NIP PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION
2011-2012 FOCUS SERIES
Sunday, October 30th, 11:00 AM -1:30 PM
Strangers to Ourselves: Exploring the Limits and Potentials of the Analyst’s Self Awareness in Self and Mutual Analysis
Presenter: Kenneth A. Frank, PhD
Discussant: Steven Kuchuck, LCSW
The analyst’s self-analysis-originally fashioned on Freud’s solo foray into his own unconscious mind-continues to play an important psychoanalytic role. A summary of relevant literature is presented that includes recent relational psychoanalytic and neuroscientific data. Three major findings emerge: first, analysts’ achievement of self-awareness in the analytic setting is clearly limited, more limited than we might like to admit, especially when we act alone; second, analysts reaching clinical self-awareness is a mutual, interactive process that, in addition to psychological processes, can be understood on the basis of operations uncovered by neuroscience, especially the mirror neuron system; third, accordingly, a form of “mutual” analysis is seen as an indispensable element of the analytic process. Analysts’ achievement of self-awareness is discussed with a particular focus on our intrinsic relationality, and on mentalization, self-reflexivity, and therapeutic action. Illustrative case material is discussed.
Kenneth A. Frank, PhD: is one of the Founders and is on the Board of Directors of NIP. He is also former Clinical Professor in Psychiatry at Columbia University. He has published more than 40 articles and books. His talk is based on his forthcoming paper in Psychoanalytic Dialogues.
Steven Kuchuck, LCSW: Faculty, NIP and ICP, co-editor of the journal Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Development Chair, NIP. Faculty, supervisor, Dean of Training, IEA. Author of articles and book chapters on relational psychoanalysis and editor of an upcoming book on the analyst’s subjectivity.
All Focus Series Seminars are held at:
National Institute for the Psychotherapies
250 West 57th Street, Suite 501
There is no charge for admission, but please RSVP to: http://www.nipinst.org/nip/training/nippa/focus/