44th Annual IAPSP International Conference
The Creative Edge(s) of Contemporary Self Psychology
October 19-22, 2023

Pre-Conference Workshops:
Thursday, October 19, 2023
AM Session: 8:30 – 11:30am
PM Session: 1:00 – 4:00pm
Registrants to choose one workshop in each session

For a description of the session, it’s learning objectives, presenter bios and other details, pleaseclick on the session letter. (PRE-CON X)

AM Sessions:
PRE-CON A:

Contemporary Self Psychology: Concepts and Challenges
Presenter: Richard Geist, EdD

PRE-CON B:

Therapeutic Process and the Uniqueness of the Dyad
Presenters: Christina Connell, RP, Jill Gardner, PhD, Daniel Perlitz, MD, Estelle Shane, PhD

PRE-CON C:

Self Psychology, Democracy, and Life Cycle Development: From Developing a Self to Being a Subject
Presenters: James Block, PhD & John Riker, PhD

PRE-CON D:

Psychoanalysis and Embodiment: A Historical, Philosophical, and Clinical View from Somatic Psychotherapy
Presenter: Ernst Meyer, MA

PRE-CON E*: Sparking Creativity at the Limits of Our Understanding and the Edge of Uncertainty - A Clinical Writing
Workshop (part 1)
Presenter: Suzi Naiburg, PhD, LICSW*This workshop will take place via Zoom only and has a limited number of registrants permitted

PM Sessions:
PRE-CON F:

Working with the Leading Edge: An Intersubjective Self Psychological Perspective
Presenters: Peter Zimmermann, PhD, Harry Paul, PhD. Aviva Rohde, PhD, George Hagman, LCSWPRE-CON G:

The Creative Edge of Psychoanalytic Play: Drama, Narrative, and Improvisation in Field Theory and Metapsychology
Presenter: Philip Ringstom, PhD, PsyD

PRE-CON H:

The Creative Edge between Gottman Method Couple Therapy and Couple Therapy Informed by Self
Psychology
Presenters: Carla Leone, PhD & Michael McNulty, PhD

PRE-CON I:

Art, Psychoanalysis and Survival
Presenters: David Shaddock PhD, MFT, John R. Paddock PhD, ABPP, Karen Schwartz, PhD, Heather Ferguson,
LCSW, Jeffrey Stern, PhD.

PRE-CON J:

Sparking Creativity at the Limits of Our Understanding and the Edge of Uncertainty - A Clinical Writing
Workshop (part 2)*
Presenter: Suzi Naiburg, PhD, LICSW*Part 2 is optional and only available to those who attend Part 1*This workshop will take place via Zoom only and has a limited number of registrants permitted

44th Annual IAPSP International Conference
The Creative Edge(s) of Contemporary Self Psychology
October 19-22, 2023

Pre-Conference A: Contemporary Self Psychology: Concepts and Challenges
Presenter: Richard Geist, EdD
Thursday, October 19, 8:30 – 11:30am

Abstract:
This workshop will discuss major clinical concepts from Self Psychology and, through the use of verbatim
clinical dialogue, study their implications for conducting psychotherapy. Emphasizing patient centeredrather than theory centered treatment, we will focus on implementing an empathic listening stance,
responding to resistance and rage, how we use selfobject transferences and interpretation, and how wework with the forward edge. Throughout this clinically oriented workshop we will emphasize the impact of
the therapist on the treatment process.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this workshop, the participants will be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.

List three well know self psychological transference.
Explain the meaning of interpretation.
Describe what is meant by empathy in self psychology.
Define what we mean by permeable boundaries.

Presenter Bios:
Richard Geist received his undergraduate degree and his doctorate in Psychology from Harvard University
and for 35 years was Clinical Instructor, Department of Psychiatry (Psychology), Harvard Medical School.
He is a Founding Member, Faculty, Supervising analyst, and member of the Board of Directors of The
Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis. In addition, Dick has been on the Executive Board of theInternational Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology and is currently a council member. Dr. Geist
was one of the first psychologists in Boston to embrace Self Psychology theory and practice, and he has
been teaching and supervising it for over 30 years. He has written numerous papers on clinical self
psychology, including papers on how empathy heals, re-conceptualizing the oedipal complex, boundaries
in treatment, eating disorders, the forward edge, and several papers on connectedness between analyst
and patient. He has been a senior supervising psychologist at Children’s Hospital and Massachusetts
General Hospital in Boston. Dick maintains a private practice in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy in
Newton, Massachusetts where he sees Children, adolescents, adults, and couples. He also supervises
privately, teaches private self psychology seminars and directs a self psychology study group.
References:
Geist, R.A. (2015). Conversations with Paul. International J. of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology, 10(2), 91106.
Teicholz, J.G. (2016. The end of comparative psychoanalysis? Blurring the boundaries between
contemporary theories. International Journal of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology, 11(4), 325-339.
Perlitz, D. (2019) The Implicit analyst: Qualities of salience. Psychoanalysis, Self and Context, 14(4)4, 428444.

