Dialogues in Contemporary Psychoanalysis

2023 - 2024 Dialogues in Contemporary Psychoanalysis

Program Title:The Allure of Fascism: A Psychoanalytic Conversation.
Date:Saturday, January 6, 2024
Time:09:30am – 12:30 PT
Presenter:Era A. Loewenstein, PhD
Discussant:Michael J. Diamond, PhD, FIPA
Moderator:John DiMartini, PhD
Location:San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis
444 Natoma Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(remote participation is available)
Program Fee:

$ 55  —  General Admission
$ 30  —  SFCP Members
Free  —  SFCP and non-SFCP Candidates, PPTP Trainees and Students*

If you are a Candidate, Trainee, or Student of the SFCP, including those in the SF-PPTP, PAPPTP, CAPPTP programs or the Extension Yearlong Program:
Please email office@sfcp.org to register for the program free of charge

If you are a Candidate, Psychotherapy Trainee, or Student of another institution:
Please email office@sfcp.org to register for the program free of charge, with proof of educational eligibility.

CME/CE:

3 CME/CE credits available for free (for SFCP members) or $36 (for non-members)

After the program ends, SFCP will email all participants a program evaluation form.  The completion of this evaluation form is required for everyone who requests CME/CE credits.

The Allure of Fascism and the Appointment in Samarra.
Increasingly we are observing the rise of proto-fascist parties around the world and in the American MAGA political movement. Building on the fable The Appointment in Samarra, the presentation will discuss the characteristic features of fascistic states of mind. Reflecting on her own history that began when her father was forced to escape Vienna in 1938, following the Austrian Anschluss, Dr. Loewenstein will trace the subsequent generational futile efforts to escape extreme forms of nationalism and fascism, first in Israel, where she was born, and then in United States following the election of Donald Trump. The talk will address the author’s own blindness to the fate of the Palestinians during the Nakba, the Palestinian Catastrophe of 1948.  Era will address the disturbing allure of fascistic states of mind, an allure that makes it increasingly apparent that the hideous face of fascism may be a permanent by-product of modern democracies.

Era A. Loewenstein, PhDEra A. Loewenstein, Ph.D. is an adult, adolescent, and child psychoanalyst. She is on the Faculty and a Training and Supervising Analyst at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis (SFCP). Dr. Loewenstein was an Associate Board Member of The International Journal of Psychoanalysis. She presents locally, nationally, and internationally on various topics including the challenges of working psychoanalytically with patients trapped in perverse pathological organizations. Dr. Loewenstein has been especially interested in working with children, adolescents and adults suffering from the painful and enduring impact of personal trauma and trans-generationally transmitted familial and social trauma. Era is in private practice in San Francisco, where she also provides supervision and consultations as well as leading study groups and consultation groups. Since the election of Donald Trump, in 2016, Dr. Loewenstein has been exploring fascistic states of mind. Among her recent publications are: Dystopian Narratives: Encounters with the Perverse Sadomasochistic Universe. (Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 2017) and The Agitator and His Propaganda Machine: Donald Trump and the Road to American Fascism (Fort Da, 2018). Era is the Editor of the Psychoanalytic Inquiry Issue: Perspectives on Populist and Fascistic States of Mind.(February 2023. Volume 43, #2). The Issue includes her paper: In Dark Times: Psychoanalytic Praxis as a Form of Resistance to Fascist Propaganda. For her Prologue see:   https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07351690.2023.2163143

Michael J. Diamond, PhD, FIPADiscussant: Michael J. Diamond, PhD, FIPA, is a Training and Supervising Analyst at Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies. He has authored over ninety articles and chapters in the areas of masculinity, femininity, gender theory, fathering and the paternal function. He also has written on psychoanalytic technique and the analytic mind; trauma and dissociation; hypnosis, altered states; and group processes. He published an article in Psychoanalytic Inquiry’s Issue on “Perspectives on Populist and Fascistic States of Mind.” In addition, Michael has authored five books including: Ruptures in the American Psyche: Containing Destructive Populism in Perilous Times. His other books include Masculinity and Its Discontents: The Male Psyche and the Inherent Tensions of Maturing Manhood; My Father Before Me: How Fathers and Sons Influence Each Other Throughout Their Lives; and The Second Century of Psychoanalysis: Evolving Perspectives on Therapeutic Action. Dr. Diamond is widely known for his national and international presentations. He is in private practice in Los Angeles, while being active in teaching, supervising and writing.

 

Dialogue: Following the presentation and the discussion, Era and Michael will engage in a conversation with John DiMartini, Ph.D., Moderator, and with the audience. 

Educational Objectives:
Upon completion of this activity, the learners will be able to:

  1. elaborate on the essence of fascism including, its reliance on omnipotent leadership, simplistic ideologies, and inventing an enemy.
  2. discuss the clinical implications related to the fascist agenda or erasing memory, truth, and history.
  3. describe how the practice of psychoanalysis can be utilized as form of steady, peaceful resistance ot the destructive seduction of fascist states of mind.
  4. examine the differences and similarities between fascistic states of mind and pathological organization, and primary forms of psychotic structure: paranoia, malignant narcissism and perversion.

Accreditation Statement for CME/CE Sponsorship and Disclosure Statement

APA and ACCME Accreditation Marks

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION FOR ALL LEARNERS: None of the planners and presenters for this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s)* to disclose with ineligible companies* whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.

*Financial relationships are relevant if the educational content an individual can control is related to the business lines or products of the ineligible company.

—Updated July 2021—

PHYSICIANS: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of American Psychoanalytic Association and San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis. The American Psychoanalytic Association is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The American Psychoanalytic Association designates this Live Activity for a maximum of 3 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

PSYCHOLOGISTS: The San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.  The San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Psychologists attending SFCP events approved for CE credits may report AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ toward their CE requirements. Psychologists self-certify the number of hours they have completed on their renewal form (whether online or paper).

LCSWs/MFTs: The San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis is a continuing education provider that has been approved by the American Psychological Association, a California Board of Behavioral Sciences recognized approval agency

Psychologists, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists will be awarded AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ on an hour for hour basis; see the program description for the maximum of credits awarded for each program.

Commercial Support: None

Program Co-Chairs:
Henry Markman, MD & Julie Ruskin, PhD

Adam Blum, PsyD
Elizabeth Bradshaw, PhD
John DiMartini, PhD

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