWORKS “This is a very useful book, both for relationships in general and for very hard issues...it even deals with the horrible tragedy of the death of a child. Dr. Burger has put together a wonderful book.” John M. Gottman, PhD
Advanced PraiseWorks: for SteeringSuzanne Your Marriage: Writers’ Burger
helps us helps set relationships on a steady course. Interview by Terry Klee with replies by Suzanne Burger
“This is a very useful book, both for WCSPP’s thirty-plus years of rigorous, relationships in general and for very hardSuzanne Burger, recent graduate of contemporary psychoanalytic 2011 Couples Counseling Training class. issues like serious problemstraining with kids; it even deals with the horrible ofThe the death of could brag a long list of tragedy graduates. Suzanne, where have you been our a child. Dr. hasare putsotogether a trouble is Burger its members darn whole lives?! wonderful book”. John M. Gottman, Ph.D., modest. Point in case is the nearly author of the Seven Principles For Making Okay, why write a book? incognito Suzanne Burger. InTouch pulls Marriage Work Couples know they need more than a “just back the curtain of humility to reveal a married” sign tied on the trunk of their car, but highly trained,doesn't brilliant clinician “What couple need anamed road map to
navigate the ruts and bumps that inevitably emerge when two people decide to spend their lives together? Dr. Burger is a skillful mapmaker. This readable book is filled with
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there is still little available to people in terms of how to navigate the many twists and turns of life. Steering Your Marriage offers couples a roadmap, along with tools and lessons for navigating the especially hard times that most of us encounter along our lifelong journey. Skills include how to navigate caring for a child with special needs, facing financial difficulties, managing illness, and caring for aging parents. One aspect of your book is setting intentions and goals for the relationship. Could you say more about this? Steering Your Marriage is particularly useful for committed couples as well as clergy and couples’ counselors. It’s about wanting to enhance a marriage, not about whether to stay married. It provides a positive perspective for the challenges that couples find they are regrettably having to sort out alone--without insight or guidance. Again, without a tried-and-true map per se. Your use of the word “roadmap” winks at how readable your style of writing is. How did you decide to use this metaphor as your framework? I chose this trope for several reasons. First, it conveys the sense of movement or change over time, something that all couples experience but many fail to acknowledge as it runs counter to the more common “happily ever after” theme, a theme of stasis or permanence. Second, I wanted to indicate that there are many unexpected stops and detours along a relationship journey. These include illness, financial disruptions, relocation, caregiving for aging parents. Many couples navigate their relationship smoothly until they reach these unforeseen destinations. Finally, I wanted to make a self-help book that appealed more to men as they account for less than a third of the self-help market. I think the 31
combined images of a road trip, auto maintenance, and toolkits are familiar and accessible for many men who might otherwise be reluctant to pick up a book promoting marital wellness. How did your own roadmap lead you to enroll in WCSPP’s Couples Counseling Training? During graduate school, I always envisioned pursuing analytic training, and while my career and personal life have since led me in a different direction, I still feel an affinity with analytic thinking and the community of clinicians associated with it. As someone who specializes in couples therapy, I have felt a wish to both broaden and deepen my Gottman-based training and I wanted to integrate an analytic and a systems perspective into my work. Plus, couples are often extremely challenging and I'm always looking to ground myself in good theory and to surround myself with supportive and insightful colleagues. continued on next page
“I want to integrate an analytic and a systems perspective into my work. Plus, couples are often extremely challenging and I'm always looking to ground myself in good theory and to surround myself with supportive and insightful colleagues.” Suzanne Burger, PsyD WCSPP Graduate, Couples Counseling Training Program
WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
continued from previous page
Above: Suzanne Burger, the recently published WCSPP author of Steering Your Marriage, at last year’s WCSPP Welcome Party with two other WCSPP writers/analysts: faculty member Bob Katz (left) and new member Jerry Gargiulo (right).
InTouch likes to peek into people’s book-bags. What’s in yours? I'm currently reading Ken Barish's Pride and Joy which I'm certain to recommend to parents in and out of my practice. It nicely complements Gottman and Goleman's Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child. I recently read Life in Rewind about the relationship between a young man with severe OCD and his psychiatrist (I would not recommend it.) But my focus over the summer is more on R&R. As a fiction lover, I am reading and thoroughly enjoying Restoration by Olaf Olafsson. I was halfway through In One Person, John Irving's new book, when I opted to put it aside, having ruled it dull, repetitive and excessively self-conscious. Next on my list is Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda.
