2024 - 2025 East Bay Yearlong Program
Graeme Daniels, LMFT and Elizabeth Stuart, MD, Co-Chairs
Letting the Unconscious Lead the Way
The terrain of the unconscious can be defined differently even to the most intrepid of analysts. Therefore it’s likely to be confusing even for the seasoned psychotherapist, much less those newer in their career. Our cadre of experienced clinicians will demystify and clarify this important concept. Beginning to grasp on one’s own unconscious clinical experience opens a window in the mind’s eye to relating more complexly within ourselves and more deeply with our patient’s minds. Join us in this exploration of how basic theoretical tenets of unconscious areas including dreams, the impact of psychedelics contribute to our own growth and that of our patients. If the conscious mind immediately responds with “no” listen for a moment to see if there is an unknown part of you that also resoundingly says, “yes.”
| Dates: | Fridays, September 13, 2024 to June 6, 2025 |
| Time: | 12:00pm – 01:30pm |
| Sessions: | 35 Sessions |
| Location: | Online via Zoom |
| Program Fee: | $ 1,515.00 General Admission *If you are a university student, in a pre-licensure clinical training program, or in a residency program, Readers are not included in the program fee. For details, please refer to the Readers Fee information below. |
Introduction to the Unconscious
What is the unconscious? How did an idea of things unknown or denied become a centerpiece of mental health treatment, of psychoanalytic practice and tradition?
In this six-week course, entitled “Introduction to the unconscious,” we will study works by the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, and through his writings, wrestle with him about the meaning of dreams as a revealer of the unconscious; about the role of repression in censoring yet revealing unconscious wishes; about unconscious process in symptom formation and psychic illness, and within instinct, ego and Superego. From there, we will read a paper by Melanie Klein and study unconscious love and hate, and also contemporary psychoanalysts to arrive at how Freud’s idea of a dynamic unconscious is integrated into an idea of social unconscious.
Graeme Daniels, MFT
Fridays, September 13, 20, 27; October 4 (to be rescheduled, date TBD), 11, 18, 2024
The Unconscious Child Within: A focus on Winnicott and Ferenczi
In the intimate space of therapy, we often wonder: who sits with us in the room, and what lies beneath? How do we access the depths of the unconscious mind?
In this six-week course, we delve into the seminal works of Donald Winnicott and Sándor Ferenczi, focusing on their profound insights into early development. Together, we will explore how young beings navigate the complexities of self- formation and their relationship with the external world. Central to our discussions will be concepts such as differentiation of self from other, internal from external, and fantasy from reality.
A critical aspect of our exploration will be understanding the role of primary caregivers in shaping the developing psyche-soma. We will examine how infants grapple with the challenges posed by caregivers who may drop them, hurt them, or intrude upon their internal world, learning about the phenomenon of “identification with the aggressor.”
Through these foundational concepts, we aim to provide frameworks that ground us as we necessarily get caught up in the swirling emotional lives of our patients. By engaging with Winnicott and Ferenczi’s ideas, we seek to deepen our understanding of human development and enhance our capacity for empathic therapeutic practice.
Elizabeth Stuart, MD
Fridays, October 25; November 1, 8, 15, 22; December 6, 2024
Case Conference
In this six-week course, several participants will have the opportunity to present their clinical work to the class. As a group, we will listen to presented material with a “third ear,” being neither the therapist nor patient, and discuss the associations and feelings it evokes in us. Stepping away from our desire to know, these observations will provide a gateway into the unconscious for ourselves and our patients. As we reflect on the material, we will think about how we can integrate psychoanalytic theory and consider the clinical actions we might take based on our formulation.
Eric Miller, PhD
Fridays, December 13, 20, 2024; January 10, 17, 24, 31, 2025
The Group, the Mind, and the Group within the Mind
“My impression is that the group approximates too closely, in the minds of the individuals composing it, to very primitive phantasies about the contents of the mother’s body. The attempt to make a rational investigation of the dynamics of the group is therefore perturbed by fears, and mechanisms for dealing with them, which are characteristic of the paranoid-schizoid position. The investigation cannot be carried out without the stimulation and activation of those levels…The group is compelled, whenever the pressure of anxiety becomes too great, to take defensive action.”
Experience in Groups – W.R.Bion, 1955
We form groups to accomplish more than we can as individuals. We build families, schools and communities. We come together to create and build. Yet we also come together to tear down, and to destroy. So how do groups heal, and harm? Why and when do we join a group, and at other times retreat. Who is an insider and who is outsider? In this course, we will investigate and explore these questions and others regarding how both individual and group unconscious processes shape and power group dynamics.
This class will include substantial experiential “here and now” learning from our own group process as well as discussions fortified by readings from Freud, Bion, and Group Relations Theory.
Ben Goldstone, MA, LMFT
Fridays, February 14, 21, 28; March 7, 14, 2025
The Unconscious and Character
What if the unconscious is infinite, without time and space? What if it is dynamic, transient, and extends beyond family generations, culture, class, ethnicity and religion? If transference is endless how do we identify clarifying and meaningful interventions in psychoanalysis? Given the ubiquitous effect of unconscious transference, how can the analyst’s own personal therapy or analysis impact their character and by developing awareness, help them to be a better analyst?
In the seminar, we will discuss some basic elements about the unconscious for both analyst and patient. What the analyst learns about their character in their own personal therapy or psychoanalysis and, ultimately, how this informs the therapeutic practice.
Pedro Job, PsyM
Fridays, March 21, 28; April 4, 11, 18, 25, 2025
Dreams And The Unconscious: A Jungian Approach
Although Jung compares the dream to a snapshot of the unconscious, he acknowledges these photos can be hard to decipher because the unconscious has its unique style, often obscure from the ego’s limited perspective. Jung considered dreams to be valuable indicators of developmental issues, to compensate for conscious attitudes, and to indicate creative potentials and adaptive strategies. But they communicate less in the manner of rationalistic prose than of modern poetry. Often allusive and with multiple meanings they challenge us to study our symbology and the breadth and historical depth of collective experience. This course will sample how dreams can enrich our dialogue between the ego and the unconscious, as well as augment our effectiveness as clinicians.
Paul Watsky, PhD
Fridays, May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; June 6, 2025
Readers Fee
Charges for reading material required for the seminars are not included in tuition. Your readers will be prepared by CopyCentral, and costs are based upon copyright laws and charge based on the content of the readers. The SFCP Office will inform you when your readers are available to be purchased from CopyCentral’s website. Please note that CopyCentral may take 2 weeks to print and mail the readers to you, so we recommend you to purchase them as soon as they become available.
Refund Policy
- There will be a full refund if one requests to drop the program on or before September 12, 2024.
- There will be a 10% cancellation fee if one requests to drop the program on or after September 13, 2024.
- There will be no refund of classes in progress, and SFCP will provide a pro-rated refund of tuition for classes not yet begun.