Neuropsychology & Modern Psychoanalysis

With Elizabeth Olson Psy.D., LCSW

May 7, 2021, 9am-1pm

This workshop will introduce the basic techniques involved in Neuropsychology & Modern Psychoanalysis. Hyman Spotnitz created this form of treatment in the 1940’s, working in new ways within a traditional psychoanalytic framework. Modern Psychoanalysis is rooted in working through unconscious and non-conscious procedural experiences that cannot be accessed with insight alone. In fact, at times, insight oriented therapy can reinforce the defenses against working through procedural patterns, also known as repetition compulsions.

We will discuss the importance of transference in terms of cultivating the procedural experiences within the therapeutic relationship. Once the therapist becomes engaged with the client’s early experiences, opportunities for deep, lasting change can occur.

In this workshop, we will explore the importance of emotional induction, also known as objective countertransference. Emotional induction is the conduit for understanding your client’s internal experiences as well as the way others experience them in their lives. Studying your inductions with clients is the key to understanding their character organization, the ways that their ego and object fields intermingle.

In addition to gaining a strong sense of the theory behind the techniques, we will discuss specific modern psychoanalytic techniques used to encourage the client to talk in new ways, progressive communication. These techniques include: contact functioning, object oriented interventions, ego-syntonic and ego-dystonic joins, maturational interpretations, mirroring, and commanding statements.

We will explore the use of vocal tone, the genuine expression of emotion in interchanges with clients, purposeful misattunements, and treatment agreements that engage character resistances more overtly. You will develop a clear understanding of what these techniques mean and how they can be used skillfully to encourage meaningful change in your client’s lives while enjoying your work as a clinician.