I’m guessing you may be a worthy source for books to read, because your own book Steering Your Marriage is quite readable & accessible. In fact, your classmates say that your disposition is quite similar, too: that is, an approachable astuteness. Care to comment? Is that what my classmates say? (Chuckle.) Aren't short people more approachable in general? As for being astute, that's a Darwinian adaption to compensate for my short stature and better my chances for survival! But, I’m really happy to hear how my book is seen as approachable too; it's important to minimize jargon when writing a self-help book. Readers want to feel like you're sitting across from them in their kitchen over a cup of coffee. I don't see the value in obfuscation or intellectualization. (Pause.) You know, it’s what I appreciate about WCSPP. No obfuscation in prose. Rather, we talk about smart important matters, but we do so “across the kitchen table.” n
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
INTOUCHPONDERING
“I recall many things about growing up in a small upstate town...” Maryalice “Qui Qui” Balascio
To Do or Not To Do: On the Search for Balance By Maryalice “Qui Qui” Balascio, LCSW, CEAP, SAP Associate Dean for Student Affairs for Purchase College, SUNY WCSPP Second-Year Candidate
To do or not to do…that is pleasures of “down time” were was disturbed by this trend the question. Well, it’s not
valued and imparted in subtle
toward the need to be
exactly the question, but you
ways such as enjoying the
constantly producing and
get the reference.
summer break from school
doing. Now, don’t get me
without reading or homework
wrong, I am an avid reader,
assignments.
but there is something about it
I recall many things about growing up in a small upstate town, including the
Fast forward to years later
being required that saps the joy
importance of relaxing, playing, and appreciating
when my son was in school. During the summer months,
right out of it. (Of course, WCSPP’s reading assignments
nature and my surroundings.
he was assigned readings, book are exempt from this
The joys and recuperative
reports, and other such tasks. I statement.) Continued next page... 34
Continued from previous page... Nevertheless, a deeper message is where my concern stirs. We and our clients live in a “right now” world. With the advent of the internet, email, cell phones, and texts, those days of writing a letter and waiting a week or two for a response have gone. Remember pen pals? Today, the whole world is at our finger tips. The drive for immediacy at times takes flight to the frantic. In many ways, we have become an increasingly impatient society. This is in stark contrast to the
“Now, don’t get me wrong, I am an avid reader, but there is something about it being required that saps the joy right out of it.” Maryalice “Qui Qui” Balascio, LCSW, CEAP, SAP
psychoanalytic process, which by its very nature is a slowly evolving series of discoveries. Those first few
peaceful perspective. Like many things, this comes
minutes of just being on the couch and taking a deep
through discipline. Learning to quiet our bodies and
breath may be the first moments of “brain catching up
our minds through practices such as yoga and
with body” that occur in a given day.
meditation can be tough conquests for us busy folk.
Taking time to sit, rejuvenate, and be reflective without the constant clamor and pull of worldly
ourselves, but for our clients and those who we interact
distractions is instrumental in creating a balanced and
with in the busy world. n
“...Like many things, learning to quiet our bodies and our minds comes through discipline.... However, the rewards are immeasurable, not only for ourselves, but for our clients and those who we interact with in the busy world.” Maryalice “Qui Qui” Balascio, seen to right with Maxwell whom Qui Qui cares for as a volunteer at Elmsford’s PetsAlive. And, yes! Maxwell would love you to adopt him >>
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However, the rewards are immeasurable, not only for
. ate D the 7 W C S P P ’ s e ! v Sa v. 1 issed No m be o t t No
ANNUAL AUTUMN CONFERENCE
Children's Emotions:
How do biology and the social environment interact in emotional development?
Learn the landmark research beyond neuroscience.