44th Annual IAPSP International Conference
The Creative Edge(s) of Contemporary Self Psychology
October 19-22, 2023

Pre-Conference B: Therapeutic Process and the Uniqueness of the Dyad
Presenters: Christina Connell, RP, Jill Gardner, PhD, Daniel Perlitz, MD, Estelle Shane, PhD
Thursday, October 19, 8:30 – 11:30am

Abstract:
As our theories have developed, we have increasingly moved away from a focus on specific mental contents
and structure to a focus on the therapeutic process itself, as it unfolds between the two participants in theclinical exchange. Developments from infant studies, neuroscience, intersubjectivity and non-linear
dynamic systems theory have led us to appreciate bidirectional, mutual influence in ways that underscorethe uniqueness of any given therapeutic pair.
To illustrate these concepts, we will explore the microprocess in two interviews, one with Estelle Shane as
the therapist and one with Jill Gardner as the therapist, each conducting a 30 minute session with the same
volunteer patient, who presented the same problem to each. Written copies of the complete transcriptsof these sessions will be distributed to the participants. The panelists will read aloud selected segments of
the interviews, after which the participants will be encouraged to share their perceptions and reactions.
Together with the presenters, we will as a group define a number of different concepts which this material
serves to illustrate. These interviews were made with the goal of using them for education and training
purposes. We four look forward to discovering what we all can learn by reviewing the transcripts anddiscussing them together.
Learning objectives:
At the conclusion of this workshop, the participants will be able to:
1. Describe the distinction between a structure theory of psychoanalysis and a process theory.
2. Name three concepts drawn from perspectives different from but related to a psychoanalytic
perspective that can be integrated with and expansive of relational self psychology.
3. Describe what is meant by bi-directional process in the dyad.
4. Describe the distinction between a one-person and a two-person therapeutic model given thatboth models comprise two individuals, patient, and therapist.
Presenter Bios:
Christina Connell, RP is a child, adolescent, adult and couple psychoanalyst/psychotherapist working inprivate practice in Toronto, Canada. A graduate of both the Toronto Child Psychoanalytic Program as wellas the Institute for the Advancement of Self Psychology in Toronto, Christina serves as an elected member
for Canada on the IAPSP Membership Council, and also represents the IAPSP Council on the IAPSP Executive
Board. Christina is faculty and co-chair of the Curriculum Committee at the Toronto Institute ofContemporary Psychoanalysis, board member at The Institute for the Advancement of Self Psychology inToronto, and supervisor and faculty at the Canadian Institute for Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic
Psychotherapy.

Jill R. Gardner, PhD maintains a private practice in clinical and consulting psychology. She spent 20 years
managing the adult outpatient services of a hospital-based community mental health center before
entering full time private practice. She is a frequent presenter of inservice and continuing education
programs for mental health professionals, both through the University of Chicago and in a variety ofcommunity agencies and settings. She has made professional presentations at several national meetings,
with a focus on the area of contemporary psychoanalytic theory known as Self Psychology. She has
published articles in this area and taught graduate level courses on the subject in the social work school of
the University of Chicago. Dr. Gardner also has extensive administrative, managerial, program planning,and supervisory experience, which has formed a base for consultation in a wide range of companies,
organizations, and institutions. Consultation projects have included executive coaching, management
training, organizational development, team building, program planning, interpersonal and communication
skills training, and systems-level intervention following traumatic events.
Daniel Perlitz, MD is a psychoanalyst in private practice in Toronto, Canada. He completed his
psychoanalytic training at IASP (Institute for the Advancement of Self-Psychology) in Toronto, Canada in2014, Perlitz is on the board of directors and faculty of IASP, an Adjunct Lecturer at University of Toronto,
and a supervisor of psychiatric residents in psychotherapy at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Toronto. He is also on
the board of directors and is treasurer of IAPSP (International Association of Psychoanalytic Self
Psychology). His first published article, “Beyond Kohut - from Empathy to Affection,” appeared in theInternational Journal of Psychoanalytic Self-Psychology in 2016. Subsequently he has published four more
articles in the same journal in 2017, 2019, and 2021.
Estelle Shane, PhD is a Founding Member, Member of the Board of Directors, Faculty member and Training
and Supervising Analyst, The Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis, Los Angeles; Faculty Member andTraining and Supervising Analyst, The New Center for Psychoanalysis, Los Angeles; Past President andCouncil Member, International Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology (IAPSP); Advisory Board
Member, International Association for Relational Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis (IARRP); AdjunctFaculty, UCLA Department of Psychiatry, Los Angeles; Consulting Editor, Psychoanalytic Inquiry; Editorial
Board, Psychoanalysis, Self & Context; author of numerous publications; and co-author (with M. Shane and
M. Gales) of: Intimate Attachments: A Developmental Systems Self Psychology, Routledge, 1997.
References:
Fosshage, J. L. (2013). Forming and Transforming Self-Experience. International Journal of Psychoanalytic
Self Psychology, 8(4), 437-451.
Kaplan, A. (2014). Recalibrating a Psychoanalytic Compass: Searching for Flexibility in the Midst of Griefand Loss. Psychoanalytic Perspectives, 11(3), 229-242.
Altimir, C. & Jimenez, J. P. (2020). Walking the middle ground between hermeneutics and science: A
research proposal on psychoanalytic process. International Journal of Psychoanalysis 101(3), 496-522.

