The psychoanalytic literature on closet narcissism stems back to some journal articles of Annie Reich in the 1940s and 1950s. However, the term closet narcissism was later formulated by James F. Masterson in his work on the character disorders, particularly spelled out in his books The Emerging Self and The Personality Disorders. The phenomenon of closet narcissism is behind a certain kind of co-dependent addiction, which results from arrests in primal maternal bonding and attunement as development through separation-individuation flounders, just as it does in the other major character disorders, such as grandiose narcissism, borderline personality, and schizoid personality. The closet narcissist only exists in relation to a grandiose narcissist, merging with the grandiose image, which offers a certain kind of false self pathology (related to D. W. Winnicott’s false self).
In his film “Blue Jasmine,” Woody Allen gives an emotionally authentic and complexly layered portrayal of the closet narcissist.  We see the rage underlying the facade of the closet narcissist, a socialite Jasmine, played brilliantly by Cate Blanchett, who fell on hard times and forced to move in with her working class sister. Ultimately, the devastated state of despair triumphs, when there is no longer an available man with an idealized or a grandiose image that would substitute for the undeveloped woman’s identity. Woody Allen captured the social dynamics keenly, as he captured the psychological dynamics. 
This keen drama crystallizes the phenomena that we can encounter in the clinical setting.  Understandably, closet narcissists enter the psychotherapist’s treatment room much more frequently than do grandiose narcissists. Closet narcissists can be men or women, but due to social and patriarchal dynamics, we see more female closet narcissists in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis than male ones.

This conference will include the discussion of the psychological film drama offered by Woody Allen, as well as both a long term and a short term cases, to demonstrate the clinical phenomenology of the closet narcissist. The psychodynamics will be understood in object relations developmental terms, but there will also be discussion of Jungian perspectives from the work of Marion Woodman and Linda Schierse Leonard. Beyond the developmental and internal world issues of object relations theory and the Jungian theory, there will be some illustration of the transference dynamics, their evolution and resolution.

In his discussion, Dr. Kenneth Porter will briefly summarize the main points of her paper on female closet narcissism, which can be considered a major contribution to psychological and psychoanalytic thinking. He will expand on an issue of the mirror image syndrome of male closet narcissism, which is often present in a relationship with a female closet narcissism. Dr. Porter will offer a brief summary of the themes of male closet narcissism too, as these relate to Dr. Kavaler-Adler’s theory of pathological mourning as the basis of the deepest psychopathology. Dr. Porter will also offer an example from his own personal experience with Dr. Kavaler-Adler’s work as being extremely helpful in self-understanding and healing.

LEARNING POINTS:

For Dr. Kavaler-Adler's papers: At the end of this educational activity, its participants will be able to:
- Describe and apply the phenomenon of closet narcissism;
- Compare the grandiose narcissist and the closet narcissist;
- Analyze the closet narcissist dynamics in the Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine” character;
- Describe the idealizing transference of the long term clinical case of a closet narcissist;
- Describe the disillusionment of the short term case closet narcissist and apply this phenomenon to any of one's current clinical case;
- Describe one Jungian perspective that can be applied to the undeveloped “feminine” self in the woman closet narcissist.

For Dr. Porter's discussion paper: At the end of this educational activity, its participants will be able to:
- Analyze  the basic themes of male closet narcissism;
- Discuss the basic themes of Dr. Kavaler-Adler’s work on pathological mourning as the basis for human psychopathology;
- Elucidate a personal example of the way in which Dr. Kavaler-Adler’s work was helpful in one's own self-understanding.

BIOs of the PRESENTERS:

