Freud I

First Year Adult Psychoanalytic Training (APT)
2024-25, Fall Term — Fridays, 1:45-3:15pm
James Basinski, MD
John De Mott, DO

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Introduction

Towards the end of his life, Freud famously compared psychoanalysis to archaeology:

“The analyst, like the archaeologist in his excavations, must uncover layer after layer of the patient’s psyche, before coming to the deepest, most valuable treasure.”

Well, grab a shovel, because you have a century plus of psychoanalytic theory and technique to learn and uncover yourself.  In the next four years and beyond, you will be exploring a rich world of ideas, stories, and approaches to understanding the mind and society.  This is the first of several “theory” classes in the curriculum.  We aim to orient your journey into the pluralistic field of psychoanalysis by beginning at the beginning, with Freud himself; his historical context, biography, and some of his most important and revolutionary ideas.  .  A cautionary note for completists: long gone are the days of psychoanalytic training programs simply reading Freud’s entire works for the majority of this didactics.  In contrast, this course largely offers a sampling of Freud’s writings for you to become familiar with his voice and approach.  Rest assured, we also provide some overview ;soup’ to provide context for these various ‘nuggets.’ We also include subsequent and more contemporary from a number of perspectives on specific ‘Freudian’ topics  Our hope is that upon completing this course, you will be well prepared for further explorations into Freud and his enduring influence in the last century of psychoanalysis  For those interested in learning more background context of Freud’s life and times, we will also include optional references to Peter Gay’s biography of him.

Texts:

The Freud Reader edited by Peter Gay, W.W. Norton, Inc., 1989.

Learning Objectives

Upon completing this course, you will:

1. Understand the context in which psychoanalysis arose, including the historical/cultural milieu and the personhood of its founder, Sigmund Freud
2. Describe S. Freud’s major contributions to psychoanalysis, including the development of the topographic and structural models, focus on narcissism and self/other mental representations, the primacy of free association, dream analysis,  transference interpretation, and the role of libido aggression among the drives
3. Appreciate reading the entirety of some of Freud’s writings and recognize their enduring influence as common reference points for  subsequent psychoanalysts to illustrate their own theories and clinical work, which may build on or challenge the ‘Freudian perspective.’
4. Be able to describe and characterize how Freud applied psychoanalytic concepts to culture and civilization
5. Be aware of neuropsychoanalysis as a continuation of Freud’s enduring revisions of psychoanalysis as a ‘project for a scientific psychology.’

September 6, 2024

[39 pages]

Seminar objectives:

1. Outline the origins and intentions of psychoanalysis
2. Appreciate the impact of Freud’s life and time on the development of psychoanalysis

Gay, P. (ed) (1989) “An Autobiographical Study”, in The Freud Reader, pp3-41

Optional Reading

Colombo, D. (2012) Ch1 “Freud and His Circle.” in Textbook of Psychoanalysis, 2nd Ed (Gabbard, Litowitz, and Williams, Eds.) American Psychiatric Publishing, pp3-17

The optional reading is from the first chapter of the Textbook of Psychoanalysis, written by former SPSI faculty member, Daria Colombo.  She outlines Freud’s biography, the cultural/historical context in which psychoanalysis arose, and the major pillars of Freud’s theoretical work.

O’Donnell, P. (2024) “Freud, his passion for travel, and its impact on psychoanalytic discoveries.” IPA Podcast. Talks on Psychoanalysis. June 25, 2024. Season 1, Episode 90

An optional podcast is from Dr. Patricia O’Donnell who briefly discusses how Freud’s travel letters relate to early life sensualities and curiosity giving rise to the ‘desire to know’ and experience of passion.

Transcript link: Patricia Odonnell Freud Travel Paper.doc