November 17, 2012 Doubletree Hotel, Tarrytown NY Details coming soon. Visit wcspp.org On November 17th, WCSPP’s Keynote Speaker and Recipient of the Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contribution to Psychology, Dr. Seth Pollak, will share his landmark research on the mechanisms of emotional development, including not just neuroscience but, moreover, also psychophysics and behavioral endocrinology. This innovative combination of methods is drawing national interest and attendees at this year’s conference will be among the first to learn about it firsthand as Pollack shares his talk entitled “Early Childhood Trauma and the Emotional Brain. How does a child develop emotionally?” Recipient of the Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contribution to Psychology, Dr. Seth Pollak
After his talk, author and clinical associate professor of psychology at Weil Medical College, Dr. Kenneth Barish will join Pollak at the podium with his paper “Children's Emotions: A Child Therapist's Views.” An afternoon panel will dovetail these discussions with a focus upon “How Parents Can Foster Their Child's Emotional Health: A Conversation.”
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SPOTOUTINGSNOW
Be alert to WCSPP’s upcoming events, like the keynote fall conference seen on previous page. Get it all at WCSPP’s website >> 37
WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
WCSPPHAPPENINGS So Many Opportunities & Occasions in Review. WCSPP Film Night: Still Walking Wainwright House March 16, 2012
Supervisory Training Brunch Private Residence, Irvington April 30, 2011
WCSPP Fireside Chat Psychotherapist Parents with a Difficult Child April 23, 2012
WCSPP’s Film Committee featured
Psychoanalytic graduates from
Judith Levy involved peers at
a screening of Still Walking (2008)
around the county got together for
WCSPP’s intimate Fireside Chat in a
with a post-film discussion led by
coffee, conviviality, and
hitherto taboo topic. Having
Ken Barish and Jane Bloomgarden.
considerations of pursuing
interviewed twenty-one psycho-
The New York Times review notes:
WCSPP’s one-year program
analytically trained clinicians who
“This is life as it’s lived, not
leading to a certificate in the
identify as parents of difficult
dreamed. And this is a family bound
supervision of psychoanalysis and
children, Judith crafted a paper
not only by sorrow, but also by a shared history that emerges in 114
psychotherapy. Hosted at the home of the program’s Director
entitled “The Impossible Bond: Challenges of Being a Psychotherapist
calibrated minutes and ends with a
Linda Fleischman, several faculty
Parent of a Difficult Child.” Judith
wallop.” The movie portrays three
members, candidates, and alumni
brings forth the interlinked effects on
generations of a Japanese family
of the program shared how this
therapists’ personal and professional
immersed in loss and interactions
advanced training helps
lives, and she describes some of the
that evoke an astonishing similarity
experienced clinicians to examine
paradoxes inherent in maintaining
to those encountered in the Western
and deepen their clinical practice.
these dual roles. She encouraged
world. Directed by Kore-eda, the
those present to share, remarking,
narrative unfolds in a way that calls
“While many therapists have suffered
to mind the thinking and listening that is the art of psychotherapy.
the anguish of parenting a dysfunctional child, this issue is often treated as a secret matter.”
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Child & Adolescent Colloquial Addiction: A Self Psychology Approach to Adolescent Treatment Wainwright House May 1, 2012
Scientific Meeting: "Depression After Prozac” Mark Solms, Ph.D. The Wainwright House Library May 4, 2012
In a talk entitled “Addiction: A Self
World-renowned Mark Solms, Ph.D., visited WCSPP in the early
Psychology Approach to Adolescent
spring. Using the treatment of depression as an example, this talk
Treatment,” Ari Kellner shared
looked at the place of psychoanalysis in 21st century psychiatry, in
clinical considerations regarding drug
the wake of the psychopharmacological revolution that so
addicted adolescents. One person who
dominated late 20th century psychiatry. What will the psychiatry of
attended remarked, “Ari’s sensitivity to
the 21st century look like, in light of the massive disappointment in
the humanity of any struggle
SSRIs? What will the relative roles of psychoanalysis and
resonated as clearly as his intelligence does.” Ari’s colloquial completed a
psychopharmacology now be?
series of gatherings organized by the
Dr. Solms’s credentials are many: Professor in Neuropsychology,
Child & Adolescent Training
University of Cape Town, South Africa; President, South African
Program: first, Liz Stuntz talked on
Psychoanalytic Association; Director, Arnold Pfeffer Center for
integrating DBT into psychoanalytic
Neuropsychoanalysis; New York Psychoanalytic Institute Research
thinking and then, Jane Bloomgarden
Co-Director; and the Hope for Depression Research Foundation,
and Nancy Austin gave a discussion on
New York. But, as much as Solms’s impressive C.V. awes the reader,
transgender adolescents. “We are
his collegial disposition equally drew-in WCSPP members.
lucky to have these senior clinicians to call on and hope to continue this next year,” says the Child & Adolescent Training Program’s director Kate Washton.
