ICP&P Study Groups

Fall 2008 - Spring 2010

Study groups are an integral part of ICP&P.  They are a unique benefit of membership, providing members with an exciting and stimulating way to deepen clinical knowledge, and to expand relationships with colleagues.   Study groups afford new ICP&P members the opportunity to become integrated into the organization. Study groups also provide an indispensable vehicle for communication between the ICP&P Board and the membership; when the Board seeks input from the membership about new directions or decisions to be made, study groups are often the primary forum for discussion.

We offer study groups in two-year cycles, at the end of which a member may elect to continue in the same study group for another cycle, or to join a different group. There are always new groups to choose from at the start of a two-year cycle. When new members join the organization mid-cycle, they may join an ongoing study group that has openings, by contacting the Coordinator of Study Groups for guidance in this process. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE STUDY GROUP REQUEST FORM
 

This is the complete listing of study group offerings for the next two year cycle (September 2008-May 2010). Please note that there is one new study group, facilitated by David Wyner, which did not appear in the May newsletter. I want to heartily thank all the study group facilitators for their leadership role.

Study groups are a very important aspect of ICP&P. At an organizational level, study group participation keeps the organization vital, and keeps members involved with one another. It affords new members an opportunity to meet veteran members in a relaxed setting, and to become integrated into the organization. Study groups are also a major vehicle for communication between the ICP&P Board and the membership; when the Board seeks input from the membership about new directions or decisions to be made, study groups are often the forum for discussion. At a more individual level, study groups provide members with an exciting and stimulating way to deepen clinical knowledge and to deepen relationships with colleagues.

Please use the form below to indicate a first, second, and third choice. You will be assigned to a study group on a first-come, first-served basis. It is important to re-sign up even if you wish to remain in your current study group since your space in that group will not be automatically guaranteed. In other words, everyone in the ICP&P community is given an equal opportunity to join any study group. It is up to each member, and not the study group facilitator, to send in the form. This form is should be returned to me, and not to the study group facilitator or to Morgan; however, if you have questions you wish to discuss about a particular group; you should feel free to contact the study group facilitator.

I will be accepting study group requests beginning on June 22th.  Once everyone has the opportunity to join one study group, members can be admitted to a second study group.  I will notify members at the end of the summer about whether there is space in a second study group.

You may either email the form to me at kathy.beck@rcn.com or send it to:  1555 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 401, NW, Washington, DC  20036.  Please, no phone calls to register!   I will email you confirming your study group selection as I get your form.


CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE STUDY GROUP REQUEST FORM

STUDY GROUPS:  Fall 2008-Spring 2010

Career and Work from a Contemporary Psychodynamic Perspective
Brad Brenner, PhD
1st Friday; 2:30-4:00 pm at Brad Brenner’s office (Dupont Circle)

The topic of career choice and healthy vocational development has not received extensive investigation in the psychodynamic literature despite its obvious relevance to our clients' lives and presenting concerns. Steven D. Axelrod's Work and the Evolving Self: Theoretical and Clinical Considerations will orient the study group to the intersection of psychodynamic thought and career. Group members will largely choose future readings from topics such as healthy career development (or lack thereof) from the perspective of self psychology, attachment, and classical psychodynamic theories.  Specific topics covered may include fear of failure, fear of success, self-efficacy, role conflict, and/or work as affect regulation (e.g., workaholism). Discussion of past or current clinical material will be encouraged.Psychoanalysis and Self-Psychology


Curtis Bristol, MD
3rd Monday; 8:00-9:30 pm at Joe Lichtenberg’s home office

We read and discuss literature that is relevant to the theory and practice of self psychology. Individuals present the paper to be read, we agree or find another, and the person who suggests the paper presents a brief summary and we have a general discussion.  If you wish to join this group, please contact Curtis Bristol at 202-466-8690 before registering, since the reading material has been cumulative.


Exploratory Psychodrama Study Group
Monica L. Callahan, PhD
Saturday (specific Saturday TBD); 10:00am-noon at Monica’s office

We are evolving a process for the experiential exploration of our clinical work, using psychodrama-base enactment techniques in a self-psychological and relational context.  Relevant readings are shared as well.   We welcome members who can commit themselves to the group process that makes this work possible, i.e., regular attendance, as much as possible, is very important to us. 


Study of Sessions from the HBO Television Series “In Treatment”
Janet Dante, MSW
2nd Monday; 7:30-9:00 pm at Janet’s home office

For the first half hour of each meeting, we will watch one of the 30 minute therapy sessions from the HBO television series "In Treatment".  For the final hour we will discuss that session through the lenses of intersubjectivity and self psychology.   We will think of the discussions as supervision sessions, and will try to understand what is happening from the perspective of the patient and the therapist.  We will follow one case, one session per meeting, from start to completion, before starting the next case.


Anne Morgan Gray, MSW
2nd Tuesday; 8:00-9:30 pm at Anne’s home office

Our group will continue last year's format of watching an agreed-upon film on our own and discussing it in group, paying particular attention to how issues of childhood attachment might be playing out in the lives of the adult characters. We also make effort to attend to the mindful attachment we each have to one another and to the health of the group.  Last year's films included The Blue Box, After the Wedding, June Bug, Running With Scissors, and Lars and the Real Girl.


