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THE PSYCHOANALYTIC CENTER OF CALIFORNIA |
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Course Descriptions Core Curriculum Infant Observation I-III Three consecutive seminars on infant observation. Each Candidate observes a baby from birth in the family setting for one hour per week over one academic year. Notes for presentation at the weekly seminar are written in detail immediately after the period of observation. In the seminar, a group of Candidates meet with an instructor to discuss their observations, each taking a turn in presenting material. The purpose of the seminar is to develop the capacity to observe and record without intervention or interpretation. The seminar offers the opportunity to watch the emotional and mental impact of the baby/mother/family interactions. It enables the Candidate/observer to become increasingly aware of his / her own mental and emotional experience in this setting. It develops the ability to wait and to be in contact with nonverbal emotional states. The seminar allows the observer the opportunity to follow the development of several infants within diverse family settings over time. Freud I, II, III A systematic study of the writings of Sigmund Freud, 1895-1940, this course includes Freud's theory of dreams, the libido theory, the notion of the wish and the dream work; Freud's self analysis, his theory of the various psychoneuroses, delusions, psychosis, transference, narcissism; his concepts of the internalization of the superego and sublimation, origins of culture, the death instinct, signal anxiety, female development, the tripartite structural model of the mind; his development of an ego psychology, and the concept of splitting of the ego. Psychoanalytic Technique I This course will address the psychoanalytic literature on technique in a reading/discussion format with clinical vignettes from the instructor and the class. Technical issues, especially those related to the setting, initial analytical evaluation process, establishment and maintenance of the frame, and the analytical attitude will be discussed. Transference/countertransference, dreams, projective identification, the nature of interpretation, and analytic listening, will be addressed as well, all with reference to assigned readings. These readings will include Freud, Klein, Heimann, Winnicott, Strachy, Kohut, Bion, Meltzer and others Melanie Klein I, II A systematic study of the works of Melanie Klein 1921-1963. Included are: unconscious phantasy and the development of change in psychic structures; the paranoid schizoid and depressive positions; the manic defenses, envy, and superego formation. Infant/Child/Adolescent Psychoanalysis This introductory course will address a brief history of child analysis, offer exposure to classical works with emphasis on an object relations viewpoint, and focus on some contemporary thinking in the field. Infancy, pre-school, latency and adolescent development will be considered and questions of technique pertaining to each age group will be addressed. Additionally, issues of evaluation, including assessment of fundamental needs, conditions for analysis and setting of the frame will be discussed. Finally, attention will be given to aspects of case management, including parent work. The Independent School This course concentrates on the work of the analysts of the British Independent School, including theorists such as Fairbairn, Balint, Winnicott and Kahn. Their views of early mental/emotional development, the notion of frustration and trauma in connection with normal and pathological processes, and the notion of two-person psychology and its implications for technique will all be discussed. American Psychoanalysis This course consists of four parts lasting three weeks each. Introduction to the fundamentals of four American schools of psychoanalysis - Ego, Relational, Self and Intersubjective Psychology - will constitute the content of this course. The contributions of Rappaport, Kohut, Stolorow, Mitchell and others will be discussed and considered. Contemporary Kleinians and Wilfred Bion I The contributions of the direct followers of Melanie Klein and later Kleinians to the understanding and the analysis of psychosis, borderline conditions, and pathological organizations will be introduced. The first six weeks will include the work of Riviere, Segal, Money Kyrle, Rosenfeld, Joseph, O'Shaughnessy, Britton and others. The second six weeks will begin the study of Wilfred Bion (see description below). Wilfred Bion I, II A systematic study of the works and contributions of Wilfred Bion, 1943-1980. Offers an in-depth investigation of Bion's duality theory relative to the life and death forces operative within the personality in the service of growth or anti growth; his views on technique, with particular reference to factors which make possible the analyst's achievement and maintenance of his/her essential intuitive capacity; and his contribution to the theory of resistance. Clinical Case Seminar(s) I-VI Candidates present clinical material from process notes illustrating their clinical work. The instructor will function as a consultant with the aim to provide help to the presenter and stimulate constructive discussion within the group. Each Candidate is required to attend six