INFANT OBSERVATION SEMINAR
The Anni Bergman Parent-Infant Training Program
Offered by PTI of CFS and IPTAR
2016-2017 Academic Year Tuesdays, September 20, 2016 – May 23, 2017
7:00-8:30pm (48 Contact Hours)
This infant observation seminar is offered for the 2016-2017 academic year as an Elective course to candidates in IPTAR’s Adult Program and as a required course in IPTAR’s Adult and Child Integrated Track, and as an elective to candidates in the Integrated Child and Adult Psychoanalytic Training Program of the PTI of CFS. It is also open to candidates and members of other institutes and programs and to those with experience in the field of parent-infant work who are considering psychoanalytic training. This one-year seminar is separate from the three-year parent infant training program.
The close observation of a parent and baby in their home provides a powerful learning experience and has formed the basis for further psychoanalytic training and work in many psychoanalytic institutes around the world. Infant observation offers a unique opportunity for understanding primitive mental states, the origins of the development of the mind and relationship, the nuances and complexities of preverbal communication, and the intensity and intimacy of transference and countertransference phenomena. There are parallels between the observer’s and the parent’s roles in processes of containment, affect regulation, and timing, and these elements also can be further thought of as they apply to the analytic situation. The model of infant observation follows the model originated by Esther Bick at the Tavistock Clinic and also is informed by the observation method developed by Margaret Mahler at the Masters Children’s’ Center.
For this class, each candidate will observe a parent –baby dyad for one hour each week in the family’s home, write detailed process notes on the observations, and present the notes for discussion on a rotating basis in the weekly seminar. Although the observation and seminar require a substantial time commitment, observing the evolution of development during the first year of life in the context of the family, and finding ways to think about this with colleagues is a compelling and gratifying learning experience.
This seminar will be led by Rita Reiswig, MS.
Rita Reiswig, MS is a child and adult psychoanalyst and a mother-infant psychotherapist. She is a founder and co-director of the Anni Bergman Parent Infant Program (ABPIP), which is jointly sponsored by the Contemporary Freudian Society (CFS) and the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research (IPTAR). She is a training psychoanalyst and faculty member of the child analytic training program at CFS and is a committee member of the integrated child track at IPTAR. She has participated in a primary prevention project since 2001 and published papers that pertain to that work in a book: The Mothers, Infants and Young Children of September 11, 2001. She has consulted in an outreach capacity with Little Sisters of the Assumption and Dominican Sisters day care programs, working with staff and facilitating mother-infant groups. Currently, she is engaged in home visits to mothers and infants as a mental health consultant with the Nurse Family Partnership. She has taught infant observation since 1997 both at the ABPIP and, via web conferencing, to mental health professionals in China attending the Chinese American Psychoanalytic Alliance. She maintains a private practice in New York City and East Hampton, New York.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this program participants will be able to:
- Describe primitive mental states, by observing the origins of the development of the mind in the mother infant dyad.
- Identify evidence of containment and affect regulation through observation of the parent-infant dyad.
- Discuss the infant observation models originated by Esther Bick of the Tavistock Clinic and the observation method developed by Margaret Mahler at the Masters Children’s Clinic
Continuing Education Contact Hours:
Social Workers: The Psychoanalytic Training Institute of the Contemporary Freudian Society SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #0087. CE credits are granted to participants with documented attendance of the entire program and completed online evaluation form. No partial credits will be offered. It is the responsibility of the participants seeking CE credits to comply with these requirements. Upon completion of this program and online evaluation form, participants will be granted 48 CE credits.
Psychologists: The Contemporary Freudian Society is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Contemporary Freudian Society maintains responsibility for this program and its content. CE credits are granted to participants with documented attendance of the entire program and completed evaluation form. It is the responsibility of the participants seeking CE credits to comply with these requirements. Upon completion of this program and evaluation form, participants will be granted 48 CE credits.
Professional Counselors: The Boards of Professional Counselors in the District of Columbia and Virginia will accept continuing education credits for Counselors attending a program offered by an APA-authorized sponsor, provided they comply with the requirements stated above for psychologists. The Board of Professional Counselors in Maryland will accept CE credits granted by a program that is recognized by the Maryland Board of Examiners for Psychologists and Social Workers.
Who Should Attend:
The instructional level for this activity is advanced. Mental Health Professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, licensed professional counselors, e.g. LPs, LCATs, and pastoral counselors) and those with an interest in psychodynamic and psychoanalytic thinking and clinical applications.
Program Fee: $1050
No Refunds
Location: Office of Rita Reiswig, 30 West 86th, Apt 2A.
If you are interested or have any questions, please contact Rita Reiswig at 212.875.9442 or at rreiswig@me.com as soon as possible.
Rita Reiswig, MS and Sally Moskowitz, PhD
Co-Directors, The Anni Bergman Parent-Infant Training Program