Welcome to the Chicago Psychoanalytic Society!

As we approach our third program of the year on November 12th, the Society acknowledges the intense stress many are feeling during these final days before the presidential election between Donald Trump, a wealthy white businessman and former president, and Kamala Harris, a lifetime public servant, current vice president, and woman of color, who is promoting a new generation of leadership. Indeed, the election is one of the most significant in our nation's history due to the deep chasm of ideas and values between the two candidates and the factions of the country each represents. With this backdrop, the Society is pleased to offer Chicago analyst Ramya Iyer's award-winning paper, '"January 6th: An Exploration of Racial Introjection and Social Construction."

While conceding recent attempts to understand racial dynamics in psychoanalysis, Iyer identifies the need for a "more robust theoretical or conceptual framework" that addresses how to work with racialized material in clinical settings. She asks: "As psychoanalysts, how do we understand and enact racial constructs within ourselves and with our patients?"

She continues: "I believe an analysis of our own racialized introjects will enable a better understanding of how our own racial identities have been constructed and how they impact our work with our patients." Iyer offers us a correction with a paper that weaves individual and social analytic theory, her personal experience as a South Asian immigrant, and a dynamic analytic case example that involves White Supremacy and the January 6th attack on the US Capitol building. She takes us directly into deep cultural, political, and symbolic material and, in so doing, provides a timely and necessary addition to the annals of psychoanalytic thought.

To prepare for this presentation, we offer you a link to Iyer’s paper (SEE “OPEN PAPER HERE,” located above “Learning Objectives”), as well as the following references for study:

Holmes, D. (2021). "I do not have a racist bone in my body": Psychoanalytic perspectives on what is lost and not mourned in our culture's persistent racism. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 69(2), 237–258. https://doi.org/10.1177/00030651211009518

Caflisch, J. (2020). When reparation is felt to be impossible: Persecutory guilt and breakdowns in thinking and dialogue about race. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 30(5), 578–594. https://doi.org/10.1080/10481885.2020.1797402 

Please remember that anyone interested in psychoanalysis is invited to join the Society and receive free continuing education credits.

We look forward to seeing you at 7 pm on November 12^th via Zoom or in person at 8 S. Michigan Avenue.

Stephanie
Stephanie Fariss
Society President

Organized June 8, 1931 and accepted as a Constituent Society by the American Psychoanalytic Association in 1932, the Society's mission is to advance the field of psychoanalysis through the promotion of education and research by its members and the the community-at-large; to maintain and promote professional and ethical standards of the profession; to promote professional activities of its members by assisting career development and generating marketing opportunities; and to enhance the vitality of the Society by encouraging a diversity of opinion, assessing the interests of its members, facilitating member involvement in Society activities and fostering a collegial community.

The Society is committed to maintaining an educational environment free from sexual harassment, sexual violence, and discrimination based on race, color, sex, age, religion, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, or any other basis prohibited by law. It also strives to initiate, welcome, and maintain ongoing conversations and discussions related to inclusivity among its members and the community-at-large.