Susan Kavaler-Adler, Ph.D., ABPP, D.Litt., NCPsyA is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst, who has been in practice in Manhattan for 45 years. She is a Fellow of the American Board and Academy of Psychoanalysis, and is the Founder and Executive Director of the Object Relations Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis.  She is a Training Analyst, Senior Supervisor and active faculty member at the Object Relations Institute, a New York State chartered psychoanalytic training institute.  Dr. Kavaler-Adler is also a prolific author, having published six books, and over 70 articles in the field of object relations psychoanalytic theory.  She has received 16 awards for her writing.  Dr. Kavaler-Adler is also on the editorial board of the International Journal of Controversial Conversations (IJCC).  Five of her six published books related to clinical object relations theories are The Klein-Winnicott Dialectic: Transformative New Metapsychology and Interactive Clinical Theory (Karnac, 2014); The Anatomy of Regret: From Death Instinct to Reparation and Symbolization in Vivid Case Studies (Karnac, 2013); Mourning, Spirituality and Psychic Change: A New Object Relations View of Psychoanalysis (Routledge, 2003; Gradiva® Award from NAAP, 2004); The Creative Mystique: From Red Shoes Frenzy to Love and Creativity (Routledge, 1996; ORI Academic Press 2014; Gradiva® Award nomination); The Compulsion to Create: Women Writers and Their Demon Lovers (Routledge, 1993; ORI Academic Press, 2013). In addition, Dr. Kavaler-Adler has an honorary doctorate in literature, and conducts ongoing groups in her practice, such as a monthly writing group, a monthly online experiential supervision group, and a monthly “Mourning, Therapy, and Support Group” with guided visualization. More information can be found at https://kavaleradler.com/.

Kenneth Porter, M.D. has been a spiritual psychiatrist and psychoanalyst for fifty years in New York City. He is an ordained teacher in the spiritual school of the Diamond Approach, based on the work of A.H. Almaas, which is a synthesis of Eastern mysticism and western psychoanalysis. He has also been a teacher of Buddhist Insight Meditation, Past-President of the Association for Spiritual Psychotherapy, Co-Founder of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Training Program, and a long-term student of the Kundalini Science Master Chandrasekharan and Saraswati. Dr. Porter is the author of the 2020 book, Apollo's Lyre: The Art of Spiritual Psychotherapy (Wisdom House Books), where he shares thirty years of experience with meditation, spiritual practice, and the art and science of psychotherapy. More information can be found at https://www.kennethportermd.com/.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:
9:30am – 10:00 am – Same Day REGISTRATION & GOTOMEETING Assistance
10:00am – 10:15am – Introduction of conference topic by the conference moderator, Dr. Eva Papiasvili
10:15am – 11:50am – Keynote speaker’s morning paper presentation:
“The Closet Narcissist Personality: In Woody Allen’s ‘Blue Jasmine,’ Jungian and Object Relations Theory” (with 5 min bathroom break)
11:50am – 12:20pm – Q & A
12:20pm – 1:00 pm – Lunch
1:00pm – 2:00pm – Paper presentation by Dr. Susan Kavaler-Adler: “Lady Sojourning in Sweden During the Pandemic: Short-term Therapeutic Work with a Closet Narcissist”
2:05 pm – 3:05pm – Discussion of both paper presentations by Dr. Kenneth Porter
3:15pm – 4:30pm –  Drs. Kavaler-Adler, Porter and Papiasvili –  Panel Q & A. This section will include the Role Play of a session with a Closet Narcissist patient.

To REGISTER for the conference, please complete the Registration Form

Conference participants will receive information about the ways they could watch the film "Blue Jasmine", in preparation for the conference. Watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/FER3C394aI8

FEES AND REGISTRATION:

____ Early Bird registration (before February 22, 2021) - $50 regular/ $35 grad students & candidates/ $15 undergrad students. If CEs are requested - there is an additional fee of $25 (can be paid on the day of the conference or in advance).

____ Pre-registration discount (February 22 – March 19, 2021) - $60 regular/ $45 grad students & candidates/ $20 undergrad students. If CEs are requested - there is an additional fee of $25 (can be paid on the day of the conference or in advance).

____ Registration 'at the door' (on March 20th, 2021) - $70 regular/ $55 grad students & candidates/ $25 undergrad students. If CEs are requested - there is an additional fee of $25 (can be paid on the day of the conference or in advance).

To receive CE certificates for the actual hours attended - please request them at the time of registration or any time prior to beginning of the conference. CE certificate fee (in addition to the registration fees): $25. No fees charged for PD (Professional Development) certificates from ORI.

Please send your payment (mail only checks and money orders, paid to ORI) to: ORI Administrator; 75-15 187th Street; Fresh Meadows, NY, 11366-1725. Credit cards / PayPal payments are accepted - see below:
You can pay via PayPal at www.paypal.com (our ID/ handle is: adminorinyc@gmail.com) OR use our PayPal link: Paypal.me/ORINYC.
 