44th Annual IAPSP International Conference
The Creative Edge(s) of Contemporary Self Psychology
October 19-22, 2023

Pre-Conference C: Self Psychology, Democracy and Life Cycle Development: From Developing a Self to
Being a Subject
Presenters: James Block, PhD & John Riker, PhD
Thursday, October 19, 8:30 – 11:30am

Abstract:
In this workshop we will inquire into what structural accretions beyond those of the nuclear self need tohappen as persons develop through life for them to become active vital subjects and citizens in the adultsocioeconomic world. We will differentiate and interconnect the concepts of self and subject, detail whatdevelopments in self-structure and subjectivity are needed to meet the increasingly complex and difficult
challenges that life presents as we mature, and show why democracies need persons with coherent, welldeveloped selves and conversely why democracies are needed for selves to fully flourish. We develop a full
picture of mature personhood by drawing not simply on Kohut and self-psychology but also James Block’s
historical work with the concept of agency and the existentialist thinkers’ notion of authenticity.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this workshop, the participants will be able to:
1. Discuss the processes of structural, relational, and value development that generate and inturn constitute the mature individuated person and the relation of evolving self-structure andthat mature individual.
2. Identify the difference between having a self and being a mature subject capable of negotiating
the challenges of adult life.
3. Explain the distinctions between healthy and arrested selfhood, why democracies need to be
populated by persons with coherent selves and why those with traumatized or displaced selves
tend towards autocracy, and what strategies might be employed for addressing thesedevelopmental injuries.
Presenter Bios:James Block, PhD from the Committee on Social Thought from the University of Chicago, and has taught
political and cultural theory, political psychology, and cultural studies at DePaul University for three
decades. His major work traces the process of Western self-development in a series off volumes. His firstbook, A Nation of Agents: The American Path to a Modern Self and Society (Harvard/Belknap University
Press, 2002) traced the decline of traditional self and society during the most innovative phase of the earlymodern period and the emergence of a distinctly modern identity arising in Anglo-American dissenting
Protestantism and realized in American liberal society. The Crucible of Consent: American Child Rearing andthe Forging of Liberal Society (Harvard, February 2012) examines the embedding of this identity in a modern
citizenry through radical innovations in child socialization and education. The current book projects, The
Agony of American Ascendancy: The Crisis of Liberalism in the Organizational Age and The Authoring Self:
The Emersonian Tradition from Rousseau to Kohut and the Post-Liberal World along with many conference
papers delivered throughout the world, published essays, and lectures treat the similar decline of the classic
Protestant-liberal American consolidation regarding self and society and the rise in the past century of apost-Protestant, post-liberal culture and experimental selfhood and community in the U.S. and elsewhere.
In addition, James has regularly written on the crisis of contemporary politics and the incipient forms ofemerging cultures for Huffington Post, medium.com and other on-line publications.
For the past three decades, John Riker,PhD has been devoted to exploring the relation of psychoanalysis -especially Kohutian self psychology--to problems in ethics and philosophical anthropology. He has written
four books intersecting psychoanalysis and ethics (most recently, Exploring the Life of the Soul), andpublished numerous articles and spoken in many conferences on this material, including conferences inEngland, Belgium, Turkey, Austria, Canada, and Israel. John has been a professor of philosophy at Colorado
College for over half a century and been named Professor of the Year a record four times, and advisor of
the year a record three times. He was the initial recipient of the award Colorado College established torecognize someone who most promotes diversity and inclusion on campus. He has been recently named
co-editor of Psychoanalysis, Self, and Context.
References:
Riker, J. (2020). Cushman and Kohut: Constructing Identities vs. Developing Selves in the Context ofModern American Life, Psychoanalysis, Self, and Context, 15(3), 230-236.
Riker, J. (2021). The Philosophical Significance of Kohut’s Theory of the Self, Psychoanalytic
Review, 108(2), 215-237.
Strozier, C., Pinteris, K., Kelley, K., Mart, D., Strug, D.(2021). Heinz Kohut’s Idea of Self, Psychoanalytic
Review, 108(2), online.

