“Facing Death” (in a Psychoanalytic Practice) with Norman Straker at the January APsaA Meetings

Discussion Group 95 ” Facing Death” (in a Psychoanalytic Practice) Thursday, Jan16, 2014,  at 4;30.

The practical issues of how analysts will manage their practices when they become ill is a challenge we will all face but rarely discuss openly. The two presenters will give a brief description of their own personal confrontation with cancer, their coping strategies, and how they managed their psychoanalytic practices. One of the analysts with prostate cancer who was never ill, arranged his own treatments with the goal of having his patients experience a routine break from therapy only. In contrast to this approach, the other presenter who was chronically ill had to confront the serious challenges in a psychoanalytic practice that result when the analyst is seriously ill.The brief presentations will for provide an opportunity for discussions about a topic that most analysts will face at some point in their practice life. Thirty four analysts have pre registered and others who think this is a relevant topic are invited to attend.

 Chairperson, Norman Straker MD , author and editor of ” Facing Cancer and The Fear of Death, A  Psychoanalytic Perspective on Treatment”