For credit card payments other than PayPal or Square systems, please call the administrator with full credit card information.

To pay via Square on your own - please follow the link and choose your category (regular/ grad students and candidates/ undergrad students):

Regular registration ($60)

Graduate Students and Candidates ($45)
Undergraduate students ($20)

CANCELLATION POLICY:
Refund in full is offered for cancellations made before March 20th, 2021. No refunds for cancellations made on or after March 20th, 2021 (but credit can be applied for any of the educational events offered at ORI in 2021 or further on).

CONTINUING EDUCATION: This program is sponsored by St. John's University Office of Postgraduate Professional Development Programs. St. John's University is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.  St. John's University maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Certificates for CEs for NYS Licensed Social Workers, Mental Health Counselors, and Marriage & Family Therapists (7 hrs) are approved by Amedco.
New York Board for Social Workers (NY SW)  Amedco SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #0115. 7.0 hours.
New York Board for Mental Health Counselors (NY MHC)    Amedco is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0061. 7.0 hours.
New York Board for Marriage & Family Therapists (NY MFT)  Amedco is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists. #MFT-0032. 7.0 hours.
New York Board for Psychology (NY PSY)  Amedco is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0031. 7.0 hours.

Payment for CE Certificates ($25) can be made via PayPal at www.paypal.com (our ID/ handle is: adminorinyc@gmail.com) OR use our PayPal link: Paypal.me/ORINYC.
To pay via Square on your own - please follow this link CE Certificate Fee

If none of these methods are possible for you - please call the administrator (at 646-522-1056) to pay via phone.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THIS EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY:

Please note that 7.0 CE hours for this event includes 1.75 hours of required viewing of the movie "Blue Jasmine."

For the purposes of Continuing Education requirements - the participants can claim only the hours they were involved in educational activity or/and its prerequisites.

Certificates for post-graduate training in psychoanalysis and/or psychoanalytic psychotherapy (7.0 hrs) are approved by ORI CE Committee, and will be available, as per request.

Please request your CEs and PDUs at the time of registration. CE certification fee: $25 (paid in addition to the conference attendance fee).

Pay the CE certificate fee via PayPal, at Paypal.me/ORINYC or contact ORI Conference Administrator by email (adminorinyc@gmail.com) or by phone (646-522-1056).

Please note that you will be able to claim the CEs only for actually attended hours and time spent reviewing necessary materials prior to the conference.

2020 ORI’s Annual Conference

SPONSORED BY THE OFFICE OF POSTGRADUATE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS OF ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY, PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Title: “HELL IS FOR CHILDREN”– CONTRASTING THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE TREATMENT OF THE BORDERLINE PERSONALITY: MASTERSON’S, RELATIONAL, AND INTRAPSYCHIC PERSPECTIVES

5.5 CEs (for NYS Licensed Social Workers, Mental Health Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists) -- approved by AMEDCO; 5.5 APA CEs (for Licensed Psychologists, nationally) --  approved by St. John's University; 5.5 PDU (for educators, legal professionals, psychoanalytic candidates in training) -- approved by the CE Committee of the Object Relations Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. See more information about CEs below.

When: MARCH 28, 2020; SATURDAY, 9:15am - 4:30 pm

This conference will be offered live via VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION only, due to recommendations of CDC and local government, in re: to COVID-19. Virtual participation is offered via Gotomeeting platform, with minimal technical requirements. (Videos of the conference will be available, with the follow up questionnaires to fulfill the CE requirements.)

Prior announced location, which will not be available for in-person participation: ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY, MANHATTAN CAMPUS, 101 ASTOR PLACE, NY, NY 10003

Case Presenter: LORAY DAWS, PhD

Discussant/ Relational Approach: ROBERT GROSSMARK, PhD, ABPP

Discussant/ Intrapsychic Approach: RAFAEL A. JAVIER, PhD, ABPP

Moderator: SUSAN KAVALER-ADLER, PhD, ABPP, D.Litt., NCPsyA

In the tradition of the Object Relations Institute of contrasting and integrating varying theoretical approaches to the treatment of pre-oedipal character disorders, this conference will present an in-depth clinical process with a cumulatively traumatized patient, whose psychic structure is organized with the primal splitting of a Borderline Self Disorder.