44th Annual IAPSP International Conference
The Creative Edge(s) of Contemporary Self Psychology
October 19-22, 2023

Pre-Conference D: Psychoanalysis and embodiment: A historical, philosophical and clinical view fromsomatic psychotherapy
Presenter: Ernst Meyer, MA
Thursday, October 19, 8:30 – 11:30am

Abstract:
The lived-in body in psychoanalysis – why has it gone missing in psychoanalysis, how can we find it, andhow can it be reintegrated into psychoanalytic theory and practice.
Since Wilhelm Reich’s expulsion from the International Psychoanalytic Association in 1934, the concept ofembodiment has been largely ignored in psychoanalytic theories of all persuasions. The human body as asource of wisdom, and an understanding of our lived experience of embodiment, is absent. Even in
Kohutian theory, while it allows for an experiential understanding of human beings, the words “body” or“sexuality” are almost entirely missing. At the same time, Self Psychology theory in general, andIntersubjective Systems Theory in particular, allow for a re-integration of embodied subjectivity –philosophically, theoretically, and practically. Such a re-integration has the potential to re-vitalise Kohutian
theory and clinical practice, and ensure it can remain relevant as a contemporary approach to
psychoanalysis.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this workshop, the participants will be able to:
1. Explain why notions of embodiment tend to be absent in psychoanalysis.
2. Apply ways of getting in touch with our own embodied self.
3. List approaches how embodiment can be applied to psychoanalytic theory and practice.

Presenter Bio:
My name is Ernst Meyer, I am a Registered Clinical Psychotherapist, hold a Masters Degree in
Psychotherapy and Counselling, and have ten years of experience in private practice. I have been electedto the board of the "Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia" (PACFA) as the psychotherapy
representative, am part of the leadership group for somatic psychotherapy in Australia, am a full memberof the "European Association for Body Psychotherapy" (EABP) and a member of the “International
Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology (IAPSP)” international council. As a trained Somatic
Psychotherapist I understand that human beings are embodied, and my clinical approach is body-inclusive.
Being a former police officer, I am passionate about supporting current and retired first responders - mostcarry a diagnosis of PTSD, and many have experienced one or more suicide attempts. As an educator, I am
equally passionate about the embodied nature of trauma presentations, and provide training for existing
practitioners how to include an awareness of embodiment into psychotherapy practice. Outside of thepractice and training room I am advocating for human-science based psychotherapy to be recognised as aclinical alternative to clinical psychology and psychiatry.

References:
Geuter, U. (2016). Body psychotherapy: experiencing the body, experiencing the self. International Body
Psychotherapy Journal, 15(1), 6-19.
Luci, M., & Kahn, M. (2021). Analytic therapy with refugees: between silence and embodied narratives.
Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 41(2), 103-114. https://doi.org/10.1080/07351690.2021.1865766
Brothers, D., & Sletvold, J. (2022). Talking bodies: a new vision of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic Inquiry,
42(4), 289-302. https://doi.org/10.1080/07351690.2022.2059292

44th Annual IAPSP International Conference
The Creative Edge(s) of Contemporary Self Psychology
October 19-22, 2023
Pre-Conference E(part 1) and J(part 2):
Sparking Creativity at the Limits of Our Understanding and the Edge of Uncertainty A Clinical Writing Workshop
Presenter: Suzi Naiburg, PhD, LICSW
Thursday, October 19, 2023, Part 1: 8:30 – 11:30am and Part 2: 1:00 – 4:00pm
This workshop is presented via ZOOM only and has a limited enrollment.

Abstract:
Through a series of close reading and writing exercises, participants will be invited to develop “anunfettered mind” (Ferro, 2008); coin new terms; bring their clinical work to life on the page; “find new
possibilities in old conditions;” “increase the imaginative yield” of what we already know (Mitchell, 1993);
and cultivate their creativity as writers and clinicians. They will also listen to each other’s voices anddiscover how writing can foster inner freedom and, like Bollas’ (1987) “transformational object,” create anexperience that transforms the self. This workshop is open to unpublished and published writers, new andseasoned clinicians alike. A written syllabus will be provided. Have at hand your writing implements andprocess notes from a clinical session you want to write about.
Writers participating in the morning session have the option of continuing in the afternoon session. Writers
who want to participate in the afternoon session must have completed the morning session.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this workshop, the participants will be able to:
1. Define the meaning of the dual landscape of clinical narratives.
2. Identify at least 4 characteristics of an immediate scene.
3. Use the techniques of fetching or lateral thinking to create a new term.

