Scientific Program featuring Andrea Celenza, PhD

Saturday, March 14, 2026
10:00 am to 12:00 pm

ET

via zoom, North Carolina United States

The Ethical Uses of Erotic Countertransferences

Presented by Andrea Celenza, PhD

 
Registration Fee: $60*

*Free admission and CE credits for PCC members, LDC staff, and full-time graduate students/residents and resident physicians with ID (in the Departments of Social Work, Psychology, Psychiatry, and Mental Health Counseling).

It is remarkable to note the pervasive desexualization of psychoanalysis, the once sex-infused theory of human development. Hence, the cliché, “In psychoanalysis, everything is about sex … except for sex, that’s about aggression.” Our theories have become desexualized to an extent that fails to prepare clinicians with the necessary armamentarium to cope with the level of desire and erotic material likely to emerge. Through the exploration of erotics in clinical process, Dr. Celenza will address the particular manifestations of erotic longing in psychoanalysis.Her work aims to address the deficiency in our literature and theories of technique and to encourage more open discussion about erotic transferences in all of their manifestations. In particular, Dr. Celenza will discuss the varieties and meanings of the analyst’s countertransference over the course of a psychoanalytic process. She will also discuss the analysis of a range of erotic transferences from the analyst’s point of view, and how these countertransference experiences aid the analyst in understanding unconscious factors in the patient’s experience.

About the Speaker

Andrea Celenza, PhD is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and Assistant Clinical Professor at Harvard Medical School. She is also Adjunct Faculty at The Florida Psychoanalytic Center. She has written numerous papers and four books on love, sexuality, and psychoanalysis. She has two online courses and her work has been recognized with The Karl Menninger Award, The Helena Deutsch Prize, and The Simonds Prize. Her writings have been translated into Italian, Spanish, Korean, Russian, Chinese, and Farsi. Her third book, Transference, Love, and Being: Essential Essays from the Field, was published in 2022 by Routledge and was nominated for the Gradiva Award. Her most recent book, Erotic Transferences: A Contemporary Introduction is published by Routledge (2024). Dr. Celenza is in private practice in Lexington, Massachusetts.

After this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. To examine the ways in which the analyst’s countertransference can foster, facilitate, or inhibit the emergence of the full intensity of erotic transferences at different phases of the treatment.

2. Demonstrate greater comfort in the identification and exploration of their own countertransference, especially as it emerges in erotic forms.

3. Examine and explain the pressures on the analyst given her professional role, personal needs, and the nature of the analytic setting.

 

This program is intended for physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, licensed professional counselors, nurses, and other clinicians or interested academics at all levels who want to increase their understanding of the ethical uses of erotic countertransferences.

Confidentiality Statement: All case material will be carefully disguised. We ask that participants agree to hold all material presented with the utmost care, following ethical and professional guidelines.

Accommodation Statement: To request an accommodation for this program, please email  Kayla Schilke, PCC Training and Education Program Manager, at least two weeks before the start date.

Celenza, A. (2022). Maternal erotic transferences and the work of the abject. Journal of the
American Psychoanalytic Association, 70, 9-38.

Balsam, R. H. (2019). On the natal body and its confusing place in mental life. Journal of the
American Psychoanalytic Association, 67(1), 15-36.

Zeavin, L. (2019). The elusive good object. Psychoanalytic Quarterly 88(1), 75-93.

For further reading:

1) Bolognini, S. (1994). Transference: Erotised, erotic, loving, affectionate. International
Journal of Psychoanalysis, 75, 73-86.

2) Bolognini, S. (2011). The analyst’s awkward gift: Balancing recognition of sexuality with
parental protectiveness. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, LXXX, 33-54.

3) Fonagy, P. (2008). A genuinely developmental theory of sexual enjoyment and its
implications for psychoanalytic technique. Journal American Psychoanalytic
Association, 56, 11-36.

4) Stein, R. (1998). The poignant, the excessive and the enigmatic in sexuality.
International Journal Psychoanalysis, 79, 253-268.

5) Celenza, A. (2022). Transference, Love, Being: Essential Essays from the Field.
London: Routledge.

CME credits: 2 / CE credits: 2 / NBCC: 2 clock hours / All others: Letter of Attendance

The Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6518. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas is solely responsible for all aspects of the program.

The Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Social workers will receive a letter of attendance documenting their hours of continuing education. This certificate may not be acceptable verification in all states.

ACCME Accreditation Statement
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of American Psychoanalytic Association and the Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas. The American Psychoanalytic Association is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

AMA Credit Designation Statement
The American Psychoanalytic Association designates this live activity for a maximum of 2 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Disclosure Statement
The APsA CE Committee has reviewed the materials for accredited continuing education and has determined that this activity is not related to the product line of ineligible companies and therefore, the activity meets the exception outlined in Standard 3: ACCME's identification, mitigation and disclosure of relevant financial relationship. This activity does not have any known commercial support. 

Contact: Kayla@CarolinaPsychoanalytic.org

For more information on our cancellation policy, please click here.

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!