Claustro-agoraphobia, Bertram Lewin, and the Oral Triad

NYPSI’s 1033rd Scientific Program Meeting:

“Claustro-agoraphobia, Bertram Lewin, and the Oral Triad”

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

8:00 pm

Presenter: Susan N. Finkelstein, LCSW

Discussants: Anna Balas, MD and Leon Balter, MD

Claustro-agoraphobic anxieties are rooted in unconscious phantasies about the maternal body. Henri Rey named the claustro-agoraphobic syndrome in which its sufferers feel trapped when involved in a relationship, desperate to escape, then terrified once free of it, seeking retreat to the illusory security of the primal home – in phantasy, the mother’s body.  The presenter will discuss some early and little-recognized contributions of Bertram D. Lewin that may be applied to Rey’s ideas within the context of a claustro-agoraphobic patient. She will further discuss three dreams to demonstrate how Lewin’s oral triad of wishes: ‘to eat, to be eaten and to sleep’ relates to these phobias and to Rey’s concept.

Susan N. Finkelstein, LCSW, is a faculty member of the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research and the Contemporary Freudian Society where she is also a Training and Supervising Analyst. She is in private practice in psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and couple therapy in New York City.  In addition, she teaches technique and clinical supervision in Freud, Klein and Bion, is the originator of a study group “Understanding Primitive Mental States,” and co-chairs an annual discussion group with Nasir Ilahi at the American Psychoanalytic Association, “Schizoid Modes in Narcissistic and Borderline States.” Areas of specialization include ongoing seminars in the “The Internal World and Its Objects,” “Bion and Beckett,” “The Claustro-Agoraphobic Dilemma” and “Hysteria.”

Anna Balas, MD is Associate Professor New York Presbyterian Hospital, Payne Whitney Division; Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association; Member of CAPS (Center for Advancement of Psychoanalysis) and Course Instructor, New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute.

Leon Balter, MD is Associate Clinical Professor, Mount Sinai Department of Psychiatry and Training and Supervising Analyst, New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute.

 

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

1. define the primitive anxieties found in the “claustro-agoraphobic syndrome” termed by Henri Rey.
2. define Bertram Lewin’s concept of the oral triad of wishes: ‘to eat, to be eaten and to sleep’ and their relationship to the claustro-agoraphobic syndrome.

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 this program and its 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 the 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 have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.