Presenter Bio:
Suzi Naiburg, PhD, LICSW (www.SuziNaiburg.com), is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute for
Psychoanalysis in private practice in Belmont, MA, USA; author of Structure and Spontaneity in Clinical
Prose: A Writer’s Guide for Psychoanalysts and Psychotherapists (Routledge 2015); and an editor andwriting coach who has taught over 200 clinical writing workshops.
References:
Kanarian, J.R. (2021). Dear self: On writing the clinical experience. Psychoanalysis, Self and Context 16(2),137-139.
Naiburg, S. (2021). Write on! A clinical writing workshop for psychoanalysts and psychotherapists.
Psychoanalysis, Self and Context 16 (2),190-201.
Ogden, T. H. (2021). Analytic writing as a form of fiction. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic
Association 69 (1), 221-223.

44th Annual IAPSP International Conference
The Creative Edge(s) of Contemporary Self Psychology
October 19-22, 2023

Pre-Conference F: Working with the Leading Edge: An Intersubjective Self Psychological Perspective
Presenters: Peter Zimmermann, PhD, Harry Paul, PhD., Aviva Rohde, PhD
Moderator: George Hagman, LCSW
Thursday, October 19, 1:00 – 4:00pm

Abstract:
Since the publication of Marian Tolpin’s seminal 2002 paper Doing Psychoanalysis of Normal Development:
Forward Edge Transferences there has been increasing interest in the dynamics of clinical work with what
we now call the leading edge. This workshop examines the concept of the leading edge in depth,
highlighting recent advances from the perspective of Intersubjective Self Psychology (ISP). The workshop
begins with a synopsis by Peter Zimmermann of the core concepts of ISP and how ISP’s innovative
understanding on the leading edge, represents a new paradigm for clinical work. More experience-near,
Zimmermann highlights the difference the ISP perspective on the leading edge makes on how we think
about the therapeutic process and therefore, how we work. Following Peter Zimmermann, Harry Paul andAviva Rohde present two extended clinical reports as illustrations of the ISP approach to working with theleading edge. Ample time is given for audience participation and discussion.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this workshop, the participants will be able to:
1. Recognize and explain the concepts of leading and trailing edge.
2. Develop and implement interventions that strengthen the leading edge of the treatment
process.
3. Provide an example of trailing edge denial of identity and leading edge appreciation of identity.
Presenter Bios:
Peter Zimmermann, PhD, LP, Founding Member and Member of the Board of Directors of TRISP; Senior
Faculty, Training and Supervising Analyst of TRISP since 1987. Former President of the Training Institute of
NPAP (2016-2021), and Member of the Board of Directors of NPAP since 2012; Senior Member, Training
and Supervising Analyst and Faculty Member at NPAP since1984. Member of the Editorial Board of thePsychoanalytic Review. Co-editor and contributing author of Intersubjective Self Psychology, A Primer(Routledge 2019). In private practice in New York City since 1982.
Harry Paul, PhD is a founding member, past president, faculty and supervising and training analyst at theTraining and Research Institute in Self Psychology in New York City. He is a board and faculty member at
the Training and Research Intersubjective Self Psychology Foundation and a member of the International
Council of IAPSP. He is the co-author of The Self Psychology of Addiction and Its Treatment: Narcissus in
Wonderland and most recently co-edited and contributed to Intersubjective Self Psychology: A Primer,
Hagman, Paul, and Zimmermann, Routledge, 2019. He has authored numerous articles on intersubjective
self psychology, and addiction. He is in private practice in New York City and in Chappaqua, New York.

Aviva Rohde, PhD is a psychologist and psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City where she treats
adults and couples, and supervises clinicians. Trained at Columbia University and Training and Research inIntersubjective Self Psychology (TRISP), she is a senior faculty member and member of the training
committee at TRISP and supervises at TRISP and National Institute for the Psychotherapies (NIP). An authorof several chapters in Intersubjective Self Psychology: A Primer (2019), she has presented papers at TRISP
and IAPSP on topics related to Intersubjective Self Psychology.
George Hagman, LCSW is a clinical social worker and psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City andStamford, Connecticut. He is on faculty of the Training and Research in Intersubjective Self Psychology, andis a training analyst, supervisor, and faculty member of the Westchester Center for the Study ofPsychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. George is co-editor with Peter Zimmermann and Harry Paul ofIntersubjective Self Psychology: A Primer (Routledge, 2019). He is also the General Editor of the Art,
Creativity and Psychoanalysis book series and New Directions in Self Psychology book series both publishedby Routledge.
References:
Zimmermann, P. (2019). On Leading and Trailing Edge: Toward a New Conceptualization of What is
Curative in Psychoanalysis. The Psychoanalytic Review, 106(4), 291-303.
Hagman, G. (2021). Empathy: Expanding the Capacity for Humanness and Freedom. The Psychoanalytic
Review, 108(2), 155-168.
Zimmermann, P. & Paul, H. (2021). The Origins of the Leading Edge in Kohut’s Work. The Psychoanalytic
Review. 108(2), 169-196.