Clinical Case Conference seminars beginning in the Third Year, and to make at least two case presentations of six sessions each within these seminars. If possible, cases of preschool, latency, and adolescent children should be included. Primitive Mental Disorders, incl. Borderline and Psychosis This seminar focuses on the dynamics and structures in the personality, which produce and are produced by psychotic states. The psychoanalytic theories of schizophrenia and manic-depressive disorders, as well as borderline and narcissistic personality disorders, are detailed from an integrated historical and conceptual perspective, and treatment modalities discussed. Included in the study are the contributions of: S. Freud, Mahler, Kohut, Arlow and Brenner, M. Klein, Segal, Rosenfeld, Bion, D. Meltzer, Tustin, Grotstein, Kernberg and Gunderson. Primitive Mental Disorders, incl. Perversions and Somatoform Disorders This seminar focuses on the psychodynamics in the development of the personality that result in perversion and character disorders. Building on Freud's psychosexual theory as laid out in Three Essays, his further clinical and theoretical work with perversions is studied. Subsequent developments regarding infantile and adult perverse sexuality and addictions are studied, through the contributions of Meltzer, de M'Uzan, McDougall, Greenacre, Steiner, Stoller and others. These theories are related to today's psychoanalytic models and concepts of pre-mentational and proto-mentational states as manifested in psychosomatic illness and alexithymia. Trauma and Narcissism This seminar studies the effects upon personality development of early psychic trauma stemming from disturbances in the intrauterine environment and in the mother-infant dyad. Its effects in later childhood will also be taken up. A corollary to this investigation will be the study of severe narcissistic disorders and autistic-like states. These early traumas are often at the core of severe derailment in development. Contemporary research on infant development will be presented through the writings of Anzieu, Tustin, Bick, Meltzer, and Rosenfeld, among others. Psychoanalytic Technique II This advanced course continues to explore the issues presented in Psychoanalytic Technique I on a more intricate, sophisticated and subtle level. Everyone will have read fundamental papers on technique by Freud, Klein, Bion, Heimann, Strachy, Racker, Winnicott, Meltzer. And will be familiar with technical issues including setting, establishment and maintenance of the frame, the nature of analytic listening, the basic concepts of transference, countertransference and projective identification in the clinical setting, and the interventions: interpretation and containment. In this course the processes inherent in the transference and countertransference will be deepened by readings from clinicians and theorists of differing orientations, both classical and modern, including Meltzer, Rosenfeld, Bion, the new British Kleinians and the South American analysts, as well as Greenacre, Searles, Ferenzi, Bird, Kernberg, Ogden, Langs and others. Clinical material will be presented by the instructor and by the class. Post Seminar Electives (As Arranged) Current Literature (Elective) An examination of current psychoanalytic research and theory through recent books and journal articles. Infant/Child/Adolescent Analysis (Elective) Post-Seminar Candidates in the Adult Certificate Program who are interested in having further exposure to Infant/Child/Adolescent analysis may apply to the Infant/Child/Adolescent Committee to join a class in the Infant/Child/Adolescent program. Clinical Case Seminar VII- (Elective) Continuation of Clinical Case Presentations, as described in the -Core Curriculum but with advanced candidates. Advanced Technique/Psychoanalytic Technique III (Elective) This course features presentations by instructors of their own verbatim clinical material with current patients. This material is used to illustrate the broad range of the psychoanalytic process from the opening phase of treatment to termination. Wilfred Bion III (Elective) Primary emphasis will be given to the means of observation which contribute to the development of new configurations when they are not obstructed by pre-existing theory. Candidates will have had theory seminars centering on configurations which the work of W.R. Bion has made available. The grid is such a form, which was intended as an exercise by Bion to think about the nature of the transformations in thought and affect which he observed. He was quite clear that this instrument was rudimentary and inadequate. There needed to be grids developed by each person in the position of conducting psychoanalysis. This is a course on the discipline of observation and the questions which arise in the context of refinements of observation. French Psychoanalysis (Elective) This elective is a course in contemporary French psychoanalytic theory to be focused by the individual instructors. One such course might be in the work of Jacques Lacan (1901-1983); another might be Klein/Lacan/Kristeva. Critical Studies (Elective) Critical Studies electives will be developed by specific instructors in relation to their particular fields of expertise and research. They would be interdisciplinary and might include courses such