February 2020 Scientific Meeting

 
In this presentation Maxine Anderson proposes that neuroscience considerations are significant for our understanding of intuition. She outlines how the right brain and autonomic nervous system may usefully be thought of as major contributors to our intuitive capacities.

One consideration is the wisdom of the ancient right brain and its ‘view of the world’ as spacious, wide-ranging, unconscious, integrative, and embracing of uncertainty and paradox. Right brain functions foster unconscious-to-unconscious communication often described as projective identification. This part of the brain also registers implicit memory as noted in transference phenomena. Finally, right brain registration of inner space fosters patience, compassion, and the wider view. Its integrative role may be akin to what Bion terms ‘common sense’.

Another consideration is the autonomic nervous system, which neuro-psychoanalyst Mark Solms suggests monitors and regulates affects, fostering harmony of the bodily self. This quiet, yet vital, system is easily overlooked in terms of the role it plays in shaping subjectivity. As this inner monitoring system down-regulates emerging affects, its sensitivity to disruptions in well-being illustrates how we initially need to ‘feel our way’ through the unknown regions of internal and external reality.

References:
Anderson, M (2016) The Wisdom of Lived Experience, Chapter 2: “Neuroscience emphases on Lived Experience” (reading will be emailed to registrants).

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will gain a deeper understanding about the ‘wisdom’ of the right brain or right cortical hemisphere.

2. Participants will gain a deeper understanding about the nature and function of the autonomic nervous system and its regulating function which mediates eruptive affects.

3. Participants will gain a deeper appreciation for how these and other neural systems contribute to human intuitive capacities.

About the Presenter:

Maxine Anderson, MD, FIPA is a founding member and Training and Supervising Analyst at NPSI, as well as a Training and Supervising Analyst at SPSI and the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society. She has written and taught on many topics over the years. She currently has two books: (2016) The Wisdom of Lived Experience, Karnac, and (2019) From Tribal Division to Welcoming Inclusion: psychoanalytic perspectives.


Location - NPSI at 2701 First Avenue, Suite 120; Seattle, WA 98121 (next door to Chase Bank).

Please enter through the side (north) door adjacent to the small street level parking lot.

7:00 - 7:30 pm - Socializing
7:30 - 9:00 pm - Presentation and Discussion

Continuing Education Credits - 1.5 Hours

NPSI Candidates are welcome to attend meetings at no charge. However, preregistration is encouraged, as space is limited, by sending an email to admin@npsi.us.com.