44th Annual IAPSP International Conference
The Creative Edge(s) of Contemporary Self Psychology
October 19-22, 2023

Pre-Conference G : The Creative Edge of Psychoanalytic Play: Drama, Narrative, and Improvisationin Field Theory and Metapsychology
Presenter: Philip Ringstrom, PhD, PsyD
Thursday, October 19, 1:00 – 4:00pm

Abstract:
This pre-conference workshop clearly meets the criteria for new works on the “creative edge(s)” of Self
Psychology - as well as other psychoanalytic theory. Three hours is an ideal venue for the three parts of theworkshop: Part One involves a didactic presentation (with a printed outline given to participants) covering
key ideas from my new book Psychoanalytic Play: Drama, Narrative and Improvisation in Field Theory andMetapsychology. Part Two involves an in-depth Q&A period - addressing ideas and questions about thetheory of psychoanalytic play and its practice. (Both Parts One and Two will include numerous caseillustrations). Part Three will involve engagement with the workshop participants in live “role play” withcases from their psychotherapy practices in which they are having questions and difficulties. We will play(enact) case material in the pursuit of creating “possibilities” where the work has been met with many
“constraints” a term along with “possibility” which are both essential to the information theory metapsychological basis of psychoanalytic play. The workshop promises to be intellectually edifying as well as
playfully engaging.

Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this workshop, the participants will be able to:
1. Differentiate play from more constrained forms of therapeutic communication thereby discussing
the advantages of psychoanalytic play.
2. Distinguish between first- and second-order change in the therapy process and discuss the roleof play in second-order change.
3. Describe how cultivating play in the therapeutic field leads to greater experiences of personal
and relational freedom.

Presenter Bios:
Philip Ringstrom, PhD, PsyD is a Senior Training and Supervising Analyst and Faculty Member at theInstitute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis, in Los Angeles, California. He is a founding member of the Boardof Directors of IARPP, and a member of the International Council of Self-Psychologists. He is on the editorial
boards of Psychoanalytic Dialogues, Psychoanalytic Perspectives, and Psychoanalysis: Self and Context. He
has published over 60 articles, chapters, and reviews and has presented at conferences all over the world.
His book A Relational Psychoanalytic Approach to Conjoint Therapy (Routledge 2014) won the GoetheAward in psychoanalysis for 2014. He is currently writing a new book titled: Psychoanalytic Play:Dramatization, Narration, and Improvisation in Field Theory and Metapsychology.

References:
Ringstrom, P. (2018). Relational Metapsychology in a Three-Dimensional Field Theory of Change: Reply toGabbard, Gadot and Fosshage. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 28(4), 422-431.
Ringstrom, P. (2020). Discussion of I’mprovisation-Therapist’s Subjective Experience During
Improvisational Moments in the Clinical Encounter. Psychoanalytic Dialogues 29(3), 311-320.
Ringstrom, P.A. (2022). The transitional medium of the not yet spoken [Conference presentation].
International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy 18th Annual Conference, Los
Angeles, CA, United States. June, 2022.
Ringstrom, P.A. (2022). Psychedelics and psychoanalysis: A conversation long overdue. Psychoanalytic
Dialogues, 32(5), 444-451.

44th Annual IAPSP International Conference
The Creative Edge(s) of Contemporary Self Psychology
October 19-22, 2023

Pre-Conference H : The Creative Edge between Gottman Method Couple Therapy and Couple Therapy
Informed by Self Psychology
Presenters: Carla Leone, PhD and Michael McNulty, PhD
Thursday, October 19, 1:00 – 4:00pm

Abstract:
This course will present an overview and summary of two major models of couple therapy – the Gottman
Method and couple therapy informed by contemporary self psychology – and compare and contrast them,with an eye toward how the two approaches might creatively inform each other. Detailed clinical material
including a recording or handout of a transcript of a session will be provided and discussed by bothpresenters in light of the concepts just presented. Audience participation will be encouraged and facilitatedthroughout the presentation.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of our workshop participants will be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Explain the basic tenets of The Gottman Method of couple therapy.
Explain the basic tenets of couple therapy informed by contemporary self psychology.
List three similarities and three differences between the two models.
List ways the two approaches might be enhanced by incorporating concepts from the other.

