Lessons Learned from a Patient who Wanted Psychoanalytic Treatment Without Regular Hours

Tuesday, October 27, 2020, 6:30 – 8:30pm CST

Presenter: Aisha Abbasi, MD

After the presentation we will have time for a discussion, during which you can send in questions or comments for the speakers to answer.

Analysts are often presented with unusual requests from patients , or challenging circumstances under which an analysis may have to be conducted. In this paper, Dr. Abbasi presents detailed clinical material from the early part of such an analysis and shares what she and her patient learned about the patient’s unusual request to not have regular analytic hours, while working at an analytic frequency.

Dr. Aisha Abbasi is a Training and Supervising Analyst at The Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute. She is the author of a book “ The rupture of serenity: External intrusions and psychoanalytic technique” and the co-editor (with Dr. Salman Akhtar) of a book “Privacy: Developmental, Cultural, and Clinical Realms.” In her analytic papers and presentations, her focus is mainly on the challenges and nuances of psychoanalytic clinical technique. She is the President of GSPP (Group for the Study of the Psychoanalytic Process), a private group of sixteen analysts from many different parts of the USA and Canada, who meet for three days twice a year and discuss several hours of process material from one analytic case.  Dr Abbasi regularly teaches and offers clinical consultations both nationally and internationally, and is a recent recipient of The Master Teacher Award from APsaA. She is licensed to practice both in Michigan and in Florida, is a member of the Tampa Bay Psychoanalytic Society, and in addition to her clinical work in Michigan, she sees patients in Tampa as well.

She has been an Associate Editor of JAPA, and is a member of the Board of Directors of The Psychoanalytic Quarterly. Dr Abbasi is also a published poet in her mother tongue, Urdu.

Educational Objectives:

After attending this presentation, participants will be able to:

1) Apply the acquired knowledge to better analyze and manage unusual and challenging requests from patients who wish to start an analysis.

2) Demonstrate a greater ability to start and conduct analytic treatments in ways that are different than those usually taught and learned.

References:

1) Abbasi, A.  (2014) The Rupture of Serenity: External Intrusions and Psychoanalytic Technique. Karnac/ Routledge 2014

2) Abbasi, A. (2018) The Analyst’s Bodily Sensations as Important Information in Clinical Work.  Psych. Inq. Volume 38, – Issue 7. 530 —540

3) Abbasi, A. (2019) The Fine Tension Between The Analyst’s Need for Privacy and The Patient’s Curiosity About The Analyst. 173 -196 in: Privacy: Developmental, Cultural, and Clinical Realms. (Eds. Akhtar, S.and   Abbasi,A.).  Routledge Press.