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
CANDIDATES’ TOWNHALLS This year’s fourth-year psychoanalytic candidates finish-up their tour de force of town hall meetings for the student body. WCSPP’s tradition of community includes the four-year psychoanalytic candidates creating town-hall style meetings for the faculty and students. This year’s soonto-graduate psychoanalytic candidates end their tour de force with a contemporary acknowledgement of “How is Technology Changing the Analytic Frame?” (May 22, 2012). Faculty and students gave serious consideration to habits of Facebook, Skype, phone sessions across statelines, texting, emailing, Googling a client, being Googled, and using Linked In or having a webpage, a blog, a Twitter account. Not convinced? Do you text or not text? For what reason do you text? Do you expect patients to comply with a traditional framework or do you learn their modern language? And is such “modernity” also a way of connecting? Do you use written disclosure statements regarding new means of communication? How about legal implications therein? And, do you know how to take a snapshot of a text message on you smartphone? (Those who attended do.) WCSPP sincerely thanks the fourth-year analytic class: Wade Anderson, Erika Brown-Campbell, Andrea Deutsch, Mellen Lovrin, David Rabinowitz, and Celine Stillman, who by the way makes an art of cake-making! (See cake-photo on next page.) 40
Above, left: WCSPP’s Executive Director Steve Spitz, a former graduate of WCSPP himself, greets students for the evening’s discussions.
Below: The fourth-year psychoanalytic class invited Professor Bob Katz to speak on the fear and absence of autonomy in today’s analytic theories and practice. Do we see how the failure to deal with death anxieties as existential givens diminishes how important one’s experiences of separateness and aloneness can be? Here, he is seen with candidate (& cake artist) Celine Stillman. The cake (below, right) nearly went uneaten as no person wanted to carve into the art.
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
READY?HIBERNATE.
With less sun and more dusk in our upcoming days, here are three mind-relief, not-so-serious, stay-tuckedin-on-the-sofa, mainstream-media recommendations.
AlanSorkinandtheUnSaid
1.
HBO’s Newsroom resembles the intentions of psychoanalysis. Aaron Sorkin, who wrote the Emmy Award winning political drama The West Wing as well as the screenplays for The Social Network and also Moneyball, gives viewers an intellectual tittivation often absent in media. In fact, that is the premise of Sorkin’s latest t.v. drama: that the public has become far too un-thinking with no efforts to deconstruct what is fed to them. Sorkin did his research for the series by observing real-world cable news and world events firsthand. For this reason, Newsroom pleases one’s psychoanalytic proclivities. Like Sorkin, we value “what’s not being said,” the myths that masquerade as truths, and the awakening of one’s multi-faceted self in relation to others. An extra WCSPP treat: In recent episodes, the main protagonist Will McAvoy, played by Jeff Daniels, returns to psychotherapy whereby we, as analytically-trained viewers, enjoy the voyeurism of seeing a fictional colleague in-session. The full plot? The series chronicles the behind-the-scenes events at a fictional major news channel, where bright minds dare to report meaningful news in the face of corporate and commercial profit pressures and amidst their own personal complexities. Cast members include Jeff Daniels, Jane Fonda, Emily Mortimer, Neal Sampat, and Sam Waterson. Check out earlier episodes and the cast here >> -- T.A.K.
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ModernFamilyandSelf-Analysis
2.