Presenter Bios:
Carla Leone, PhD, is the Director of the certificate program in Integrative Psychoanalytic Couple Therapy,
which is co-sponsored by the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute and the Institute for Clinical Social Work in
Chicago. She is the founder and director of a group private practice in the Chicago suburbs, an adjunctfaculty member at the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute, and on the faculty of the Institute for Clinical Social
Work. She is co-chair of the Membership Committee of the International Association for Psychoanalytic
Self Psychology (IAPSP), co-founder and former chair of IAPSP’s Couples Therapy Interest Group, andformerly served on the organization’s International Council and its Executive Board. She is the author ofseveral published papers on the application of self psychology to couple and family therapy and one on the“unseen spouse” of patients in individual therapy, has presented nationally and internationally on these
topics, and is currently working on a book on self psychology-informed couple therapy.
Mike McNulty, PhD is a psychotherapist, consultant, master trainer, and teacher with over 30 years ofexperience.
He became a certified Gottman Relationship Therapist in 2005. Since that time, he has led all 3 levels ofGottman trainings at The University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration’s Professional
Development Program. He has also presented Chicago area Gottman Art and Science of Love Workshops,
at least twice per year, since 2007. Mike founded The Chicago Relationship Center in 2014, which offers
Gottman trainings and workshops, and has produced workshops led by Dan Wile, PhD.
Mike has taught at the doctorate level for over 10 years. He was an affiliate professor at The Chicago Schoolof Professional Psychology and a visiting instructor at The Institute for Clinical Social Work. He currentlyteaches a course on The Gottman Method at Concordia Irvine. The Courses he has taught include couple
therapy, psychopathology, international intervention, and trauma and attachment disorders. His otherareas of clinical expertise include the emotional aspects of attention deficit disorder and learning
disabilities.
Mike’s international training efforts have focused on Sri Lanka. Since the tsunami of 2004, he has traveled
to Sri Lanka twice per year (22 times to date) to teach Sinhalese and Tamil lay counselors courses on basic
counseling skills. He received 5 Fulbright Specialist grants for his work in 2010, 2014, and 2015. He was oneof the first Gottman therapists to lead Gottman training in a foreign country, and made presentations on
his international training efforts at Gottman Conferences.
His publications include “Dyslexia and the Life Course”, a feature article summarizing his research in the
Journal of Learning Disabilities, and a text book chapter with Drs. John and Julie Gottman on affair
recovery. In addition to see clients on a weekly basis, he also regularly provides intensive or marathon
therapy.
References:
Gottman, J. M, Driver, J, & Tabares, A. (2015). Repair during marital conflict in newlyweds: How couples
move from attack-defend to collaboration. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 26(2), 85-108.
Gottman, J. M. & Gottman, J. (2017). The natural principles of love. Journal of Family Theory & Review,
9(1), 7–26.
Leone, C. (2018). Response to MacIntosh’s review and discussion of the psychoanalytic couple therapy
journal literature: A self psychological, intersubjective perspective. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 38 (5), 387–
398.
Leone, C. (2021) The application of contemporary self psychology to couple psychotherapy. Couple andFamily Psychoanalysis, 11(2), 170–186.

44th Annual IAPSP International Conference
The Creative Edge(s) of Contemporary Self Psychology
October 19-22, 2023

Pre-Conference I: Art, Psychoanalysis and Survival
Presenters: David Shaddock PhD, MFT, John R. Paddock PhD, ABPP, Karen Schwartz, PhD, Heather
Ferguson, LCSW, Jeffrey Stern, PhD.
Thursday, October 19, 1:00 – 4:00pm

Abstract:
During the three years of the Covid Pandemic the line between healer and sufferer has only further blurred.
How are we to live now? flashes from our patient’s eyes. I don’t know, our eyes answer. Rarely havetherapists felt such a strong need for support and guidance. The arts: painting, music, poetry, can offer usboth support and clinical guidance in these difficult times. In this workshop four therapists—lovers of art
and practicing artists—open up their studios and their lives to discuss how art helped them survive bothclinically and personally.
This workshop continues a discussion that began as a special section of Psychoanalysis, Self and Context.
Heather Ferguson writes about being a drummer, how her sense of rhythm and musicianship helped her
penetrate the two dimensional wall of Zoom. John Paddock writes of sitting in a room of transcendent
Rothko’s, then thinking about the artist’s suicide. His wife Karen Schwartz writes of going to her studio tomake “large gestural markings,” until “I can anticipate feeling solidly held.” Jeffrey Stern recalls how
Hamlet first informed his Self Psychology practice. David Shaddock, author of Poetry and Psychoanalysis,
will moderate and offer insights from his own work as a poet.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to:
1. Describe how attentiveness to and recognition of a patient’s nascent creative strivings may enrich
the therapeutic attachment and process.
2. Describe how the creative process of painting or other artistic activity may be conceived of as anintersubjective process.
3. Describe how a more coherent and vitalized sense of self, across development levels, cultures,and environmental circumstances can be restored and maintained by an embodied and physical,
nonverbal experience of artistic creation.
4. Describe how both visual art music and poetry can help one explore and restore a (more)
coherent sense of self, especially in circumstances of uncertainty and emotional overwhelm
Presenter Bios:David Shaddock PhD, MFT is an associate editor of Psychoanalysis, Self and Context, the leader of the
IAPSP Couples Therapy Interest Group, and a member of the IAPSP International Council. He is the authorof Poetry and Psychoanalysis: The Opening of the Field, From Impasse to Intimacy, and Contexts andConnections: An Intersubjective Systems Approach to Couples Therapy. He is also the author of four booksof poetry, most recently The Book of Splendor: New and Selected Poems on Spiritual Themes. He is a clinicalsupervisor at the Wright Institute, analytic supervisor at the Minnesota Institute for Contemporary
Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, and adjunct faculty the Chicago Institute for Clinical Social Work. He
maintains a private practice in Berkeley.

