A Note from the President

As we enter the first month of 2026—Januarius—we are reminded of Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and guardian of thresholds, who looks both backward and forward at once. Janus invites us to pause at the doorway of time, holding the tension of memory and anticipation, like a door that faces both within and without.

This feels especially fitting for the Society at this moment. Following the launch of our digitized archives in December, we find ourselves engaged in a form of collective remembering—recovering voices, ideas, and encounters that continue to shape our work. In psychoanalytic terms, the archive is not simply a record of the past, but a living memory that gains meaning as it is revisited and re-encountered in the present. Above is the pre-presentation video from our December 16 event, offering a glimpse of the archives along with reflections on past presenters by Chicago analysts who knew them, as we turn with intention toward the year ahead.

The Society’s first program of the year will be offered on Saturday, January 17, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (Central Time). Legendary child analyst Anne Alvarez will present live from London via Zoom on her psychoanalytic work in enlivening traumatized children. Please see the invitation below for full details and registration information.

The second program, “Love Lessons: The Power of Metaphors in Couple Therapy,” will be presented by esteemed Chicago psychoanalyst and Society member Art Nielsen on Tuesday, January 27, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm (Central Time), also via Zoom. For additional details and to register, please click here.

Finally, in response to the enthusiastic interest generated by the Society’s November program on retirement, Chicago analysts and Society members Lucy Freund and Neal Spira are proposing a group opportunity for members who are navigating retirement to meet and talk together. At present, they are envisioning six monthly meetings, with the option to continue if participants wish.

If you are interested, please get in touch with them by email at the addresses listed below.

Lucy  Freund                                                        Neal Spira

freundlucy@gmail.com                                    nspiramd@gmail.com

We hope you will join us for these engaging programs as we begin the new year.

Stephanie Fariss

Upcoming Program

co-sponsored by: The Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute

Love Lessons: The Power of Metaphors
in Couple Therapy

Presenter: Art Nielsen, MD

Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at 7:00 - 9:00 PM Central time

By Zoom Only

Arthur Nielsen, M.D. is a full-time, practicing psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and couple therapist in Chicago, Illinois. He is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Northwestern ’s Feinberg School of Medicine, a faculty member of the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis, and Associate Director of the Integrative Psychoanalytic Couple Therapy Program sponsored by the (Chicago) Institute for Clinical Social Work.

Professor Nielsen originated and taught the popular Northwestern University undergraduate course, Marriage 101, now in its 25th year, is the author of two textbooks and more than 40 articles on couple therapy and has taught courses and lectured nationally and internationally on couple therapy and intimate relationships.

Description: 

Over many years of working with patients, Dr. Art Nielsen has found that certain metaphors—often presented as images or contained in films, stories, jokes, song lyrics, research findings or personal anecdotes—are particularly effective and memorable in clarifying and normalizing diverse experiences of couples in distress. By likening events in therapy to other, more familiar experiences, one can strengthen the therapeutic alliance in a setting that otherwise might seem distressingly foreign and threatening. And, more generally, sharing certain metaphors can improve efficacy when working with couples. In this short talk, Dr. Nielsen will give examples of metaphors that have proved singularly useful both with patients and when teaching students. After doing so, he will discuss the subject more generally, describing the multiple benefits of metaphors and offering some technical suggestions for employing them in therapy.

Approximate breakdown of time:

First Hour: presentation

Second Hour: discussion with audience

Learning Objectives

After attending this session, participants should be able to:

1. Describe how metaphors can illuminate concepts from systemic, psychodynamic, and behavioral/psychoeducational approaches to couple therapy.
2. Give an example of how to use metaphors in therapy with couples.

Continuing Education Credits are offered exclusively to Society members in all membership categories and those intending to join.

The presenter, Art Nielsen, MD, and the organizer, Lisa Karaitis, PsyD, have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to report.

Participants are asked to be aware of the need for privacy and confidentiality throughout the program.

ACCME Accreditation Statement: 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 (APsA) and the Chicago Psychoanalytic Society. The American Psychoanalytic Association is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

AMA Credit Designation Statement: The American Psychoanalytic Association designates this live activity for a maximum of 2 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Disclosure Statement: The APsA CE Committee has reviewed the materials for accredited continuing education and has determined that this activity is not related to the product line of ineligible companies and therefore, the activity meets the exception outlined in Standard 3: ACCME's identification, mitigation and disclosure of relevant financial relationship. This activity does not have any known commercial support.

Accreditation Information for Professionals Other Than Physicians.  The Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute maintains responsibility for this program and its content, in relation to accreditation for CE credits for non-physicians.  CPI is licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to sponsor continuing education credits for (license numbers in parentheses): Social Workers (159.000122), Professional Counselors (197.000202), Marriage and Family Therapy Therapists (168.00204), and Clinical Psychologists (268.000091). 

Eligible professionals will receive 2.0 continuing education credits for attending the entire program. To receive these credits an evaluation form must be completed online. Learners must claim the amount of time spent in the educational activity and that will be the amount of credit they will earn.

REGISTER NOW
(Zoom link provided upon registration)