208: Writing Descriptions of Psychoanalytic Process II

Course Description

Instructors

Kathy Berkman, MD
Lynne Jacobs, MD

March 11 – April 29, 2023
Mondays, 7:00 – 8:25 pm

No class: 4/22

Co-requisites

Candidates must have at least one case in supervised psychoanalysis to be eligible to take second year courses.

Course Description

In this course candidates will be asked to write descriptions of analytic process at work. The focus will be on discrete moments in an analysis, in written portrayals of the interaction between analyst and patient. While considering the transference and countertransference, vignettes can include the observation and interpretation of a resistance, the patient’s response; and the analyst’s thoughts about what transpired. The goal is to sharpen the skills needed to make the writing vibrant and clear, and thus to help the reader understand what the analyst is thinking. Guidelines for annual summaries will also be discussed. Second Year students only.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. Identify the components of writing case reports.
2. Sharpen the skills needed to present written material in a cogent, narrative form.
3. Refine the writing technique to help the reader comprehend the case and understand how the analyst thinks about it.

Evaluation Method

Each student’s participation in class discussion and demonstration of understanding of the course objectives, readings and clinical material is assessed in a written evaluation by the instructor(s).

Schedule of Classes & Course Readings

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 ARE CONFIRMED.

I. Introduction

CLASS 1: March 11, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS

Bernstein, S.B. (2008). Writing about the Psychoanalytic Process. Psychoanal. Inq., 28(4):433-449.

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Lister, E., Kravis, N., Sandberg, L., Halpern, J.K., Cabaniss, D.L. and Singer, M.B. (2008). “I Write to Know What I Think”: A Four-Year Writing Curriculum. J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn., 56:1231-1247.

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SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS

Altstein, R. (2016). Finding Words: How the Process and Products of Psychoanalytic Writing Can Channel the Therapeutic Action of the Very Treatment It Sets Out to Describe. Psychoanal. Persp., 13(1):51-70.

Aron, L. (2016). Ethical Considerations in Psychoanalytic Writing Revisited. Psychoanal. Persp., 13(3):267-290.

Gaitanidis, A. (2011). The importance of style in the writing of psychoanalytic case studies. Psychodynamic Practice, 17(2):175-185.

Levin, C.B. (2020). How Did It Happen? Writing—A Royal Road to Becoming/Being an Analyst (Through the Lens of Complexity Theory). Psychoanal. Inq., 40(2):147-154.

II. Reading and discussion of selected candidate’s clinical writing

CLASS 2: March 18, 2024

III. Discussion

CLASS 3: March 25, 2024

IV. Discussion

CLASS 4: April 1, 2024

V. Discussion

CLASS 5: April 8, 2024

VI. Discussion

Class 6: April 15, 2024

VII. Discussion

Class 7: April 29, 2024