The words of the suffering patient that experienced cumulative trauma cry: “Hell is for children!” The experienced object relations therapist describes and explores a therapeutic process informed by the developmental, self, and object relations approach and the “internalized intervention” of James F. Masterson, working to integrate split self/object relations units, while working with transference externalization, traveling from transference “acting out” to symbolized transference. 

The two discussants will provide their theoretical thoughts on the presented clinical case, highlighting contrasting relational and intrapsychic perspectives. Audience discussion will engage with all of these perspectives.

Dr. LORAY DAWS: “HELL IS FOR CHILDREN”: A MASTERSONIAN OBJECT RELATIONS APPROACH TO THE TREATMENT OF A TRAUMATIZED BORDERLINE DISORDER OF SELF

“Hell is for children!,” poignant words echoed from the psychoanalytic psychotherapy of Ruth, a traumatized analysand caught between rewarding and withdrawing paradigms of existence (Borderline Disorder of Self). Working from Masterson’s Developmental Self and Object Relations approach, this paper will attempt an in-depth clinical description of the difficulties faced by the clinician in differentiating between the possibility of a secret schizoid disorder of self and the distancing borderline disorder of self; the impact of cumulative trauma and even PTSD on the experience of self and reliance on distancing (through somatization), and the continual ‘process’ reading of Ruth’s affective alivening, given the various ‘interventions’ provided and ‘internalized,’ all in the end, supporting Ruth’s psychological movement from acting out to greater symbolization of inner and outer experience. 

At the end of this educational activity, its participants will be able to: 1) Review and analyze the autopoiesis evident in Masterson’s developmental, self and object relations model. 2) Engaging affectively with Masterson’s object relations units as imaginal ‘drawings of the Soul.’  3) Review and evaluate the split object relations units in both differential diagnoses and approaching therapeutic process dilemmas as seen in the case material. 4) Utilize Masterson’s concepts of ‘internalization’ of intervention, as well as the tracking of defense, affect, and inner resonance as therapeutic orientation. 5) Evaluate and utilize of the externalization/transference of the split units as well as counter-transference responsiveness. 6)Review the impact of trauma on the disorders of the self.

Short Bio for Dr. Loray Daws: Loray Daws, PhD is a registered Clinical Psychologist in South Africa and British Columbia (Canada), and he is currently in private practice in British Columbia (Canada). Dr. Daws has published about and works in the areas of Daseinsanalysis, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, disorders of self, psychosomatic difficulties, mental health ethics, and the Rorschach. Dr. Daws serves as a Senior Faculty member at the International Masterson Institute in New York and both teaches and supervises in South Africa, Australia, and Turkey in the psychoanalytic approach to disorders of the Self. He is currently a second year candidate in training at the Object Relations Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. Dr. Loray Daws is the editor of 4 books, and he also serves as the assistant editor for the Global Journal of Health Sciences in Canada, as the evaluator and international advisory board member for the International Journal of Psychotherapy, and the assistant editor for EPIS (Existential Psychoanalytic Institute and Society).

Dr. ROBERT GROSSMARK: CASE DISCUSSION, UNOBTRUSIVE RELATIONAL APPROACH

Coming from an unobtrusive relational approach, I will listen endeavor to foreground the enacted dimension of the treatment and consider the patient’s unconscious, non-verbal, communication. I will pay particular attention to the emergence of unrepresented and non-symbolized states in the treatment dyad and field and will consider the narrative and expressive dimension of “acting out” and shifting self states of both patient and analyst.

At the end of this educational activity, its participants will be able to: 1) Analyze and utilize unrepresented and non-symbolized states in the treatment dyad. 2) Analyze/evaluate the narrative and expressive dimension of “acting out” and shifting self states of both patient and analyst.

Short Bio of Dr. Robert Grossmark: Robert Grossmark, PhD, ABPP is a psychoanalyst working with individuals, couples and groups in New York City. He is Adjunct Clinical Professor and Consultant at the The New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. He teaches at The National Institute for the Psychotherapies; the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at The City College of New York and the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society. He has published psychoanalytic articles that integrate contemporary Relational ideas with object relations, contemporary Freudian and other perspectives. He is the author of The Unobtrusive Relational Analyst: Explorations in Psychoanalytic Companioning published in the Relational Perspectives Book Series (nominated for the Gradiva Award for the best book in Psychoanalysis in 2019). He is co-editor of Heterosexual Masculinities: Contemporary Perspectives from Psychoanalytic Gender Theory and The One and The Many: Relational Approaches to Group Psychotherapy all published by Routledge.