ABC’s TV Show Modern Family
gets 14 Emmy Nominations this Fall. It airs Wednesdays, 9 p.m. In Steve Levitan’s and Christopher Lloyd’s most-watched creation of ABC’s televised “Modern Family,” we relax in story-lines that are probative of contemporary culture. Self-analysis plays in scenes as characters give confessional candor to an unseen person. (Say, you or the cameraman. You choose.) This mockumentary format makes us, the lounging viewers, laugh as we see the contrast between what the characters are really feeling and what they are willing to admit they were feeling in the scene. As psychoanalytic therapists, these confessional interviews bemuse us with sensibilities of “does that happen at my office?” (It does.) But, then just the same, we can also feel comfort in the familiarity of such dialectic narratives. Unlike most popular hits, the show reaches directly into feelings. Characters are aware of their anxieties. The plots are less about how the characters act towards the world and more about how they experience life internally. But, there is still more. The show carries today’s family trees of divorce, re-marriages, immigrants, adoption, gay dads, precocious adolescents, disappointing kids, and adults who never quite grew up. Yes, rich material for a lot of conflict and function. But, again, there is yet more. Characters also spend most of their time with their technology: phone- cameras, phone-texts, spy-cams, iPads, baby monitors, YouTube videos, Facebook, karaoke gadgets, etc, etc. And, we the viewers witness (and study) the newfangled family’s modernity of techno-refractions. n -- T.A.K.
3.
In Showtime's online production “Web Therapy,” Lisa Kudrow plays Fiona Wallice, a therapist who does threeminute sessions with clients over her webcam. Spoiler alert: Fiona likes to talk about her own issues, making this a comicrelief of acting-out for us psychoanalysts. And, if not that, it entertains us with its free associations or, as its called in acting lessons, an ad-libbed extemporaneous format. Big-name guest stars this season include Rosie O’Donnell, Meryl Streep, and Conan O’Brien. O’Brien will be the first guest star to play his real-life self. But he pretends to be upset that the sidekick on his late-night TBS talk show, Andy Richter, is outshining him. Hmmm, analytically, we wonder is that really pretending? Here’s the link >>
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onlineWebTherapyspoof
44
WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
Retreat 2012: Poetry of Desire This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s three-day private event for WCSPP Psychoanalytic Association members unfastened the unmentionables of desire. The next pages glimpse at membersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; vitality.
March 30 - April 1st, 2012 Dolce of Norwalk Chairperson Julie Willstatter Photographic Compilation by Terry Ann Klee 45
WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
Retreat 2012: Poetry of Desire March 30 - April 1st, 2012 Dolce of Norwalk Chairperson Julie Willstatter Words by Terry Ann Klee 46
To no longer coop up our deepest desires is an exhilaratingly anxiety-producing bravery. Desire unrepressed can uncage our most enthralling, vital sense of aliveness. For this past spring’s annual WCSPP Psychoanalytic Association’s retreat, chairperson Julie Willstatter delivered an over-sized oomph of psychoanalytic venturousness. Julie drew us into a topic that can make even the most unabashed analyst hesitate: human desire. To get us thinking (and squirming), Julie secured a difficult-to-attain national guest speaker, whose notoriety may have made her almost too busy for our event. Award-winning author Esther Perel, MA, LMFT spoke and entertained attendees with her take on The Double Flame: Reconciling Intimacy and Sexuality. Perel shared her bold, provocative take on intimacy and sex shaking up traditional thinking about how we keep desire alive in longterm relationships. Based on her international bestseller Mating in Captivity: Unlocking
and desire coalesce--and
A heaping spoonful of gratitude to our 2012 Retreat Chairperson Extraordinaire:
collide. (And, yeah, that’s right,
Julie Willstatter
Erotic Intelligence, retreat members undressed* how love
I used the word undressed.)
seen here to right
continued on next page
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
Retreat 2012 Poetry of Desire: A Photo Essay, continued
48
continued on next page
49
WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
I want to add my thanks and appreciation to the committee and to our community in general for providing and making possible the warmth and substance of this very successful weekend. Julie, you set both a friendly and substantive tone, something often really hard to do. It clearly worked for the committee and permeated the weekend. Thank you, Barbara (Hyde Messer)
50
Retreat 2012 Poetry of Desire: A Photo Essay, continued
51
WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
Retreat 2012 Poetry of Desire: A Photo Essay, continued
52
Let your joy out! Retreat Chairperson Julie Willstatter uncages her vitality with â&#x20AC;&#x153;I Shot the Sheriff.â&#x20AC;? (And, no, she did not shoot the deputy.)
