201: Contemporary Diagnosis
Instructor
Evan Leibu, M.D.
October 21 – December 2, 2024
Mondays, 8:35 – 10:00 pm
Co-requisites
Candidates must have at least one case in supervised psychoanalysis to be eligible to take second year courses.
Course Description
This course offers an introduction to contemporary diagnostic practices, examining how they compete with and complement psychoanalysis. We will focus on modern diagnostic frameworks, including phenomenology and neurobiology, and how these intersect with traditional psychoanalytic theories. The course will explore the impact of the DSM-III’s shift in diagnostic criteria on psychoanalytic practice, as well as the historical context and theoretical foundations of both the DSM and PDM. A critical analysis of both classic and contemporary approaches will be conducted through case studies, such as the examination of obsessive-compulsive disorder in Freud’s “Rat Man” case and the diagnosis and treatment of masochism, integrating both perspectives to inform current clinical practice.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to:
- Analyze the historical and theoretical shifts introduced with the DSM-III and evaluate their impact on psychoanalytic diagnosis and practice.
- Apply Nancy McWilliams’ framework on Levels of Personality Organization to contemporary diagnostic scenarios, including the OCD spectrum and the “Rat Man” case.
- Integrate neuropsychoanalytic perspectives with classical psychoanalytic theories to enhance the understanding and treatment of personality disorders.
- Compare and contrast psychoanalytic and psychiatric diagnostic models, particularly in relation to obsessive-compulsive disorder and masochistic character pathology and discuss their implications for clinical treatment.
Evaluation Method
Each student’s participation in class discussion and his or her demonstration of understanding of the course objectives and reading material is assessed in a written evaluation by the instructor(s).
These articles are protected under relevant copyright regulations. They are available in the New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute Electronic Reserve for your convenience, and for your personal use.
READINGS NOT YET CONFIRMED.
I. Axis II of the DSM Viewed from an Analytic Perspective
CLASS 1: September 13, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
Doctors, S. R. (2017). Brandchaft’s Pathological Accommodation—What It Is and What It Isn’t. Psychoanalysis, Self, and Context, 12:45-59.
Kernberg, O. (1976). A psychoanalytic classification of character pathology in Object Relations Theory and Clinical Psychoanalysis, Aronson: New York, pp. 139-60.
II. ‘Levels’ of Personality Organization
CLASS 2: September 20, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
McWilliams, N. (1994). Levels of personality organization. Psychoanalytic Diagnosis, Guilford Press, Ch. 3 & 4.
III. Obsessional Cognition and Neurobiology
CLASS 3: September 27, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
Gordon, R. M. & Bornstein, R. F. (2018). Construct Validity of the Psychodiagnostic Chart: A Transdiagnostic Measure of Personality Organization, Personality Syndromes, Mental Functioning, and Symptomatology. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 35:280-288.
Shapiro, D. (1965) Obsessive style in Neurotic Styles, Basic Books: New York, pp. 23-53.
IV. The Classical Analytic Understanding
CLASS 4: October 4, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
Freud, S. (1908) Character and anal eroticism, S.E. Volume 9, pp. 167-176.
Freud, A. (1966) Obsessional Neurosis: A Summary of Psycho-Analytic Views as Presented at The Congress, IUP, pp. 116-122.
V. The Contemporary Analytic Integration
CLASS 5: October 11, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
Kernberg, O.F. (2019). Therapeutic Implications of Transference Structures in Various Personality Pathologies. J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn., 67(6):951-986.
VI. Hysterical Cognition
CLASS 6: October 18, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
Shapiro, D. (1965) Hysterical style. Neurotic Styles. Basic Books: New York, pp. 108-133.
VII. Freud on Hysteria and the Subsequent Reevaluation
CLASS 7: October 25, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
Freud, S. (1908) Hysterical fantasies and their relation to bisexuality, S.E. Volume 9, pp. 159-166.
Freud, S. (1926) Inhibitions, symptoms, and anxiety, S.E. Volume 20, pp. 112-126. (REVIEW)
VIII. The Contemporary Analytic Integration
CLASS 8: November 1, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
McWilliams, N. (1994) Hysterical (histrionic) personalities, Psychoanalytic Diagnosis, Guilford Press, Chapter 14, pp. 301-322.
IX. The Contemporary Analytic Integration continued
CLASS 9: November 8, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
Blum, H.P. (2011). Masochism: Passionate Pain and Erotized Triumph. Psychoanal. Rev., 98(2):155-169.
X. Seminal Contributions from Modern Kleinian, Self-Psychology and Object Relations Theory
CLASS 10: November 15, 2023
REQUIRED READINGS
Joseph, Betty. (1982). Addiction to Near Death, IJP, (63):449-56.
Cooper, A. (1988). Narcissistic-Masochistic Character in Masochism: Current Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Analytic Press: Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 117-138.
Kernberg, O. (1988). Clinical Dimensions of Masochisms in Masochism: Current Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Analytic Press: Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 61-80.