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ATTACHMENT, PSYCHOSOMATICS, TRAUMA AND POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH THROUGH THE LENS OF NEUROPSYCHOANALYSIS

1st Trimester of the year 2 of the Two-Year Program and the Full Training in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, as well as the Neuropsychoanalysis and the Parent-Child Development Programs (can be also taken as an individual post-graduate certificate course; no pre-requisites).

Instructor: Inna Rozentsvit, M.D., PhD
Date: October 3, 2019 – December 19, 2019, Thursdays, 8:40-9:55pm
Location: Virtual Live

To Register for this course, please complete the Registration form

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The intention [of this project] is to furnish a psychology that shall be a natural science.

S. Freud, 1895, “Project for a Scientific Psychology.

We must recollect that all of our provisional ideas in psychology will presumably one day be based on an organic substructure.

S. Freud, 1914, “On Narcissism.

The deficiencies in our description would probably vanish if we were already in a position to replace the psychological terms with physiological or chemical ones.…We may expect [physiology and chemistry] to give the most surprising information and we cannot guess what answers it will return in a few dozen years of questions we have put to it. They may be of a kind that will blow away the whole of our artificial structure of hypothesis.

S. Freud, 1920, “Beyond the Pleasure Principle.

Significance of understanding of neurobiology for those who dedicate their professional life to psychoanalysis was recognized by the neurologist/ neuropathologist Sigmund Freud at the very birth of this profession. One can be fascinated how (without PET scans and fMRIs) he could picture the structure of the mind, while having only unsophisticated fish brains at hand. In his 1895 letter to W. Fliess, S. Freud wrote: I am tormented by two aims: to examine what shape the theory of mental functioning takes if one introduces quantitative consideration, a sort of economics of nerve forces; and, second, to peel off from psychopathology a gain for normal psychology. These ideas of the founder of psychoanalysis about the brain-mind dynamic functioning had evolved now into different merging areas of interest, such as social neurology, evolutionary neuroscience, interpersonal neuroscience, mindfulness, neuropsychoanalysis, etc.

During this 10-week course, we will look at our brain-mind constellation through the lens of neurobiology and psychoanalysis, discovering that the processes of neuroplasticity and neurointegration and the phenomena of “what fires together – wires together,” “synaptic pruning,” and “don’t use it – lose it” as the main drives of one’s states of health and disease. We will look into connections of human brain’s anatomy (which is very specific to our species) with the wholesome and creative functioning of the mind (which differs from one individual to another).

The resources for this course will include the works of psychoanalysts and neuroscientists, as well as the cases of trauma, psychosomatic illness, attachment disorders – looked through the lens of neuroscience/ neurobiology/ clinical neurology.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this course, its participants will be able to:

  • Identify the brain-mind mechanisms of “normal” and “pathological” functioning (e.g., neuroplasticity, neurointegration, neurogenesis, brain/mind laterality, and “fire together-wire together,” synaptic pruning, and other phenomena), and to apply this knowledge about neurobiology to case examples offered by the instructor or the participants.
  • Assess the levels of brain-mind functioning based on the “triune brain” phenomenon, and in turn, understand the level at which each individual patient/client can be reached at therapeutically.
  • Discuss clinical cases utilizing the brain-mind dynamic functioning model and the language of psychoanalysis (pairing them together).
  • Discuss psychological concepts of trauma/ post-traumatic growth, psychosomatics, and attachment through the lens of functional neurology / neuroscience.
  • Demonstrate the concept of “mindful” therapy approach to working with developmental and/or relational trauma.

SYLLABUS:

Required Literature:

  • The Unanswered Self: The Masterson Approach to the Healing of Personality Disorders, by Candace Orcutt.
  • Selected Papers by Susan Kavaler-Adler (Volume 1): Developmental Mourning, Erotic Transference, Object Relations Psychoanalysis, by Susan Kavaler-Adler.
  • The Compulsion to Create: Women Writers and Their Demon Lovers, by Susan Kavaler-Adler.

Class 1: Neurobiology and the possibility of a renaissance of psychoanalytic thought.

Readings:

  • Freud, S. (1895/1950). Project for a scientific psychology. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume I ( 1886-1899): Pre-Psycho-Analytic Publications and Unpublished Drafts, 281-391.
  • Kandel, E.R. (1998). A new intellectual framework for psychiatry. American  Journal of  Psychiatry, 155:, 457-469.
  • Kandel, E. (1999). Biology and the future of psychoanalysis: A new intellectual framework for psychiatry revisited. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156(4), 505-524.

RESOURCES:

  • Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1968). Object relations, dependency, and attachment: A theoretical review of the infant mother relationship. Child Development, 40, 969-1025.
  • Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1982). Attachment: Retrospect and prospect. In C. M. Parkes & J. Stevenson-Hinde (Eds.), The place of attachment in human behavior(pp. 3-30). New York: Basic Books.
  • Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1989). Attachments beyond infancy. American Psychologist, 44, 709-716.
  • Ainsworth, M. D. S., & Bell, S. M. (1970). Attachment, exploration, and separation: Illustrated by the behavior of one-year-olds in a strange situation. Child Development,41(1), 49-67.
  • Ainsworth, M. D. S., & Bowlby, J. (1991). An ethological approach to personality development. American Psychologist, 46, 331-341.
  • Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation.Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
  • Bernstein, W. M. (2011). A basic theory of neuropsychoanalysis. London, UK: Karnac.Bowlby,
  • (1940). The influence of early environment in the development of neurosis and neurotic character. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, XXI, 1-25.
  • Bowlby, J. (1944). Forty-four juvenile thieves: Their characters and home lives. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, XXV, 19-52.
  • Bowlby, J. (1958). The nature of the child’s tie to his mother. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, XXXIX, 1-23.
  • Bowlby, J. (1959). Separation anxiety. International Journal of Psycho-Analysts, XLI, 1-25.
  • Bowlby, J. (1960). Grief and mourning in infancy and early childhood. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, VX, 3-39.
  • Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss, Vol. 1: Attachment. New York: Basic Books.
  • Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss, Vol. 2: Separation. New York: Basic Books.
  • Bowlby, J. (I980a). Attachment and loss, Vol. 3: Loss, sadness and depression. New York: Basic Books.
  • Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development. New York: Basic Books.
  • Buchheim, A., George, C., & West, M. (2003). The Adult Attachment Projective (AAP) – Psychometric properties and new research. Psychotherapie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie(Psychosomatics Psychotherapy Medical Psychology), 53, 419-427.
  • Cassidy J. & P. R. Shaver (Eds.) (1999). Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications. New York: Guilford Press.
  • Damasio, A. (1999). The feeling of what happens: Body and emotion in the making of consciousness. New York: Harcourt Brace.
  • Fonagy, P., Target, M., Gergely, G., & Jurist, E. J. (2002). Affect regulation, mentalization and the development of the Self. New York: Other Press.
  • Freud, S.(1895/1950). Project for a scientific psychology. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume I ( 1886-1899): Pre-Psycho-Analytic Publications and Unpublished Drafts, 281-391.
  • Hart, S. (2006). Attachment theory and child abuse – An overview of the literature for practitioners. London, UK: Karnac.
  • Holmes, J. (2001). In search of the secure base. London, UK: Routledge.
  • Kandel, E.R. (1998). A new intellectual framework for psychiatry. American  Journal of  Psychiatry, 155:, 457-469.
  • Kandel, E. (1999). Biology and the future of psychoanalysis: A new intellectual framework for psychiatry revisited. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156(4), 505-524.
  • Luyten, P. (2015). Unholy questions about five central tenets of psychoanalysisthat need to be empirically verified. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 35(sup1), 5–23.
  • Main, M., & Goldwyn, R. (1998). Adult attachment classification system. Unpublished manuscript. University of California: Berkeley, CA.
  • Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2001). Attachment theory and intergroup bias: Evidence that priming the secure base schema attenuates negative reactions to out-groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 97-115.
  • Rizzolatti, G., Semi, A. A., & Fabbri-Destro, M. (2014). Linkingpsychoanalysis with neuroscience: The concept of ego. Neuropsychologia, 55, 143–148.
  • Schore, A. (2003).  Affect regulation and the repair of the self.  New York:  W.W. Norton and Co.
  • Schore, A. (2003). Affect dysregulation and disorders of the self.  New York:   W.W. Norton and Co.
  • Shaver, P., & Mikulincer, M. (2002). Attachment-related psychodynamics. Attachment and Human Development, 4, 133-161.
  • Siegel, D. J. (1999). The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are. New York: Guilford Press.
  • Stern, D. N. (1985). The interpersonal world of the infant: A view from psychoanalysis and developmental psychology. New York: Basic Books.
  • Watt, D.F.(1990). Higher cortical functions and the ego. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 7(4), 487-527.
  • Winnicott, D. W. (1960). The theory of the parent-infant relationship. In: The maturational processes and the facilitating environment(pp.37-55). New York: International Universities Press.

INSTRUCTOR’S BIO:

Inna Rozentsvit, M.D., PhD, MBA, MSciEd is a neurologist and neurorehabilitation specialist, trained in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, with extensive experience in brain trauma, autoimmune neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions.
Dr. Rozentsvit is a founder of the Neurorecovery Solutions, Inc. (neurorecoverysolutions.com), a non-profit organization which helps neurologically impaired and their caregivers in their often heart-breaking journey to well-being. She is also an educator who works with children and adults with learning and emotional disabilities, while applying knowledge from the fields of neurology, basic sciences, mental health, and pedagogy to solving puzzles of miscommunications and every-day interactions of these children and adults with their parents and significant others.

Dr. Rozentsvit is passionate about people and supporting the possibilities that all people are. This passion fueled her publishing endeavors, which realized into founding the ORI Academic Press (oriacademicpress.org), the MindMend Publishing Co., and the MindConsiliums (a trans-disciplinary journal with main focus on cross-pollination of knowledge and experience from various mental health, medicine, and science fields, mindconsiliums.org).

Dr. Rozentsvit is the scientific faculty member, programs director, and administrator of the Object Relations Institute for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy (ORI, www.orinyc.org) in NYC. Her course on Neurobiology for Psychoanalysts and Psychotherapists and the Parent-Child Development Program at the ORI include important for all mental health professionals topics: Neurobiology of Self; Neurochemistry of Emotions; Attachment Theory/ Love before First Sight; Neurological Disorders (Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and multiple sclerosis) through the Eyes of a Psychotherapist; Neurobiology of Psychosomatic Illness; Neuroscience of Anger and Violence; and others.

For more information, please visit https://innarozentsvit.com/

REGISTRATION AND FEES:

Tuition: $450/10-week course/trimester (can be paid in 2 installments)
Registration fee: $25/course (waived for ORI’s candidates in training)

SPECIAL SCHOLARSHIPS are available for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as for retired or disabled practitioners, or need-based or/and those who live outside of the USA.
To apply for your scholarship, please go to the registration form below.

CANCELLATION POLICY:
Full refund until the 1st session.
75% refund before the 2nd session.
50% refund before the 3rd session.
No refund from the day of the third session, but 50% of the full paid tuition will be applied to any further ORI events.

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