Topic: The Whole Ocean in a Drop of Water: What Face-to-Face Groups Can Tell Us About the Wider Societal Context

Description: In psychoanalytic treatment, we mostly see individuals and explore with them their lives, their relationships, and their inner worlds. This perspective seduces us to consider the individual as the primary entity and the social as secondary. As a group analyst, my perspective emphasizes not so much the socialization of the individual but the individualization of the social – and also the interplay of individual and social.  I refer to the “matrix” as the basic concept of group analysis. The matrix is the largely unconscious communicational network every group constructs in its development and of which every group member is part and co-creator. To understand wider social entities and how they permeate smaller entities and persons, the founder of group analysis S.H. Foulkes created the concept of the “foundation matrix.” That term refers to what people already have in common before they meet in person. In this presentation, I will show how the dynamics of small groups inform us about the larger social context of which they are a part. Small groups are like water drops that embody the characteristics of the whole ocean.  This approach can help us understand ourselves, our therapeutic work, our training institutes, and the wider communities of which we are a part.

The talk is targeted to psychoanalytic psychotherapists who conduct individual psychotherapy and anyone interested in group work. The specific goal is to have the audience members learn about the effects of group and larger societal dynamics on individuals. The meeting will consist of a lecture including a clinical presentation followed by a period of discussion and questions. The presenter, Regine Scholz, is a leading international expert on the dynamics involved in groups.

Presenter: Regine Scholz, PhD, is one of the foremost international experts on group psychotherapy and group analysis.  She has a private practice in Dusseldorf, Germany. A founding member of the German Group Analytic Society, she is currently a training analyst and supervisor in the Society.  She serves as Training Director of the International Dialogue Initiative, which was founded by Vamik Volkan. From 2010 to 2017, she served on the board of the Group Analytic Society International. Her writings and teachings deal mainly with the psychic impact of collective trauma and culture. Her most recent publication is the book We Don’t Speak of Fear, co-edited with Vamik Volkan and Gerald M. Fromm (2023, Phoenix).

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the presentation, attendees should be able to:

1. Describe how the interactions in groups reflect the wider social context;
2. Describe the impact of massive societal changes such as climate change, migrations, and technology on the lives of their individual patients.

The presenter, Regine Scholz, and the organizer, James W. Anderson, have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to report.

Admission is free. Continuing Education Credits are offered exclusively to Society members in all membership categories and those intending to join.  CE Credit will also be granted to members of CCP who register with the CCP registration code.

Continuing Education

---for CME Credit:

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 and Chicago Psychoanalytic Society. The American Psychoanalytic Association is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

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.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION FOR ALL LEARNERS: None of the planners and presenters for this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s)* to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.

*Financial relationships are relevant if the educational content an individual can control is related to the business lines or products of the ineligible company.

---for all other CE credit:

This program is sponsored for Continuing Education Credits by the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis. There is no commercial support for this program, nor are there any relationships between the continuing education sponsor, presenting organization, presenter, program content, research, grants or other funding that could be construed as conflicts of interest. Participants are asked to be aware of the need for privacy and confidentiality throughout the program. If the program content becomes stressful, participants are encouraged to process these feelings during discussion periods. The Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis maintains responsibility for this program and its content. CCP is licensed by the state of Illinois to sponsor continuing education credits for Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Licensed Social Workers, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors, Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy Counselors and Licensed Clinical Psychologists (license no. 159.000941 and 268.000020 and 168.000238 Illinois Dept. of Financial and Professional Regulation).

Professionals holding the aforementioned credentials will receive 2.0 continuing education credits for attending the entire program. To receive these credits a completed evaluation form must be turned in at the end of the presentation and licensed psychologists must first complete a brief exam on the subject matter. No continuing education credit will be given for attending part of the presentation. Refunds for CE credit after the program begins will not be honored.