From Dorothy Wine: Below is a list of the study groups offered for the next two year cycle, 2010-2012. Members may sign up for a study group beginning on June 20th. More detailed instructions will be in the June newsletter. Please be advised, you must re-register for the 2010-2012 cycle even if you want to remain in your current study group. I am looking forward to the start of these new study groups and to the continuation of some of the very fruitful groups that are now running.

Child, Adolescent and Family Therapy
Deborah Marks, MSW and Martha Blechar Gibbons, PhD

1st Tuesday of every month - 9:30-11:00am
North Bethesda, Maryland

This 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.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis Study Group
Adina Shapiro, LCSW

4th Friday of every month – 3:00-4:30pm
ICP&P Office, 4601 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, DC

This study group is for those interested in learning more about interpersonal therapy and technique. We will read Ferenczi, Sullivan, Fiscalini, Mann, Wolstein and others, depending on interest. Emphasis will be placed on locating interpersonal theory within the context of other relational theories, including self psychology.

The Impact of the Social Environment on the Psyche
Brigitte Ladisch, PhD

3rd Friday of every month - 1:30-3:00pm
Chevy Chase, Maryland

This study group will explore and study the impact of the social environment on the psyche, initially reading the book, Psychoanalysis, Class and Politics (2006 ). Lynne Layton, one of the authors in the book, writes: "I feel strongly that clinical theory and practice has to figure out how to re-establish the links between the psychic and the social that dominant ideologies work tirelessly to unlink". Subsequent readings could include writings by Suzan Gutwill, Nancy Hollander, Neil Altman, Jessica Benjamin, Gary Walls and would be decided by the group as we progress into the subject.

The Therapist as Writer
Anne Gray, MSW, LCSW and Georgia DeGangi, PhD

3rd Tuesday of every month - 11:20am-12:50pm
Bethesda, Maryland

* CEU credit 13.5 units offered for full participation over 9 months
This study group is for psychotherapists who have been writing and want the push of a group to stretch harder, grow taller, write more deeply, and bring a story to life. As psychotherapists we listen to others' stories, awed by the power unleashed in the telling. Our own stories too often are held silent, waiting hopefully... will we remember that image or those feelings? Or will our writing become another item on a "to do" list that is rarely completed?

There are times in our lives when we no longer want those stories to slip away. And so we begin this group for psychotherapists who are determined to create room for the richness of their own stories, professional and personal, to rise to the surface, to be noted, to be offered a form of transmission. The group is primarily evocative and supportive in nature, with a focus on stimulating participants to create and complete an article, story, essay, or memoir. Through the sharing of our writing with one another, we hope to clarify our thinking and writing styles. The group will be small and each person will submit three pages for all members to read for comments in the following group.

See the learning objectives and more information

Theory, Research, and Practice of Clinical Supervision
Cherian Verghese, PhD and Richard Ogden, PhD

2nd Friday of every month - 1:00-2:30pm
910 17th St., NW, Washington, DC

This group will focus on the theory, research, and practice of clinical supervision. Readings will be drawn from the current literature as well as the historical writings on psychodynamic supervision. Particular attention will be directed to parallels with and divergences from psychotherapy. Also, we will explore cultural and contextual assumptions, implications, and ramifications associated with theories of supervision. Using the readings as a starting point, discussion within the group will be opportunities for presenting "cases" that would include work with supervisees and patients in which principles of supervision would be illustrated as they are observed and experienced within the group.

Experiential and Theoretical Investigations into the Creative Process
Katherine Williams, PhD

3rd Tuesday of every month - 7:30–9:00pm
3715 Alton Place, NW, Washington, DC (a short walk from Tenleytown Metro)

* CEU's credit will be offered for full participation
This study 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.

