Redefining Unconscious Fantasy: Its Role in a Model of the Mind and a Possible Solution to the Problem of Theoretical Pluralism

NYPSI’s 1026TH SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM MEETING: Redefining Unconscious Fantasy: Its Role in a Model of the Mind and a Possible Solution to the Problem of Theoretical Pluralism

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

8:00 pm

Presenter: Anne Erreich, Ph.D. 
Discussant: Elizabeth Auchincloss, M.D.

In the history of Freud’s thinking, the nature of the patient’s fantasy life became the central interest of psychoanalytic work; thus, psychoanalysis was, by definition, embedded in a model of the mind. In our current era, many psychoanalysts, from Kleinians to Relational analysts, have declared that a science of mind is irrelevant to the psychoanalytic enterprise; both the hermeneutic and post-modern traditions hold that science itself has little or nothing to offer psychoanalysis. Nevertheless, since the 1960’s, questions regarding mental structure and functioning have been successfully pursued in academic developmental and cognitive psychology, which has for some time now, offered support and elaboration for psychoanalytic speculations. Given the virtual absence or irrelevance of psychoanalytic thinking in institutions of higher learning and treatment facilities, there is reason to believe that the future of the psychoanalytic project depends on progress toward a scientific discipline. This paper presentation seeks to promote that effort by offering an updated psychoanalytic metapsychology, one that takes into account decades of recent research in developmental and cognitive psychology, and philosophy of mind.

2 CME/CE credits offered.

$20 General Admission

$10  Student Admission (non-NYPSI)

Free RSVP for NYPSI members and students

Anne Erreich, Ph.D. is a Training and Supervising analyst at the Institute for Psychoanalytic Education affiliated with NYU School of Medicine, and a Clinical Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Child Study Center, NYU Langone Medical Center. She was also Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the New School for Social Research from 1986-1989.

Dr. Erreich has lectured and supervised in Seoul, Korea in 2010 and 2015, and in April, 2017, she was an IPA-CAPSA Visiting Scholar at The International Psychoanalytic University in Berlin, and the Alexander Mitscherlich Institut in Kassel, Germany.

Dr. Erreich currently serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, and she has published papers in that journal as well as other psychoanalytic publications: Psychoanalytic Psychology, The Psychoanalytic Quarterly, The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, and Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Thought. In the past, she has also published work in academic journals such as Cognition, Child Development, and The Journal of Child Language, as well as several book articles on clinical, theoretical, and research topics. Her writing is often an attempt to integrate academic research related to models of mind and development with the unique data offered by psychoanalysis.

Elizabeth L. Auchincloss, M.D. is the Vice-Chair for Education, DeWitt Wallace Senior Scholar, and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College.  She is also Senior Associate Director, Training and Supervising Analyst, and Chair of the Diversity Committee at the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research. Dr. Auchincloss is a four-time recipient of the Award for Faculty Teaching given by the residents of the Payne Whitney Clinic. She is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Psychoanalytic Terms and Concepts (with Eslee Samberg, M.D.) published jointly by the American Psychoanalytic Association and Yale University Press in 2012. More recently, she is the author of the book, The Psychoanalytic Model of the Mind, published by American Psychiatric Publishing.

Educational Objectives: Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

1. Redefine the unconscious fantasy construct.
2. Recognize where such a construct would fit into an overall model of the mind, one which parenthetically offers a possible solution to the problem of theoretical pluralism.
3. Identify how unconscious fantasy operates in the mind of an individual via a robust psychological phenomenon called priming.

Psychologists: New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education programs for psychologists. New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute maintains responsibility for these programs and their content.

Social Workers: New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #0317.

Physicians: 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 New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute. 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 of this CME program has any relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Persons with disabilities: The building is wheelchair accessible and has an elevator. Please notify the registrar in advance if you require accommodations.