as Psychoanalysis and Cinema: Languages of the Unconscious, or Psychoanalysis and Literature: James Joyce's Ulysses. Doctorate in Psychoanalysis Courses (Additional 24 units) Research Methodology I-III (2 units each) Three consecutive seminars on research methodology are offered for candidates pursuing the Ph.D. degree. Each course meets over a 10-month academic year, and uses a directed study format. Candidates will be introduced to empirical and theoretical methods of research, including the development of problem statements, formulation of hypotheses, identification of appropriate research designs, as well as data collection, analysis and interpretation. Candidates will be assisted to think about the research elements of the origins of psychoanalysis and its ongoing controversies. They will learn how to explore historic and current theoretical developments; in particular, those related to primitive states of mind. Special attention will be paid to understanding how unconscious states of mind can be studied in the interpersonal interactions that occur in the analyst's consulting room. Candidates will write a paper at the end of each seminar demonstrating their growing capacity to undertake their own original research. Dissertation Proposal Writing (3 Units) Ph.D. candidates who have passed their qualifying examination will enroll in this private directed study course, where they will work on and complete a proposal for doing the original research that will form their dissertation. Dissertation Writing I-III (5 units) After successfully presenting their dissertation proposal, candidates will take these three directed study courses. They will be assisted to complete their research and write the dissertation. Dissertation Writing IV-VI (Elective) (2 units each) Continuation of required Dissertation Writing courses for those candidates who have not yet finished their writing. Infant/Child/Adolescent Psychoanalysis Courses (Additional 20 units) Infant Observation IV-VI Three consecutive seminars on infant observation. Each candidate observes a baby from birth in the family setting for one hour per week over one academic year. Notes for presentation at the weekly seminar are written in detail immediately after the period of observation. In the seminar, a group of Candidates meet with an Instructor to discuss their observations, each taking a turn in presenting material. The purpose of the seminar is to develop the capacity to observe and record without intervention or interpretation. The seminar offers the opportunity to watch the emotional and mental impact of the baby/mother/family interactions. The experience enables the Candidate/observer to become increasingly aware of his or her own mental and emotional experience in this setting. It develops the ability to wait and to be in contact with nonverbal emotional states. The seminar allows the observer the opportunity to follow the development of several infants within diverse family settings over time. Infant/Child/Adolescent Technique This course will focus on evaluation, case selection, treatment planning and the beginning of treatment. Evaluation and case selection will include differential diagnosis, assessment of fundamental needs and suitability for analysis. These steps (components) will provide the basis for the establishment of the frame. Additionally, play technique and collateral work with parents in the treatment will be addressed. Techniques for working with preschool, latency and adolescent age groups will be explored in detail, with emphasis on working with the process of transference and countertransference. Developmental Sequence & Psychopathology from Pre-Birth Through Adolescence I, II, III These courses will outline one particular psychoanalytic model of mental and emotional development: normal, abnormal, and pathological. This model, which has its origins within the British object relations tradition, has a foundation in Freud, and derives primarily, but not exclusively, from the work of M. Klein, Winnicott, Bick, Bion, Meltzer, Tustin, Mancia, Piontelli and others. The course will also include recent developments in neurobiology. Details of the positions of these theorists, with attention to differences in their views, will provide a comparative picture of development and psychopathology derived from their work. Advanced Child/Adolescent Technique This advanced course further explores the components of the Infant/ Child/Adolescent Technique course above: ongoing collateral work with parents; case management, including interruption, termination, and acting out; dreams, psychotic transference and autistic phenomena. Technique for working with various aspects of primitive states of mind will be explored in detail. Infant/Child/Adolescent Clinical Case Seminar I, II Two case seminars focusing on the treatment of children and adolescents are required. Candidates will present clinical material from process notes of their work with children of different ages. The instructor, an I/C/A Supervising Analyst, will function as the facilitator of the group discussion and address issues of technique pertaining to different age groups. Each candidate is required to present his/her clinical work in turn for several consecutive class sessions (to be determined by the number of candidates included in the class). |