"Working Psychoanalytically and Intra-Somatically
with Posttraumatic Dissociative States"
David Levit, PhD, ABPP, SEP
David Levit's presentation focuses on treatment with patients suffering from early developmental trauma and severe dissociation. He draws upon his training in psychoanalysis and in somatic trauma treatment models that have developed over the past fifty years outside of psychoanalysis. He will discuss and illustrate ways of working with patients’ bodily experiences in a more direct and sustained manner than we are typically accustomed to in psychoanalytic treatment. In this way of working, the body is not only a port of entry but also a central site of therapeutic action. In presenting extensive clinical material, he invokes Ogden’s notion of looking from multiple theoretical vertices. Levit discusses each vignette from the vantage points of holding (as defined by Winnicott) and containing (as defined by Bion). He is not suggesting that we replace or even supplement our psychoanalytic forms of provision. Rather, he illustrates how interweaving approaches from somatic trauma therapies into our clinical work can enhance our capacities to offer that which we offer psychoanalytically, namely, being with and bearing what patients cannot bear, and providing much needed holding and containment. All of this within a context of our continuing efforts to help patients develop their capacity for being present with their traumatic past, rather than being continually haunted by the past in the ongoing present.
Learning Objectives
After attending this scientific meeting, participants will be able:
1. To deepen participants’ understanding of how early developmental trauma and severe dissociation manifest in the clinical encounter, and how these phenomena challenge traditional psychoanalytic technique.
2. To explore how psychoanalytic concepts of holding (Winnicott) and containing (Bion) can be expanded and enriched through the integration of somatically informed trauma interventions, without abandoning core psychoanalytic aims.
3. To cultivate a capacity for working from multiple theoretical vertices (Ogden), enabling clinicians to remain psychoanalytically grounded while incorporating direct attention to bodily experience as a central aspect of therapeutic action.
About the Presenter
David Levit, PhD, ABPP, SEP is a board-certified Diplomate in Psychoanalysis and Clinical Psychology, and a certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner. He is a Fellow of both the American Board and Academy of Psychoanalysis and the American Academy of Clinical Psychology. Dr. Levit is Faculty and Supervising Psychoanalyst at the Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis (MIP), where he also serves as Co-founder, Chair, and Faculty of the MIP Postgraduate Fellowship Program–West. He is an Instructor in Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and formerly held academic appointments at Tufts Medical School and Smith College School for Social Work. His work focuses on interweaving Somatic Experiencing® into psychoanalytic treatment, especially in the context of trauma and dissociation. He presents widely on this topic and has published the following articles:
· Levit, D. (2018). Somatic Experiencing: In the realms of trauma and dissociation – What we can do, when what we do is really not good enough. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 28(5), 586–601.
· Levit, D. (2022). Somatic Experiencing: Enhancing psychoanalytic holding for trauma and catastrophic dissociation – Contending with the flood and the fog. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 32(3), 235–252.
He maintains a private practice in Amherst, Massachusetts offering psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, and professional consultation.
About the Moderator
Caron Harrang, LICSW, FIPA, BCPsa is board-certified psychoanalyst with a private practice in Seattle, Washington offering psychoanalysis, supervision, and clinical consultation. She is an IPA training and supervising psychoanalyst on the faculty of Northwestern Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and teaches throughout North America. Recent publications include “Introduction. Truth and Lies: Psychoanalytic Perspectives” (American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 2023a); “On Grotstein’s ‘truth’ in Bion's theory of ‘O’” (American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 2023b); Nancy C. Winters, Caron Harrang & Stefanie Sedlacek “Transformations in O Online: Group Process in the Virtual Realm” (The Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 2024); and “Earthquakes in the Analytic Field: A Post-Bionian View of Negative Therapeutic Reaction (JAPA, 2025). For additional information: www.caronharrang.com.
