Freud: Classical to Modern (Cohort 1)

2-Year Certificate Program (2YCP), Cohort 1 (The Emotional Textures)
2024-25, 1st Term — Mondays, 8:00-9:15pm
James Basinski, MD

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Introduction

Over 100 years after the origin of psychoanalysis, Nobel-prize winning scientist Eric Kandel reflected that it “still represents the most coherent and intellectually satisfying view of the mind.”  In the next two years, 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.  We will study Freud’s theories, read some contemporary takes on specific ‘Freudian’ topics, and briefly outline the directions that psychoanalytic theory went after Freud. In the second half of the class, we will spend some time on Ego Psychology, a dominant branch in post-WWII America through the 1980’s.  Later courses in the curriculum will further explore other contemporary branches of psychoanalysis.

We hope to support your unique development as a clinician as you integrate your personal experience, training, and clinical work with the new ideas from your readings, instructors, and colleagues.

We are inspired by the words of our colleagues Julie Wood, MA, LMHC and Melissa Stoker, MS, LMHC who wrote in a recent introductory theory class:

We encourage you to consider why you like or dislike a theory, where you feel an affinity or a prejudice, how you practice now, and how you envision your future practice. We encourage you to wonder about why theory is valuable or not, how it is clinically useful and how it can be limiting. And we hope that you will feel the aliveness and vitality of where you sit at SPSI; that you are now a new branch in the family tree of psychoanalytic thinking.

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. Appreciate S. Freud’s major contributions to psychoanalysis, including how his theories evolved over his lifetime ‘and beyond’ to contemporary theorists and clinicians, including yourself.
3. Understand the prominence of American Ego Psychology in the intellectual and political landscape of American psychoanalysis in the 20th century.
4. Understand some of the major concepts elaborated by ego psychologists such as ego function, compromise formation, and defense.

September 9, 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