Dr. RAFAEL A. JAVIER: CASE DISCUSSION, INTRAPSYCHIC APPROACH

Dr. Javier’s discussion, although strongly based on the work of Freud and other insightful psychoanalysts, will focus on exploring the various conditions that make our work with trauma so daunting and so challenging for our patients. Using findings from the physio- and neuropsychology of trauma, as well as the intrapsychic analytic approach, Dr. Javier will discuss what may be going on with Dr. Daws’s patient during the transformative meticulous process that is taking place in analytic hour. This process leads to symbolization and mentation, as well as a decrease in need for acting out.

At the end of this educational activity, its participants will be able to: 1) Analyze and utilize the intrapsychic approach on evaluating patient’s traumatic process. 2) Utilize the physio- and neuropsychological approach to evaluating splitting, acting out, and other borderline and traumatic phenomena.

Short Bio of Dr. Javier: Rafael Art. Javier, Ph.D., ABPP is a Professor of Psychology and the Director Inter-agencies Training and Research Initiatives, Director of the Post-Graduate Professional Development Programs and the Director of the Postdoctoral Certificate Programs in Forensic Psychology at St. John’s University. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology (in professional psychology and in psychoanalysis). He is in private practice that has included forensic involvements for over 30 years. Dr. Javier is a rigorous researcher in the areas of psycholinguistics and bilingualism, psychoanalysis and cultural issues in psychoanalytic theories and practice; as well as issues of moral development, violence and its impact on general cognitive and emotional functioning, and suicide in adolescents and young adults. Dr. Javier presents at the conferences in US, Europe, Latin and Central America, and the Caribbean on all of these issues. He is also a visiting professor at the Universidad de la Cuenca del Plata (Argentina), and was appointed there a Profesor Honorario (2016). Dr. Javier is on the editorial board of the Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, the Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, and the Journal of Infant, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. He is the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Psycholinguistic Research and the past co-editor of the Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless. Dr. Javier is a prolific author. Some of his co-edited books are: Reaching across Boundaries of Culture and Class; Domestic Violence; and Personality Development and Psychotherapy in our Diverse Society: A Source Book (all published by Jason Aronson). His other books include: The Bilingual mind: Thinking, Feeling and Speaking in two Languages (Springer Publications, 2007); Understanding Domestic Violence: Theories, Challenges, Remedies (Rowman and Littlefield, 2018); and Assessing Trauma in Forensic Context (in print with Springer).

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:

09:15 am – 09:45 am – Registration; coffee & breakfast

09:45 am – 10:00 am – Introduction 

10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Morning session: Case presentation and Q&A

12:00 – 01:00 pm – Lunch

01:00 – 04:30 pm – Afternoon session: Discussions 1 & 2 and Q&A

FEES AND REGISTRATION:

____ Early Bird registration (before February 20, 2020) - $135 regular/ $65 grad students & candidates/ $25 undergrad students

____ Pre-registration discount (February 20 – March 15, 2020) - $145 regular/ $70 grad students & candidates/ $25 undergrad students

____ Registration after March 15, 2020 - $155 regular/ $75 grad students & candidates/ $25 undergrad students

____ Registration at the door - $165 regular/ $80 grad students & candidates/ $25 undergrad students

2019 ORI’s Annual Conference

Co-sponsored by St. John’s University’s Psychology Department and the Office of Postgraduate Professional Development Programs                                                                                                                                                             

Topic: The Therapeutic Action of Working with Erotic Transference: Object Relations Views and Contrasting Perspectives

When: Saturday, March 23^rd, 2019 (9:30am - 4:30 pm)

Where: St. John’s University, Manhattan Campus, 101 Astor Place, NYC, 10003

VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION will be offered (for those who are not able to attend in person) - via Gotomeeting platform, with minimal technical requirements. (Videos of the conference will be available, with the follow up questionnaires to fulfill the CE requirements.)