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
Excerpt from a Panel Presentation by Janet Zuckerman (seen to left): “Look Who's Talking! The Desire to be Heard and its Hidden Costs...” There is something quintessentially human about the voice. Voice is our personal instrument to effect change, to be heard, to create, and to love. Let it founder, and we rob ourselves of the ability to touch others and leave our imprint on the world. In the end, in order to grow a voice we all need deep resonance with who we are and what we say. For as Gilligan reflects, “In the absence of resonance, or when the only resonance tells you you’re crazy, you’re wrong, you couldn’t possibly know, this couldn’t possibly happen, then the voice, goes into silence”. We analysts, have such deep resonance to give – and this, along with our help traversing the bumps, will help women retrieve their lost selves, and dare to risk being heard. They, or better yet, we, will then reclaim voices of potency, rewarding ourselves with a fully realized potential, across the broad spectrum of our lives.
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55
56
WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
As a psychoanalytically understood phenomena, participants conjured up how our need for security and closeness tussles with our excitement for separateness and freedom.
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
The Winner is!
WCSPP’s Aviva Gitlin crotched and donated this blanket for the WCSPP Fundraiser This year’s WCSPP Fundraiser featured a handmade afghan crocheted by WCSPP’s Psychoanalytic Association president & faculty member Aviva Gitlin. Its multicolored design reflects the creativity of its designer and the eclecticism of the WCPP’s community. The winner of the gorgeous creation is Diane Caspe, former WCSPP Institute Director and former graduate of our Center, too. Retreat Chairperson Julie writes: “I was lucky enough to have the quilt visit my home for several weeks prior to the retreat. Its warmth, earthy colors and ambivalent textures (a little bit rough, but mainly soft and comforting) are just amazing. Thank you, Aviva, for such generosity of labor and talent!”
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“Voice is our personal instrument to effect change, to be heard, to create, and to love. Let it founder, and we rob ourselves of the ability to touch others and leave our imprint on the world.” Quote from Janet Zuckerman’s Retreat Paper, read more on page 55
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WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
2012 RETREAT COMMITTEE. Chairperson Julie Wilstatter; Committee Members: Nina Gershowitz, Lorraine Schorr, Suzanne Weisman and Steven Guggenheim, Annabella Bushra, Jill Delaney, Mark Finn, Irene Studwell, Vivian Sklar, Vivian Linder, Ari Kellner, and Carol Mahlstedt
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I want to thank several people who contributed so much to the success of our retreat, and have so far not been acknowledged.Thanks to Steve Spitz for his encouragement, for his involvement when I sought his counsel, and for his trust in the retreat committee’s ideas and process. Thanks to Aviva Gitlin, who provided the space to be creative, was available to answer any questions, was ever the great problem-solver, and proved to be a strong presence who could always be counted upon. Thanks to Ari Kellner, who organized the WCSPP water bottles, tote bags and t-shirts, and became an official retreat committee member at the last minute, with a lot of responsibility. Ari, Wade Anderson and Janet Shimer did a great job with the fundraiser. Thanks to the panelists: Ann Crane, Rob Muller, Emi Bromberg, Cindy Heller, Janet Zuckerman, and Joy Dryer.Thanks to the moderators: Bari Smelson-Kanwal, Suzy Weisman and Nancy Bottger. I heard people talking about the way that the papers brought a thoughtful, psychoanalytic reference point to our theme. While it was not possible to connect morning and afternoon like hand in glove, most people felt the morning presentation and papers that followed complimented and informed each other. Thanks to the Sunday morning group as well, starting with Margaret Postlewaite as our facilitator and the group members: Glenn Wolff, Geri Friedman, Annabella Bushra, Michael Wald, David Shwartz and Joy Dryer. Your presence and openness to a process that was unscripted, and therefore could, and as some of you mentioned, did generate anxiety, was a real gift. I felt a sense of closure at the end of this weekend, because your inner group experience felt as though it spread to the outer circle. Thank you for providing that punctuation. There are more who made this weekend exceptional: Ken Barish for his trumpet playing, Geri Friedman for her drawings, Nina Gershowitz for her slide show, Barbara Hyde Messer for her photographs, David Newman for his painting, and Janet Zuckerman for her photographs. Finally, to all who came to the retreat, wow! We were thoughtful with one another. We learned together, we played together. We shared meals together. How incredible to be with you.
