Through the Looking Glass and What Bion Found There: An Incursion into Psychotic Territory with Robert Oelsner at NYFS

UNDERSTANDING PRIMITIVE MENTAL STATES CONFERENCE:
YEAR TWO
A Continuing Education Program of The New York Freudian Society

Friday, March 18, 2011, 7:30 – 9:15 pm
The Culture Center, 410 Columbus Avenue at West 80th Street, NYC

Through the Looking Glass and What Bion Found There: An Incursion into Psychotic Territory
Robert Oelsner, MD, presenter

This presentation will be a fresh attempt to explore the other side of the Looking-Glass, the territory of Unreality that Lewis Carroll led us into. Our roadmap, or shall I say the golden thread, will be Bion’s contributions to the exploration of psychotic illnesses. In Bion’s work one can find two distinct conceptions of psychoses. First, he posits that psychoses are not the manifestation of a primitive civilization (our infantile selves) but a primitive catastrophe (our infantile illness). In his final period Bion brought his “scientific fiction” that psychoses are the manifestation of prenatal life that has never been born into the realm of thinking. In either of the two instances we can see that psychotic patients live in an idiosyncratic world.

Nasir Ilahi, discussant
Clinical material of severely disturbed patients will illustrate our investigations.

Saturday, March 19, 2011, 9:30 – 11:45 am
The Culture Center, 410 Columbus Avenue at West 80th Street, NYC

Clinical Case Seminar

Ann Rudovsky will serve as Clinical Presenter. Robert Oelsner and Karen Proner will contribute comments and lead clinical discussion.

BIOS:
Susan N. Finkelstein, LCSW, Training and Supervising Analyst, Psychoanalytic Training Institute of NYFS. Interest in theoretical perspectives and program development at NYFS, including seminars on analytic listening, the difficult case, and supervision. Designed and developed Understanding Primitive Mental States.

Nasir Ilahi, Clinical Assistant Professor in Psychiatry at New York University Medical School. Faculty, New York University Psychoanalytic Institute. Honorary Member, New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. Graduate and member, British Psychoanalytic Society. Faculty, Western New England Psychoanalytic Institute. Papers and lectures on clinical psychoanalysis, with a focus on primitive mental states and cross-cultural issues.

Robert Oelsner, MD, Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst, Buenos Aires Psychoanalytical Association. Certified IPA Child and Adolescent Analyst, trained by Donald Meltzer. Relocation to Seattle in 2003. Training Analyst and Faculty, Northwestern Psychoanalytic Society. Guest Faculty, Child Analytic Training Specialization, San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis. Seminars, meeting annually since 1999 (U.K.). Co-author with Elizabeth Bianchedi et al., Bion Known/Unknown. Over one hundred articles on technique, psychosis, autism, and psychosomatics.

Karen Proner, LP, Faculty and Training and Supervising Analyst, Child and Adolescent Psychoanalysis Program of the Psychoanalytic Training Institute of NYFS. Faculty, PTI of NYFS/IPTAR Anni Bergman Parent-Infant Program. Faculty, IPTAR’s Child Psychotherapy Program. Member, Columbia Parent Infant Program. Visiting Faculty, Florence, Italy (Tavistock) Child Analytic Training Program. Interested in Infant Observation (Tavistock method) as the foundation for psychoanalytic training.

Ann Rudovsky, LCSW, Faculty and Training and Supervising Analyst at the Psychoanalytic Training Institute of NYFS. Special interest in Kleinian theory and its application to clinical work.

Who Should Attend:
Mental Health Professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, licensed professional counselors, eg, LP’s, LCAT’s, pastoral counselors).

This conference is open to all members and candidates of any psychoanalytic institute.

Objectives:
1) Participants will be able to discuss Bion’s thinking about psychotic illness.
2) Participants will apply Bion’s theory of psychosis to clinical cases.

CE Credits:
CE credits are granted to participants with documented attendance and completed evaluation forms. Attendance is monitored. Credit will not be granted to registrants who arrive late, or depart early. Credit will be granted to participants who submit a completed evaluation form at the end of the session. It is the responsibility of participants to comply with these requirements.

Upon completion of this program, which includes Friday evening and Saturday morning, participants will be given 4 CE credits.

The New York Freudian Society is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education programs for psychologists. The New York Freudian Society maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Registration Fees:
In Advance: $80 for members, $60 for candidates. Checks should be made payable to NYFS.

Refunds:
There are no refunds.

Important disclosure information:
None of the planners and presenters of this CE program have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.

If you have any questions, please contact Susan Finkelstein at 212-254-8501 or susanfcsw@aol.com

Susan N. Finkelstein, LCSW
Program Director and Moderator
New York Freudian Society Committee on Understanding Primitive Mental States:

Debra Gill, Nancy Cromer Grayson, Laura Rubinstein, Ann Rudovsky, and Donna Roth Smith

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Please make check payable to NYFS and mail to:
Connie V. Stroboulis, Administrative Director of NYFS
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