Keynote speaker: Susan Kavaler-Adler, PhD, ABPP, DLitt, NCPsyA

Discussants: Margaret Yard, PhD, APRN and Stephanie Teitelbaum, LCSW-R, NCPsyA

Moderator: Eva Papiasvili, PhD, ABPP

6PDU (for educators, legal professionals, psychoanalytic candidates in training) from ORI

This conference will focus on the therapeutic action of work with Erotic Transference from various object relations perspectives, distinguishing erotic from eroticized transference, and resistance from the transitional use of the analyst as an erotic object on multiple levels of development, as well as on multiple levels of unconscious conflict.

The clinical journey we take is accompanied by historical precedent and historical dilemmas. Going back to Sigmund Freud’s (1915) "Observations on Transference Love," we see the challenge laid before us, as Freud struggled with erotic transference as a resistance vs. a conduit for the deepest unconscious desires and conflicts to emerge. The two disparate courses that the erotic transference can take oppose one another; if erotic transference is a resistance, it fails to be a conduit for unconscious desires. But when the erotic transference is a conduit for unconscious desires, it allows those desires to be understood within the course of psychoanalytic treatment, reducing all forms of resistance.

Today we explore the terrains of pre-Oedipal phenomena and of developmentally arrested character disorders that Freud only had a glimpse of.  So when we focus on an evolution of Erotic Transference in treatment, we look with new eyes. We look at protosymbolic enactments that can be converted into symbolic level engagement.  We look at primal affect states, primal trauma, and at a rich internal world of fantasy that Melanie Klein, Wilfred Bion, and the later Kleinians led us into. We also look at the healing and transformation of primal trauma as spoken of by many British and American object relations theorists, including the current theorists speaking on our conference panel. When we look with new eyes, we also see contrasts between object relations theory and ego psychology, and between object relations theory and relational psychoanalysis perspective. In the papers presented at this conference, clinical work will be examined, to draw these contrasts and to illustrate the actual work with erotic (including homoerotic) transference.  The theory related to the clinical examples will be explicated.       

Susan Kavaler-Adler will be our keynote speaker. In her paper, she presents case examples that illustrate both the role of the analyst as a transitional erotic object, and the role of mourning as a developmental process that can lay the groundwork for a symbolic level erotic transference, which can be successfully navigated towards self-integrative growth and therapeutic action. She offers cases of lesbian homoerotic transference and homoerotic transference in heterosexual women, along with the case of character transformation through erotic transference work in male patients with a female analyst.  She also critiques some work and theorizing of relational school theorists. 

Dr. Kavaler-Adler has been publishing articles and cases in book chapters on working with erotic transference for three decades. Her studies on this topic have appeared in the International Journal of Psychoanalysis, Psychoanalytic Psychology journal, in her 2003 book “Mourning, Spirituality, and Psychic Change: A New Object Relations View of Psychoanalysis” (NAAP 2004 Gradiva® Award), as well as in an edited book (by J. Schaverien, 2006) “Gender, Countertransference, and Erotic Transference.” 

Our two discussants will respond to Susan Kavaler-Adler’s paper, from their own object relations theory vantage points. Stefanie Teitelbaum will comment through the lens of Donald Meltzer's writings on the sexual states of mind and the geography of the internal mother. Margaret Yard will comment on Dr. Kavaler-Adler's paper from the position of child’s development vulnerabilities in child abuse situation as the base for sexualized & erotic transference.

Stefanie Teitelbaum:

Donald Meltzer’s SEXUAL STATES OF MIND and THE CLAUSTRUM contain, among other gems, his own originality and his creative amplifications of Freud, Klein and Bion.  I will explore the erotic linking of the patient and the analyst in Dr. Kavaler-Adler’s keynote address through the vertexes of Meltzer’s geography of the mental apparatus.

Geography of the inner mother and experiences of geographic confusion will be also discussed, as well as the developmental and protective functions of a container/contained conception, with the genital area as the container.

Margaret Yard:

Traditionally, the development of an erotic transference has been viewed as a negative clinical event fueled by the analyst's countertransference reaction. Dr. Yard will explore this subject on two levels: (1) a  neglected aspect as seen in the relationship between childhood seduction and the development of an erotic transference, based upon actual sexual abuse in childhood as a causal factor in the enactment of erotic transference in the clinical interaction within treatment. (2) erotic transference and relational forms of mourning and loss, vulnerability and co participation in affect regulation, in keeping sexual tension within useful analytic limits. 