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Warmly Yours, Julie Wilstatter Retreat Chairperson 2012
WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
WCSPPDOSSIER
Snag a sense of WCSPP behind the scenes. Curriculum Committee Year in Review by Jim Rembar, WCSPP Curriculum Director
The curriculum committee is responsible for the content, quality and structure of the psychoanalytic training curriculum. We strive for a didactic experience that is comprehensive and theoretically balanced. We review all course evaluations that candidates submit and make suggestions to faculty regarding the content and teaching of courses. The committee is comprised of WCSPP faculty, a liaison from WCSPP’s Psychoanalytic Association, and WCSPP representatives from each class. The current membership includes Ken Barish, Eric Mendelsohn, Phyllis Sloate, and Jim Rembar (Director) from the faculty and Paula Feirstein from the Psychoanalytic Association. The candidate representatives for this past year were Andrea Deutsch, Cheryl Rothberg, and Emi Bromberg. Going forward, it will be Wade Anderson. Over the past academic year there were two new instructors in the Psychoanalytic Program. Barbara Tholfsen taught Freud's Clinical Writings in the Fall trimester to the second year class. Aviva Gitlin taught Advanced Clinical Seminar on Dreams in the Winter term to the fourth year class. This coming academic year Michael Wald will teach Principles of Psychoanalysis in the Fall trimester to the first year class. This was previously taught by George Goldstein. Liz
Stuntz will be teaching the Clinical Seminar: Survey on Countertransference to the third year class in the Fall term, a course she has taught a number of times before. Edie Mencher is taking a one-year leave from teaching this course. Neil Skolnick will no longer be teaching Foundations of Relational Theory, a course in the third year, winter trimester. His replacement has not been determined as yet. One structural change was made to the curriculum. Annabella Bushra has long taught Applications of Relational Psychoanalysis as an elective in the fourth year. Given the excellent reviews over many years and the relevance of the course content, a decision was made to replace one of the two electives in the fourth year and make this course a formal part of the curriculum. While the curriculum committee usually meets only three times a year, we welcome input at any time. If someone would like to discuss any aspect of the curriculum or the process of applying to teach a course, please feel free to contact me, rembar@wcspp.org. The process of applying to teach a course involves developing a syllabus and sending in a C.V. If someone has a particular interest in developing a course, one avenue is to propose an elective for the fourth year class. We have begun a discussion about whether other avenues might be developed to offer other electives to the candidates or the broader community.
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WCSPPDOSSIERcontinued Oops. Your curiosity in this page is worthy of the missing article’s content. But, it’s not available to the general public. Parts of InTouch remain private to WCSPP membership. If you are a WCSPP member, enjoy the full extended versions of InTouch at your Members Resources page of wcspp.org. Not a member yet? Enroll in WCSPP’s training and share in the opportunities.
WCSPPINTOUCH Spring/Summer 2012
wcspp.org Now easier than ever on your phones & pads >> 68
WCSPPMISSION&HERITAGE The Westchester Center for the Study of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy (WCSPP) was founded in 1974 by a group of eminent psychoanalysts who shared a pluralistic vision of psychoanalytic training that would be provided within a strong professional community. Today, as a non-profit organization, WCSPP continues its deep commitment to rigorous academic training for clinicians. WCSPP has developed new programs to meet the changing needs of mental health professionals along with a vital psychotherapy service for individuals in need of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy.
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STAFFINTOUCH
CONTACTINTOUCH
Terry Ann Klee, Editor & Designer Steven Guggenheim, Copy Editor WCSPP Community, Contributors
S U B M I S S I O N S : InTouch, a publication of WCSPP’s association and faculty, is for the exchange of clinical ideas as well as the celebration of our community. Issued seasonally, each edition recaps and invites the cultural engagement that is unique to WCSPP. Please share your essays, musings, insights, poetry, photos, media reviews, professional endeavors, milestones, and more. >> WCSPPInTouch@gmail.com
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E R R O R S ? We dislike the “oops” that inherently happen, despite our efforts to do well for all. Thus, the editors and guest contributors apologize for any miscues or omissions that may occur in this publication. Please contact us if you realize any; we want to know and make amends.
Proprietary License(s): The writings, photos, and illustrations in this newsletter cannot be re-used by any readers or parties. They are either (a) granted to WCSPP InTouch by iStock.com per a perpetual, non-transferable worldwide license, or (b) the property of various WCSPP contributors. Contact the WCSPP InTouch editor if you are seeking rights and permission of use. Visit wcspp.org 70