See the learning objectives

Clinical Application of Mind-Body Principles, Neuroscience and Contemporary Dynamic Approaches
Stephen R. Stein, PhD and Gretchen Fair MSW

1st and 3rd Wednesdays of every month - 11:00am-12:30pm
Woodley Park, Washington, DC

* CEU's credit will be offered
This study group will focus on the practical integration of relational psychotherapy, neuroscience, and mind-body principles in the clinical encounter. A didactic and experiential format will be employed to assist members in learning, understanding and practicing various mind-body strategies. Attention will be directed to reviewing current research and practicing skills in the use of mindfulness, meditation, hypnosis, and guided imagery. We will also use these techniques to explore our connections to each other within the group and to deepen our understanding of ourselves in the clinical process. Participants will be encouraged to bring in case material. The overall goal of the group is to enrich and expand treatment through an integrated model which combines theory, scientific findings, and the effective clinical application of mind-body techniques.
Prospective study group members are asked to call Dr. Stephen Stein at 202-745-2556 to discuss their interest in the group before enrolling.

See the learning objectives

Memoirs, Novels and Relational and Attachment Theory
Marilyn Voigt, MSW and Gail Winston, MSW

3rd Friday of every month – 2:00-3:30pm
4601 Connecticut Ave., Suite 3, Washington, DC

This study group will be expanding our reading from memoirs and psychological novels to include contemporary writers on relational and attachment theory. Books we have read this past cycle included Lolita, The Good Marriage, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Weekends at Belleview, Lit, A Hidden Life, The Secret Scripture, The Seal Woman, Olive Kittredge, Enid Ghost, and Homer and Langley. We have discovered that not all memoirs are well written!

Couples Therapy Study Group
Sharon Ballard, MSW and Peggy Miller, MSW

2nd Friday of every month beginning in October – 1:10-2:40pm

3000 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 214, Washington, DC

* CEU's credit will be offered for full participation

Sharon Ballard and Peggy Miller are graduates of ICP&P's Couples Training Program. The challenges of working with difficult couples will be explored by this study group through readings and clinical discussions. Topics will include working with oppositional couples, infidelity, countertransference dilemmas, loss and blended families. Additional topics will be determined by the interests of group participants. Group members should be actively working with couples.

See the learning objectives

Play Reading Study Group
Bob Schulte, MSW and John Dluhy, MD

2nd Friday of every month - 2:00-3:30pm
1204 Prince Street, Alexandria, Virginia and 3709 Ingomar Street, NW, Washington, DC

A play reading study group gives its members an enlivening way to experience subjectivity through role assumption and scene study. The acting experience, absent the pressures of performing for an audience, provides the therapist/actor a safe opportunity to experientially empathize with the client's subjective experience of working in the here-and-now, especially group therapy members. The format gives freedom to switch roles, stop the action at will, and re-read the play multiple times for deeper understanding. Discussion of the play and the acting experience will follow each play reading and may extend for multiple sessions. Members may recommend scripts for reading.

Intersubjectivity Study Group
Janet Dante, MSW

3rd Friday of every month - 10:00-11:30am
5207 Hampden Lane, Bethesda, Maryland

This is a new study group that will be starting this year. The focus of the group will be on deepening our capacity to work intersubjectively with our patients. The first book we will read is Psychoanalytic Treatment: An Intersubjective Approach by Stolorow, Brandchaft and Atwood. Additional readings will be determined by the interest of group participants

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Psychoanalysis and Self Psychology
Curtis Bristol, MD and Joseph Lichtenberg, M

3rd Monday of every month - 8:00-9:30pm
6256 Clearwood Road, Bethesda, Maryland

We will 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 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.

Endings and Beginnings
Nancy Wolfson, MSW

2nd Friday of every month - 2:30-4:00pm
3916 Leland Street, Chevy Chase, Maryland

Our initial focus will be on termination/endings in therapy from the perspective of Self Psychology and Relational Psychology. Discussion will incorporate readings to be selected by group members with a strong emphasis on clinical case material. Over the course of the two years we will expand our focus on transitions through the life cycle in which endings/losses, of our choosing or not, can create opportunities for new beginnings.

The Study of Self Psychology Heidi Block, LICSW

Last Thursday of every month - 7:30-9:00pm
6631 Eastern Ave., Takoma Park, Maryland

We will read contemporary self psychological writings and use these as foundations to discuss case material and other clinical issues with each other.