Learning Goals:

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

1) Analyze various modes of clinical work with erotic transference;

2) Contrast object relations erotic transference work with erotic transference work from a relational perspective;

3) Define the developmental progression and therapeutic action of object relations work with erotic transference, when the analyst allows herself to be used as a transitional erotic object within the course of a developmental mourning process;

4) Contrast cases where the analyst is needed as a transitional erotic object to those where the transference immediately leads to associations back to the primary parental attachment, recorded with its erotic components in the unconscious. 

5) Compare clinical process of heterosexual erotic transference, lesbian homoerotic transference, and homoerotic transference in the heterosexual woman.

II. for Stefanie Teitelbaum's response/ discussion: 1) Analyze erotic transference from the perspective of Meltzer's sexual states of mind. 2) Discuss the protective functions of a container/contained, with the genital area as the container.

III. for Margaret Yard's response/ discussion: 1) Identify and evaluate 3 differences in conceptualizing and treating erotic transference from a relational point of view. 2) Identify and evaluate erotic transference as an enactment in the clinical treatment based in some cases upon specific clinical histories of childhood seduction or sexual trauma.

Short Bios of the Presenters:

Susan Kavaler-Adler, PhD, ABPP, DLitt, NCPsyA is a Clinical Psychologist, Psychoanalyst, Training Analyst, and Supervising Analyst, who has practiced for over 40 years.  She is a Fellow of the American Board and Academy of Psychoanalysis, and is the co-Founder and Executive Director, Board President, and Active Faculty member at the Object Relations Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. Dr. Kavaler-Adler is in full time practice in lower Manhattan, where she practices object relations psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, couples therapy, and group therapy. She conducts four monthly groups, which contribute to educating those in the field of psychoanalysis/ psychotherapy, and to promoting their work: two monthly supervision groups with experiential role plays (in-person and one online);  a writing and writing blocks group; and a monthly mourning, therapy, and support group (with guided meditative visualization to help members mourn losses, speak to those in their internal worlds, and also to work on deep countertransference issues if they are in the field). Dr. Kavaler-Adler is the author of six books and over 70 articles and book chapters in the field of psychoanalysis and object relations theory. She has received 16 awards for her writing and 3 Gradiva® Award nominations from the NAAP. Five of her clinical theory and literary books are: The Compulsion to Create: Women Writers and Their Demon Lovers (Routledge, 1993; ORI Academic Press, 2013); The Creative Mystique: From Red Shoes Frenzy to Love and Creativity (Routledge 1996; ORI Academic Press, 2014); Mourning, Spirituality and Psychic Change: A New Object Relations View of Psychoanalysis (Routledge 2003); The Anatomy of Regret: From Death Instinct to Reparation and Symbolization in Vivid Case Studies (Karnac/ Routledge 2013); The Klein-Winnicott Dialectic: Transformative New Metapsychology and Interactive Clinical Theory (Karnac/Routledge, 2014). Read more about Dr. Susan Kavaler-Adler at https://kavaleradler.com/

Stefanie Teitelbaum, MSW, B. Music – is the Supervising and Training Analyst, Faculty of NPAP, ORI, and IEA; also former IEA Education Director; former staff psychotherapist at the Lower East Side Service Center, Drug-Free Out-Patient Program. Currently, in private psychoanalytic practice in New York City. Papers published in the American Journal of Psycho-Analysis, Other/Wise (an on-line peer reviewed journal of IFPE) and The Psychoanalytic Review. Stefanie Teitelbaum is the former Opera Singer and Member of the Grace Chorale of Brooklyn. Read more about Stefanie Teitelbaum at http://www.orinyc.org/Stefanie%20Teitelbaum.html

Margaret Yard, PhD, APRN, BC – is the Asst. Professor, Lehman College, CUNY, Faculty, Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, Alumni Program in International Trauma Studies, Columbia University, Alumni Adult Psychoanalytic Program and Analytic Group Therapy Programs, Post Graduate Center for Mental Health, Past President Post-Graduate Psychoanalytic Society, Co-Chair Educational and Training Programs, Faculty for Psychoanalytic Training, Object Relations Institute and Washington Square Institute. She is a faculty and training supervisor for Chinese American Psychoanalytic Association (CAPA) and teaches psychoanalysis in Beijing and Singapore. She is a Chair of the Province Review Board for Dominican Fathers and Brothers of the Affirming and Protecting Children and Young People Program as well as consultant for contemplative monastic communities for nuns in the Dominican Order of the Catholic Church. Read more about Dr. Margaret Yard at http://www.orinyc.org/Dr_Margaret_Yard.html

