303 – Contemporary Psychoanalytic Theories

Description: In this course, we will be discussing psychoanalytic ideas that have developed, for the most part, since 1980 (an exception is some work by Melanie Klein and Wilfred Bion, who pre-figured some of the more recent theory development).  This time period witnessed a paradigm shift in psychoanalysis that frequently goes under the rubric “Relational Theory.”  But what does “relational” mean?  It does have some implications for our theory of technique, but its significance goes far beyond that.  It opens up psychoanalytic thought to research and to interactions with our sister professions; it opens up our practices to a broader spectrum of patients; and it opens up our minds to a larger area of “containment” within which to listen to patients.  The more we expand and deepen our understanding of what we are actually doing when we help our patients, the more we are free, as Bion indicates, to “learn from experience” and to become accustomed to “trusting the process.”  

Target Audience: This course is appropriate for intermediate through advanced students.

Prerequisite: This class is open to matriculated students in the Adult, Adult/Child, or Child-Focused psychoanalytic tracks. Students will need to have completed nearly all the classes in the core curriculum (including the Life Cycle courses). Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy students and graduates who have completed the core curriculum and have at least one intensive case may also take this course.
Other students may be eligible to attend only with the permission of the instructor(s).