Exploratory Psychodrama Study Group
Monica Leonie Callahan, PhD

One Saturday every month (TBA) - 10:00am-12:00pm
Bethesda, Maryland

*CE credit is available
We are an experiential peer supervision group, aiming to understand our clinical and professional work in depth with the help of psychodrama-based enactment techniques. Members share an interest in the nonverbal, intersubjective, and creative dimensions of psychotherapy, along with a grounding in self psychological and relational theories. Relevant readings are included, although that is not our primary focus. We welcome people who can commit themselves to the group process that supports this kind of work, and regular attendance, to the extent possible, is very important to us. For more information contact Monica at 301-587-6211 or email Callahanml@erols.com

See the learning objectives

Dissociative Phenomena
Wendy Berns, MSW

4th Wednesday of every month - 12:30-2:00pm
Arlington, Virginia

This study group will focus on dissociative processes in clinical work, from the everyday experiences, which are ubiquitous, to the extreme experiences found in DID character structure. We will integrate ideas about dissociative phenomena with concepts found in attachment and relational theories. We will read books and articles about dissociation, such as the writings of Elizabeth Howell and Jodi Davies, and also work as a peer group, following material from our individual, couples, and group cases.

Integrating Theory and Practice of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy David Wyner, MSW

1st Thursday or Friday evening or Saturday morning of every month (whatever day works best for the group)
22821 Ridge Road, Germantown, MD

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 (1994). As we read this classic work, we will always be working with clinical material, bringing to life central ideas in psychoanalysis from Freud through Lichtenberg.

Attachment and Affect Regulation: Individuals, Couples, and Groups Cheri Marmarosh PhD

3rd Friday of every month - 3:30-5:00pm
Fairfax, Virginia

Cheri Marmarosh, a graduate of ICP&P's Psychotherapy Training Program, will be starting a study group. The focus will be applying attachment theory to individual, couple, and group cases. We will focus on Wallin's book Attachment in Psychotherapy (2005) that explores the influence of attachment on the development of the self, the applications of attachment theory to clinical practice, and the attachment patterns interacting between the therapist and patient. In addition to Wallin's book, we may also integrate readings from Fosha, Siegel, and Solomon's book, The Healing Power of Emotion: Affective Neuroscience, Development, and Clinical Practice (2009). Depending on the interest of study group members, we can select to read Allan Schore's chapter that is focused on right brain regulation or Fosha's chapter integrating attachment, emotion, and tranformational experience.

Topics and readings will be determined by the interests of those in the study group.

Sexual Identities, Sexual Self and Sexual Relationality in the Clinical Setting
Faith Lewis LCSW and Tripp Reed LCSW

2nd Monday of every month - 8:00-9:30pm
4511 17th St., NW, Washington, DC

We will all be exploring the intersubjective sexual field as it relates to our work. Given the intimate nature of the case presentations with this approach, we will limit the group to 8 people and wish to maintain a high level of confidentiality throughout.

We may read Sexuality & Attachment (2007) by Blatt, Dimond and Lichtenberg, Sexuality & Sensuality Across the Divide of Shame (2007) by Lichtenberg, Gender As Soft Assembly (2005) by Harris, Tolpin on the emergence of the sexual self, and others (TBA, introduced by the group).

Information about Study Groups

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, Dorothy Wine (dawine99@aol.com)

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Questions

Why should I join a study group?

Having monthly contact with eight to ten other members is a way to get to know people in the organization in a smaller setting. Exploring ideas and concepts together and struggling with difficult clinical cases are not only intellectually stimulating and technically useful, but promote feelings of connection among group members. Members have reported that being in a study group has contributed to their sense of ICP&P being a cohesive organization with a warm and friendly atmosphere. Every two years new study groups are added and people can become facilitators. Members sign up for groups and get to meet new people, or, re-sign up for the group they are in.

Can I be in more than one study group?

As long as all current members get to be in one of their first three choices, members can choose to be in more than one group. Signing up is done every two years and plenty of notice is given in the monthly newsletter. The study group coordinator would be the person to contact with specific questions.