In Memoriam: Dr. Lewis ("Lew") Aron

During the last month's preparation to this conference, we've learned about untimely death of Dr. Lew Aron, a distinguished psychoanalyst and teacher, and an open-minded and giving colleague, collaborator, and friend. In 2010, Dr. Aron was a guest speaker at our annual conference, Psychoanalysis and Spirituality, when he presented his memorable paper, "Going out to meet You, I found You going toward me: Transformation in Jewish mysticism and contemporary psychoanalysis." During the conference, we will gather as a community to remember Lew and will see his image coming alive during viewing some segments of his 2010's speech.

SILENT AUCTION: THE CHARLES STREET COLLECTION (paintings by Sandra Indig) - will benefit the scholarship fund of the Object Relations Institute, to fulfill its mission of furthering psychoanalytic education for ALL. For more information, follow the link to PAY IT FORWARD AUCTIONS™ HERE.

Conference schedule:

09:15 am – 09:45 am – Registration; coffee & breakfast

09:45 am – 10:00 – Introduction 

10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Morning session: Keynote speech and Q&A

12:00 – 01:00 pm – Lunch

01:00 – 04:30 pm – Afternoon session: Discussions 1& 2 and Q&A

Fees and Registration:

____ Early Bird registration (before March 1st, 2019) - $130 regular/ $65 students

____ Pre-registration discount (March 1st – March 20th, 2019) - $140 regular/ $70 students

____ Registration after March 20th, 2019 - $150 regular/ $75 students

____ Registration at the door - $160 regular/ $80 students

Special scholarships for undergraduate/graduate students, retired SW practitioners, as well as for group registration, are available. Inquire by email to Admin@ORINYC.org or at 646-522-1056.

To register: fill out the registration from (follow the link to REGISTRATION) and send it to ORI Administrator; 75-15 187 Street; Fresh Meadows, NY, 11366-1725

OR supply all the information about the registrant - full name, educational credentials, contact info, need for CEUs (and which profession) - via e-mail: admin@orinyc.org  or Fax @ (718) 785-3270; or call 646-522-1056 (Dr. Inna Rozentsvit, ORI administrator).

Please send your payment (mail only checks and money orders, paid to ORI) to: ORI Administrator; 75-15 187 Street; Fresh Meadows, NY, 11366-1725. Cash is only accepted at the door. Credit cards / PayPal payments are accepted - see below.

You can pay via PayPal (www.paypal.com); our ID/ handle is: adminorinyc@gmail.com). To use the credit card, you also can just follow the link: Paypal.me/ORINYC.

For credit card payments other than PayPal system, please call the administrator with full credit card information.

Cancellation Policy

Refund in full is offered for cancellations made before March 20th, 2018. No refunds for cancellations made on or after March 20th, 2018 (but credit can be applied for any of the workshops offered at ORI in 2018 or further on).

Continuing Education: Certificates for post-graduate training in psychoanalysis and/or psychoanalytic psychotherapy (6.0 hrs) will be available, as per request. Please request them at the time of registration. Please note that you will be able to claim only actually attended hours, in person or virtually.

NASW-NYS is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Social Workers.

NASW-NYS is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Mental Health Counselors.

NASW-NYS is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists.

NASW-NYS is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Psychoanalysts.

This activity is pending approval by the NASW-NYS for 6.5 contact Continuing Ed hours for the following professions:

RE: CEUs for mental health professionals licensed in other states:

1. Please check with your licensing boards if the CEUs approved by NASW-NYS are accepted by them to fulfill the requirements for licensure renewal (if any).

2. Re: Contact hours for professional development (e.g., for educators and various psychotherapists and community & corporate organizations' leaders) -

FYI: Object Relations Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis is chartered by NYS Department of Education to provide post-graduate training in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. Credits for post-graduate educational activities issued by the Object Relations Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis are accepted by most of professional and licensing institutions through USA and overseas. However, some specific continuing/ post-graduate education requirements can be determined by various licensing boards, and if you are planning to use the credits for your license renewal, please check with your licensing board.