John Paddock, PhD, ABBP, is a clinical psychologist, Fellow and Past-President of the Georgia Psychological
Association. He received his BA cum laude with Highest Honors in Psychology from Williams College (1977),
and his M.A. (1981) and PhD (1982) in Clinical Psychology from Emory University. Currently, he is Adjunct
Professor of Psychology at Emory, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences in Emory’s Schoolof Medicine., and Adjunct Professor at Emory’s Goizueta Business School. Dr. Paddock received his
certification in psychoanalysis from the Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy + Psychoanalysis (ICP+P).
He teaches courses on the “Analyst’s Use of Self” and “Contemporary Conceptualizations of Personality
Psychopathology” in the Emory University Psychoanalytic Institute (EUPI). Currently, he serves on EUPI’s
Executive Committee, and is Co-Director of their Fellowship Program.
Heather Ferguson, LCSW, is faculty and supervisor at the Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of
Subjectivity, the National Institute for the Psychotherapies, and faculty at the Manhattan Institute for
Psychanalysis Trauma Program, all in NYC. She has written about eating disorder treatment, the role ofintergenerational transmission of trauma, and the use of embodied techniques to deepen
psychotherapeutic engagement. She is a member of the Music Industry Therapist Collective (MITC). She is
Co-Book Review Editor for Psychoanalysis, Self, and Context.
Jeffrey Stern, PhD is a research and clinical graduate of the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute where he is asupervising analyst and faculty member and past President of the Chicago Psychoanalytic Society. Dr. Stern
received his PhD at the University of Chicago in English Literature, where his dissertation on Shakespeare'slate romances won the Humanities Prize. He has been a lecturer in Psychiatry at Rush University and the
University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine, where he won the teaching award. He has also lectured
at the University of Chicago in the Committee on General Studies in the Humanities. Dr. Stern is in addition
Visiting Professor of Psychoanalysis at Wuhan University in Wuhan China. In 2017 he was the keynote
speaker at the annual meeting of the International Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology.
Dr. Stern writes on clinical psychoanalysis, literature and film and is the associate editor of The Annual of
Psychoanalysis. His work including papers on clinical cases, Shakespeare’s King Lear, The Wizard of Oz and
Alomodovar’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown has appeared in Shakespeare Quarterly, The
Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, Psychoanalysis, Self and Context, and The Annual of
Psychoanalysis, among others. A volume of his papers from Routledge is scheduled for publication next
year. He maintains a private practice in Chicago and throughout the world on line.
Karen Schwartz, PhD is a clinical psychologist and Fellow of the Georgia Psychological Association. She
received her B.S. summa cum laude in Psychology from Tufts University (1975), and her M.A. (1978) andPhD (1980) in Clinical Psychology from Emory University. Currently, she is Adjunct Professor of Psychology
at Emory, and Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences in the Emory University
School of Medicine. Dr. Schwartz completed psychoanalytic psychotherapy training at the Institute ofContemporary Psychotherapy + Psychoanalysis (ICP+P). Currently, as a faculty member of the Emory
University Psychoanalytic Institute (EUPI), she teaches courses on “Self Psychology”, “Intersubjectivity”,
and “Relational Perspectives in Self Psychology.
References:
Nebbiosi, G. (2016). The smell of paper: On the usefulness of musical thought in psychoanalytic practice.
Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 26(1), 1-9.
Schwartz, K. M. (2018). Making unformulated experience real through painting: Painting andpsychoanalytic psychotherapy as two ways of making sense. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 74(2), 239248.
Stern, J. (2021). Writing and Righting and Selling the Cow for Beans: The Case of Tad. Psychoanalysis, Self
and Context, 16(2), 171-180.