Fall 2025 ONLINE Courses

Course Meeting: Saturdays 9:00- 10:30 am EST

Course Dates: Sept 20, 27, Oct 4, 11, 18, 25, Nov 1, 8, 15, 22, Dec 6, 13

Instructor: Wally Fletcher, D Min, NCPsyA

Course Description:

This course will focus on the on-going evolution of modern psychoanalytic technique in America from
World-War II to the present. It will build on the foundation laid in “Part I” in emphasizing innovative
perspectives on:

• The optimal treatment setting and conditions for effective psychoanalytic treatment
• The trend toward relational, interpersonal and cultural perspectives in modern psychoanalytic
  theory and treatment
• All aspects including the critical emotional dimensions of the therapist’s participation in the
  therapeutic relationship
• Ways of dealing with transference, countertransference and resistance
• The uses of interpretive, educative and interactional techniques in psychotherapy
• Investigating the full range of human “problems in living” for which psychoanalysis can offer
  effective help

Course Objectives:

1. Apply relevant knowledge and insight into the historical evolution of psychoanalytic technique to
improve clinical practice.
2. Apply a critical framework for comparing, contrasting and assessing varied approaches to
psychoanalytic treatment.
3. Utilize a peer learning/consultation environment for dialogue in which participants are enabled to
draw practical connections between reading assignments and their own clinical practice.
4. Utilize a greater familiarity with the “literature” of psychoanalysis to enrich their clinical work.
5. Apply modern understandings of the role and importance of therapist self-care for preventing
burn-out and improving treatment outcomes.
6. Utilize modern understandings of working with transference, countertransference and resistance
to improve treatment outcomes.
7. Apply modern relational and interpersonal theories and techniques to improve treatment
outcomes.

Course Meeting: Saturdays, 10:45am- 12:15pm (EST)

Course Dates: Sept 20, 27, Oct 4, 11, 18, 25, Nov 1, 8, 15, 22, Dec 6, 13

Instructor: Wally Fletcher, D Min, NCPsyA

Course Description:

One of the critical tasks of leadership is helping people and organizations deal with the emotional demands of meeting significant adaptive challenges especially in times of crisis. This course will focus on the psychodynamics of crisis and adaptive stress as well as effective leadership and modern psychoanalytic strategies for dealing with them. The course is for people who are or aspiring to be in varied leadership roles. It is also for clinicians who are or considering working with leaders and organizations as therapists, coaches and/or consultants. It will draw upon relevant literature but largely on discussion of case examples presented by class participants. The multiple adaptive and crisis challenges including the racial justice crises facing leadership today are truly daunting. Depth psychology is needed to reach beyond treating symptoms to root causes that create and perpetuate them.

Course Objectives:

1. To deepen participants’ understanding of the nature of adaptive stress and crisis, and the demands it makes of leadership and organizations.

2. To increase self-awareness of the impact (primary and secondary) of adaptive stress among leaders, therapists and consultants to responsibly address its self-care and countertransference impacts.

3. To increase participants’ ability to apply sound collaborative leadership, ‘process consulting’ and psychoanalytic approaches to diagnosing, designing and implementing effective strategies for helping leaders and organizations meet adaptive challenges and crises.

4. To help participants’ make best use of case-study and action reflection methodology to achieve the above.

5. To help participants’ make best use of peer and professional consultation and supervision to achieve the above.

Course Meeting: Saturdays, 10:45 am- 12:15 pm

Course Dates: Sept 20, 27, Oct 4, 11, 18, 25, Nov 1, 8, 15, 22, Dec 6, 13

Instructor: Raymond Gourley, MA, NCPsyA

Course Description:

Freud summarized his thinking about the human mind and the new discipline of psychoanalysis in two sets of “Introductory Lectures” written 15 years apart. These lectures overview what Freud considered the fundamentals of psychoanalysis and how they evolved between 1900 and the 1930’s. In addition to these works this course will also focus on several horizonal essays on topics Freud found especially perplexing and important on narcissism; on ‘grief work’ and its relationship to depression; and on the depth psychology of systemic ‘othering’.

Course Objectives:

1. To introduce participants to Freud’s basic theories, writings and how they continue to inform modern psychoanalytic perspectives and treatment.

2. To familiarize participants with Freud’s dual focus on the “social” and the “psychic in these works and its contemporary relevance.

3. To provide a critical foundation for studying and evaluating psychoanalytic ideas and techniques.

4. To provide an environment for dialogue in which students are encouraged to make connections between reading assignments and their own clinical and life experiences.

5. To familiarize students with the “literature” of psychoanalysis and how its reading can enrich their work.

Course Meeting: Mondays, 4:00 pm- 5:30 pm (EST)

Course Dates: Sept 22, 29, Oct 6, 13, 20, 27, Nov 3, 10, 17, 24, Dec 1, 8

Instructor: Cristiane M. Irey, PsyD, NCPsyA

Course Description:

Few concepts have occupied psychoanalytic thinkers and practitioners more than the phenomena of transference. Freud’s early definition of transference as “new editions of old conflicts” is elegantly simple. But the complexity of transference and especially the ways it manifests itself as both resistance and essential curative agent in psychotherapy has produced a rich canon of psychoanalytic writing that continues to grow. This course will provide a survey of writings many psychoanalytic educators consider ‘essential” for serious students and practitioners of psychoanalysis. These papers will represent a range of theoretical and clinical perspectives and our aim will be to consider their practical applications for our work with clients.

Course Objectives: (Includes ABAP Core Competency Codes)

1. Understand the dynamics of transference in psychoanalytic treatment through reading and discussion of significant writings of clinicians from a variety of periods and theoretical/technical approaches. (1d, 1e, 1f, 2a, 4h)

2. Explore the historical evolution of psychoanalytic technique and how this evolution lays the ground work for modern psychoanalytic treatment. (1e, 1f, 2a)

3. Develop a critical framework for comparing and contrasting approaches to psychoanalytic treatment. (1f, 1h, 4g)

4. Reflect and apply the content to personal development and clinical work. (1e, 1f, 2a)

5. Identify and apply the various readings on transference in clinical work (1c, 1g, 2e, 4f)

Course Meeting: Tuesdays, 7:00 pm-8:30 PM (EST)

Course Dates: Sep. 23, 30, Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28, Nov. 4, 11, 18, 25, Dec. 2, 9

Instructor: William Lorman, JD, PhD, MSN, NCPsyA

Course Description:

The world of addiction treatment has evolved and changed over the years. The growing impact that the neurosciences have had on the way we understand addiction and the proliferation of ways addictive behavior now pervades our society have been foremost among these changes. A complete understanding requires consideration of biology, adolescent development, psychopharmacology, neuropsychology, genetics, the study of natural recovery and other psychologies. In this course, among other influences, we will follow the psychoanalytic papers and give an overview of the addiction field. We will discuss historical papers, psychoanalytic theories of addiction,along with the role of transference and countertransference.

Objectives

1. Describe the development of addiction treatment from a psychoanalytic perspective. (1.b, 1.f, 1.g, 1.h)

2. Review the main psychoanalytic theories of addiction. (2.a, 2.b, 2.c, 2 d)

3. Discuss the role, value and obstacles related to transference and countertransference. (3.h, 3,I, 3.k)

4. Identify modifications in psychoanalytic technique when working with patients suffering from addiction. (1.c, 1.h, 1.n)