April 2018 Scientific Meeting

 
This Scientific Meeting is the second in a series NPSI is offering this spring for those interested in our Twelfth International Evolving British Object Relations Conference on "The Body as Psychoanalytic Object: Clinical Applications from Winnicott to Bion and Beyond" (October 12-14, 2018). Rather than a typical scientific presentation, this meeting will function as a study group oriented to the conference theme. Thus, everyone should come prepared to engage in a discussion of the readings. 

In this meeting Caron Harrang, LICSW, FIPA will facilitate a discussion of two pivotal papers by Donald Winnicott: "Mind and its relation to Psyche-Soma" (1954) and "Dependence in Infant-Care, in Child-Care and in the Psycho-Analytic Setting" (1963).

Interestingly, these papers were first presented to vastly different audiences. Psyche-Soma was presented to the British Psychological Society on December 14, 1949 and the Dependence paper to the Los Angeles Psychoanalytical Society on October 4, 1962 and again a few weeks later to the Boston Psychoanalytic Society on October 24.

Discussion will include exploration of the following questions in relation to the abovementioned papers. What is the historical context of the development of Winnicott's concept of psyche-soma? How did his understanding of the mind's relationship to the body and thirteen years of practice as a psychoanalyst contribute to his view of healthy dependency as it develops within the baby's relationship to primary caregivers? What happens when the development of healthy dependency is thwarted and how does this manifest in adulthood? How are these manifestations evident in analytic therapy and analysis? What is Winnicott's understanding of the role of psychosomatic symptoms? How did Winnicott speak to patients about their bodily experience as evident in the transference? 

 

Required reading will be emailed to all who preregister for this event.

Learning objectives:

1.    Participants will acquire a basic understanding of Winnicott's concept of psyche-soma. 

2.    Participants will gain an understanding of the role of the environment in facilitating healthy dependency in childhood as well as what happens with this development is thwarted.

3. Participants will be introduced to Winnicott's concepts of "memorization" and "cataloging" of early life experiences and how this relates to formation of the "false self."

4. Participants will be provided with an example of how Winnicott worked clinically to address psychosomatic symptoms linked to a technical error on the part of the analyst. 

About the presenter

Caron Harrang, LICSW, FIPA is a board-certified psychoanalyst and training and supervising psychoanalyst of the Northwestern Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. She is a certified parent-infant psychotherapist and has authored several papers related to the psychoanalytic meaning of bodily experience including, "Psychic skin and narcissistic rage: Reflections on Almodóvar's The Skin I Live In (2012). Caron is the current President of NPSI and Chair of the Organizing Committee for EBOR 2018.

Caron received her analytic training at NPSI and has pursued postgraduate study with Albert Mason, Joseph Aguayo and others associated with Kleinian, Winnicottian, Bionian and post-Bionian Italian field theory.

Caron maintains a private practice in Seattle offering psychotherapy and psychoanalysis to parents and infants, adolescents and adults as well as clinical supervision to licensed mental health professionals.

To register as an NPSI candidate, or if you have questions, email the NPSI administrator at admin@npsi.us.com.