Appalachian Psychoanalytic Society
(a local chapter of Division 39 of the American Psychological Association)
presents an
Online Saturday Morning Seminar
with
James E. Gorney, PhD
on
Unrepresented States:
Theory and Clinical Consequences
February 20, 2021
Online Via Zoom
Please click here for instructions on using Zoom.
Program Description
This intermediate presentation will define and theoretically ground immersion in unrepresented experience, a noteworthy characteristic of individuals in breakdown or other extreme states. Within the psychotherapeutic situation, a critical challenge of working with those shackled within unformed and unformulated experience is to discover a path toward the creation of meaning. When the capacity to think is impeded, or even completely absent, traditional interpretive approaches of psychodynamic therapy will not likely prove sufficient in themselves to transform the patient’s core predicament. Seminar participants will learn about strategies to help liberate those subjugated within states of traumatized incoherence, including actively and imaginatively drawing upon their own spontaneous, empathic, intuitive reverie and counter-transferential responses. Dr. Gorney will describe how these responses can be employed to facilitate a process of co-creation within the therapeutic dyad of inscriptions or registrations of meaningful representation and thought. Two case examples will be presented to illustrate the tragic impact of entrapment within unrepresented experience. Finally, clinical and theoretical implications will be examined in regard to the unique capabilities of both therapeutic love and artistic, aesthetic experience for opening transitional space and creating conditions for the possibility of thought and the evolution of consequential personal narrative.
Presenter
James E. Gorney, PhD, received his Doctorate from the University of Chicago and completed his psychoanalytic training at the William Alanson White Institute. He served on the staff of the Austen Riggs Center and has taught at New York Hospital-Cornell, Duquesne, and the University of Tennessee. Dr. Gorney is the author of numerous papers on aspects of psychotherapeutic and psychoanalytic technique. He is a past president of the Appalachian Psychoanalytic Society and is currently in independent practice.
Schedule
10:00am Welcome and Introduction
10:00am Introduction to Contemporary Theoretical Explorations of Unrepresented States
Clinical presentation: So What Does Love Have to Do With It?
11:15am Break
11:30am Clinical presentation: Freedom From Unrepresented States: The Music of Liberation
Interactive Discussion
12:45pm Complete Evaluations and Adjourn.
Learning Objectives
After attending this intermediate seminar in full, participants will be able to:
1. Describe the critical task in psychotherapy with patients in unrepresented states of the co-creation of symbolic meaning and a capacity for thought.
2. Identify the critical role of therapeutic love in facilitating the evolution of traumatic states into coherent personal narrative.
3. Explain the importance of artistic/aesthetic experience in expediting transitional space within psychotherapy with patients inhabiting unrepresented states.
Participants
This program is open to all APS members. It is not limited to individuals practicing in a predominately psychoanalytic mode. The material will be appropriate for clinicians with intermediate levels of experience and knowledge.
Registration
Professional and Scholar Members:
Free. Please register online by February 18, 2021.
Early-Career Professional Members:
Free. Please register online by February 18, 2021.
Graduate Student Members:
Free. Please register online by February 18, 2021.
Non-members:
Please join APS in order to participate in 2020-2021 programming.
APS Membership
Eligible professionals can join APS or renew their membership for the 2020-2021 program year for $40. Scholars and Early-Career Professionals can also join/renew for $40. Graduate students may join or renew for $10.
American Psychological Association Approval Statement
Division 39 is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Division 39 maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Continuing Education
This program, when attended in its entirety, is available for 2.5 continuing education credits. With full attendance and completion of an online program Evaluation and Learning Assessment, a certificate will be issued by email. Psychologists will have their participation registered through Division 39.
To be eligible for CE credit, please:
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Make sure your Zoom name (first and last) is identifiable. Use the Chat Box to inform program hosts if more than one person is watching via a single Zoom account.
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Be present for the entire program.
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A link to the program evaluation will be shared with participants via the Chat Box at the end of the presentation while the speaker is answering final questions. Participants will enter their names and email addresses on the evaluation so that APS can distribute certificates via email.
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Please complete the evaluation by 2pm on the day of the program.
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CE certificates will be emailed within a week after the program.
APS and Division 39 are committed to conducting all activities in conformity with the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles for Psychologists. APS and Division 39 are also committed to accessibility and non-discrimination in continuing education activities. Participants are asked to be aware of the need for privacy and confidentiality throughout the program. If program content becomes stressful, participants are encouraged to process these feelings during discussion periods.
Selected References/Recommended Reading
1) Levine, H.B., Reed, G.B., & Scarfone, D. (Eds) (2013). Unrepresented States and the Construction of Meaning. London: Karnac Books.
2) Lombardi, R. (2016). Formless Infinity: Clinical Explorations of Bion and Matte Blanco. New York: Routledge.
3) Lombardi, R. (2017). Body-Mind Dissociation in Psychoanalysis: Developments after Bion. New York: Routledge.
4) Lombardi, R., Rinaldi, L., & Thanopulos, S. (2019). Psychoanalysis of the Psychoses: Current developments in Theory and Practice. New York: Routledge.
5) Civitarese, G., (2020). Review of Creative repetition and Intersubjectivity: Explorations of Trauma, Memory and Clinical Process. In Psychoanalytic Psychology, 37, 266-272.
Contact
If participants have special needs, we will attempt to accommodate them. Please address requests, questions, concerns and any complaints to APS President Bill MacGillivray, PhD.
There is no commercial support for this program nor are there any relationships between Division 39, APS, presenter, program content, research, grants or other funding sources that could reasonably be construed as conflicts of interest. During the program, the validity/utility of the content and risks/limitations of the approaches discussed will be addressed, as applicable.