Self Psychology – Deepening our Knowledge, Deepening our Skills
Marie Hellinger, MSW
2nd Friday; 2:30-4:00 pm in Dupont Circle

This study group is for those who wish to build on their knowledge of self psychology and apply it to their clinical work.  We will explore such topics as:  intersubjectivity, unconscious mentation, the interpretative sequence, explicit and implicit communication in the clinical exchange, an updated view of selfobject transferences, a self psychological approach to working with trauma, and the use of motivational systems theory to deepen our empathic capacities. The group’s readings will include new papers and books and hopefully will give group members a sense of being on the cutting edge of ideas in self psychology. Clinical material will be emphasized in group discussions.


Child, Adolescent and Family Therapy
Deborah Marks, MSW and Denise Unterman, MSW
1st Tuesday; 9:30-11:00 am at Deborah’s home office

Study group welcomes clinicians who are interested in exploring different treatment approaches in work with children, adolescents and their families.  We envision people coming together to discuss and share in the delights and struggles in working with this population.Process Group Experience


Margo Silberstein, EdD and Alexandra Kaghan, MSW
2nd and 4th Fridays; 1:00-2:30 pm at Margo’s office

This is a study group for members interested in deepening their awareness of group process. Emphasis will be on here and now interactions among members and observing group dynamics. Reading may be utilized depending on the needs/desires of the group. This is an ongoing group which has space for a male member.


An Integration of Mind-Body Principals, Relational Psychotherapy, and Neuroscience
Stephen R. Stein, PhD and Karen Schachter, MSW 
3rd Tuesday; 11:00 am-12:30 pm

The purpose of this group is to provide an integration of mind-body approaches (mindfulness, meditation, hypnosis, and guided imagery), neuroscience, and relational psychotherapy (self psychology and object relations theory) within the treatment process.A didactic and experiential format will be employed. Application to therapy, combining both a theoretical and experiential approach, will be included. To accomplish this objective, some of the areas that this group will focus on are:
  1. How advances in affective and social neuroscience support and validate self-psychology and object relations theory.
  2. How mind-body approaches deepen the therapeutic encounter at a limbic level and promote neural integration.
  3. How the analysis and utilization of transference and countertransference enhance the intersubjective reality of the therapeutic process.
  4. How to use this integrated model to promote healing and enhance both the therapist’s and client’s sense of wellbeing and life experience.
  5. How the convergence of relational therapy, mind-body approaches, and neuroscience may guide the therapist in diagnosis and treatment, ranging from short-term interventions to awakening to the full potential of life.
The overall goals of the study group will be:
  1. To provide an integrated model that serves to deepen, enhance, and expand the therapeutic encounter.
  2. To increase therapist awareness and focus within the clinical process.


An Integration of Mind-Body Principals, Relational Psychotherapy and Neuroscience (Advanced) An interview with the study group leader is required.
Stephen R. Stein, PhD
Thursdays, biweekly; 10:15-11:45am

This group is a continuation of the previous two-year group which focused upon the integration of mind-body principals, self psychology, and neuroscience within the treatment process. This advanced group will provide a conceptualization and application of a convergence model to clinical practice.

Members will be encouraged to employ an integrated approach which includes:
  1. An awareness of the relationship of neuroscience and relational psychotherapies to an internal reality and the use of this awareness as an internal map and diagnostic tool.
  2. The continuous development of skills in the use of mindfulness, meditations, hypnosis, and guided imagery to assist in the clinical encounter.

The overall goal of this study group is to assist, enrich, and expand treatment within an integrated model that seeks to benefit the patient by a combined synthesis of theory, scientific findings, and the effective clinical application of mind-body techniques.


Memoirs & Novels with a Psychological Underpinning
Marilyn Voigt, MSW and Gail Winston, MSW
3rd Friday; 2:00-3:30 pm at Gail’s office

Continuing with what we have discovered is a more enjoyable way to learn, we will be reading novels and memoirs. We will continue to read something by the featured speaker prior to his/her presentation at an ICP&P conference.  Past books we have read this cycle were Truth and Beauty; Look Me In The Eye; The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time; My Sister's Keeper; We Need To Talk About Kevin; The Center Cannot Hold; The Other Side of You and The Schopenhauer Cure.


Katherine Williams, PhD
3rd Tuesday; 7:30-9:00 pm at Katherine’s home

This group has studied creativity and self psychology through reading theoretical and clinical articles, viewing films and plays, and meeting with graphic artists and writers to discuss their process.  We expect to continue this focus in the next two year cycle and would welcome new members who have an interest in this area.


Nancy Wolfson, MSW
2nd Friday; 1:00-2:30 pm at Nancy’s home

Group members determine topics and reading materials.  As we move into this next two-year cycle, we are currently discussing ideas and will continue to formulate them at the first meeting in September.  We welcome new members to participate in this process of expanding our interests.  Our approach to learning is to integrate the reading with case material as well as with our own life experiences. In this past cycle we have studied loss - primarily with a focus on death and dying and on losses suffered by immigrants.  Samples of the memoirs, novels, and poetry are: Rowing Without Oars by Vela-Carin Lindquist; A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis; Losing Julia by Jonathan Hull; Without: Poems by Donald Hall; Ambiguous Loss by Pauline Boss; Lost in Translation by Eva Hoffman.


Integrating Theory and Practice of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
David Wyner, MSW
Monthly meetings TBA (Thursday pm, Friday, or Saturday am)

Constructivism, hermeneutics, one-person vs. two-person, self, relational, classical perspectives: These are among the arguments critically evaluated in Merton Gill’s, Psychoanalysis in Transition.  As we read this classic work (1994), we will always be working clinical material bringing to life central ideas in psychoanalysis from Freud through Lichtenberg.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE STUDY GROUP REQUEST FORM