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Welcome to the Chicago Psychoanalytic Society!

We hope you were able to join us for the Society's inaugural event on September 24th, when Dr. Marcia Dobson presented a paper revealing the richness that comes when clinicians are open and willing to participate in liminal and imaginal spaces with their patients. Attendees to the event didn't disappoint either, and what followed was a lively discussion. Unfortunately, a glitch occurred, and the program was not recorded. So, for those who missed it, you have Dr. Dobson's recent book, Metamorphosis in Psychoanalysis and Ancient Greek Thought: From Mourning to Creativity, which discusses the clinical material in her presentation. And for those attendees who yearn for a deeper dive, here are additional references:

Eshel, O. (2006). Where are you, my beloved?  International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 87 (6): 1603-1627.

Kalsched, D. (2013). Trauma and the soul: A psycho-spiritual approach to human development and its interruption. New York and London: Routledge.

Mayer, E. (2007) Extraordinary Knowing: Science, Skepticism and the Inexplicable Powers of the Human Mind. New York: Random House

Pedroni, Ingrid (2023). Beyond Fragmentation.  Clinical Journeys in Contemporary Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. Oxfordshire, England: Phoenix Publishing House.

Building on the subtitle of our last program—"How is Psychoanalysis Changing?"—on October 22nd, we welcome Dr. Edie Hitchcock, an advanced candidate at the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute. She will present her award-winning paper, "The Excessive Polycule: Polyamory as an Expression of the Death Drive." The Society will host this event in person at the Institute and via Zoom.

In her paper, Dr. Hitchcock will explore how polyamory can function as an expression of the death drive as theorized by French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan (as an excessive form of life). She will offer a case example where a patient maniacally generates new structures in a futile attempt to restabilize and respond to a disappointing or lacking other.

Because we have not had time to create a study group for Society members to begin to tackle this fascinating topic, Dr. Hitchcock has offered the following references to help us prepare for her talk:

Ackerman, Sarah, et al (2023). Thanatos: Is Freud's concept still relevant? Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 71(4): 669–702. 

Bell, David L. (2015). The death drive: Phenomenological perspectives in contemporary Kleinian theory. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 96(2): 411–423.

Hook, Derek. (2016). Of symbolic mortification and 'undead life': Slavoj Žižek on the death drive. Psychoanalysis and History, 18(2): 221–256.

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 October 22th via Zoom or in person at 8 S. Michigan Avenue.

Stephanie
Stephanie Fariss
Society President

 

Mission

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.


Upcoming Program


co-sponsored by: The Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute

The Excessive Polycule: Polyamory as an Expression of the Death Drive

Presenter: Edie Hitchcock, MFA, MA, PhD, LCPC

Tuesday, October 22, 2024, at 7:00 – 9:00 PM Central time

In person at the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute,
8 S. Michigan Ave, 7th Floor, Chicago, IL

And By Zoom




Edie Hitchcock, MFA, MA, PhD, LCPC
, is a psychotherapist in private practice and an advanced candidate at the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute.  She received her doctorate from the European Graduate School in Philosophy, Art, and Critical Thought with a dissertation on the ethics of psychoanalytic listening. She teaches at the Institute for Clinical Social Work and in the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute’s Exploring Psychoanalysis program. She presents at philosophical conferences, and she was awarded the Lee Jaffe Candidate Paper Prize in 2024 by the American Psychoanalytic Association.


Description:
 This talk is an exploration of the meaning and function of polyamory (the practice of having multiple sexual partners) in the experience of a non-binary, queer person in psychotherapy.  Polyamory, as this person practiced it, can be viewed as a form of “life-in-excess-of-life,” hypothesized by Jacques Lacan as the result of the death drive.  The death drive, according to this formulation, propels the subject manically to generate potentially new structures in answer to a disappointing or lacking other. In its attempt to burn down nefarious hierarchies, polyamory functions as a regressed retreat to lateral-only relations; i.e., the rivalry and revelry of sibship.  In the unconscious attempt to restabilize that which is unstable, the person is further destabilized.  The goal in this talk is not to judge acts that may have the capacity to create emancipatory relational structures but to open up the dialogue for finding practices in life that result in less confusion and disavowal and more resilience and generosity as we make our way through this unstable world.

 

Learning Objectives

After attending this session, participants should be able to:

  1. describe how polyamory can serve as a form of “life in excess of life” that attempts to make up for disappointment in the other;

  2. appreciate how the cultural surround, such as different attitudes toward polyamory, affects patients.


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

The presenter, Edie Hitchcock, MFA, MA, PhD, LCPC, and the organizer, James W. Anderson, 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.




(Zoom link will be automatically emailed to you when you register)






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