One Year Psychoanalytic Seminar Series (OYPSS)
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Each year, the Vermont Psychoanalytic Study Group is pleased to offer a One Year Psychoanalytic Seminar Series (OYPSS). We would like to extend a standing invitation to interested clinicians to participate. The goal of this yearly seminar series is to enrich our understanding of psychoanalytic theory and practice. CEs are offered to Psychologists, Social Workers, and Mental Health Counselors.
VPSG’s 2024 Fall OYPSS course: a 6-class introductory seminar on groups and dreams. We will dive into Wilfred Bion’s group concepts of the “work group” and “basic assumptions,” and consider examples of the inevitable tension between group affiliation and the mind’s need to know the truth of its experience. Dreams will then be discussed and their relevance to clinical work. We will see how the exploration of dreams can help build trust in the therapeutic dyad (a group of sorts) and help the delicate process of uncovering inner conflicts, repressed desires, and traumas.
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Past Series
2023-24 flyer
2022-23 flyer
2021-2022 flyer
2019-2020 flyer
2018-19
OYPSS looked in depth at the psychoanalytic concept of narcissism. Freud’s seminal 1914 paper, “On Narcissism” was read and discussed as were the writings of contemporary authors representing various schools of thought, countries of origin, and points of view. Through those writings, participants examined the evolution of the theory and the contribution narcissism has made to the field of psychoanalysis.
Seminar co-ordinators: Mika Barker-Hart and Bertold Francke
Seminar leaders: Mika Barker-Hart, Mina Levinsky-Wohl, Bertold Francke, Teresa Meyer, Emma Burrous, Johanna Boyce and Susan Alnasrawi
2017-2018
OYPSS examined the pioneering work of Donald Winnicott. We read large portions of the book “Donald Winnicott Today” in addition to a number of original articles. The group studied theoretical ideas relating to Winnicott’s thoughts about primitive emotional development including transitional phenomena, disillusion of omnipotence, false-self-development and aggression. We also discussed a number of clinical topics including regression, dissociation and creativity. Participants explored the ways in which Winnicott’s thinking extended both Freud’s instinct theory and Klein’s object relations theory and discussed the ways in which Winnicott’s theories about early psychic development and the infant/mother matrix influenced the practice of child and adult psychoanalysis.
Seminar co-ordinators: Mika Barker-Hart and Bertold Francke
Seminar leaders: Mika Barker-Hart, Mina Levinsky-Wohl, David VanBuskirk, Bertold Francke, Teresa Meyer, Emma Burrous, Johanna Boyce and Susan Alnasrawi
2016-17
In anticipation of VAPS’s Scientific Meeting with Marilia Aisensten, OYPSS began the series with several articles on psychosomatic illness. Following that, participants read Freud's important paper ‘Mourning and Melancholia’ and discussed portions of: “On Freud's "Mourning and Melancholia.” From reading and discussing Freud’s original paper, participants could discern the origins of object relations theory and trace the evolution of psychoanalytic thought from the topographical to the structural theory. Also elaborated in the seminar: the relationship between mourning and melancholia from multiple perspectives opening up a multitude of other topics (including: internalization, super ego formation, anxiety, depressive states and narcissism).
Seminar co-ordinators: Mika Barker-Hart and Bertold Francke
Seminar leaders: Mika Barker-Hart, Mina Levinsky-Wohl, David VanBuskirk, Bertold Francke, Teresa Meyer, and Emma Burrous
2015-2016
OYPSS continued in its goal of offering a year-long curriculum to enrich the understanding of psychoanalytic theory and practice. This year Melanie Klein’s work was studied with participants reading: “Envy and Gratitude Revisited,“ edited by Priscilla Roth and Alessandra Lemma.
Seminar co-ordinators: Mika Barker-Hart and Bertold Francke
Seminar leaders: Mika Barker-Hart, Douglas Betts, William Butler, Douglas Dennett, Sharon Dennett, Bertold Francke, Mina Levinsky-Wohl and David VanBuskirk
2014-2015
OYPSS program participants read “On Freud's "Splitting of the Ego in the Process of Defense" and studied the defensive mechanism of splitting as viewed by different theorists. Authors included Freud, Brenner, Boyle, Garvey, Bolognini, Moreno, Bokanowski, Kancype, Hartke, Carignan, and Zuckerfeld.
Seminar Co-coordinators: Mika Barker-Hart and Bert Francke
Seminar leaders: Mika Barker-Hart, Douglas Betts, William Butler, Douglas Dennett, Sharon Dennett, Bertold Francke and Mina Levinsky-Wohl and David VanBuskirk
2013-14
OYPSS explored Transference and Countertransference, examining these concepts as they developed over the years. Theorists read included Freud, Racker, Klein, Loewald, Winnicott, Etchegoyen, Greenson, McDougall, Bertrand, Faimberg, Smith, H.F., Segal, Strachey, Gabbard, Jacobs, T.J., Brennan Pick, Casement, Mitrani, Roth, and Joseph, B. Participants developed further skills in recognizing and defining these concepts and understanding their clinical usefulness.
Seminar Co-coordinators: Mika Barker-Hart and Bert Francke
Seminar leaders: Mika Barker-Hart, Douglas Betts, William Butler, Douglas Dennett, Sharon Dennett, Bertold Francke and Mina Levinsky-Wohl and David VanBuskirk
2012-2013
This year, OYPSS concentrated on the work of Ronald Britton and exploring his contributions to the analytic field which include: conceptualizing the Oedipal complex as triangular space, the analytic “Third Position, contemporary views of hysteria and the primal scene, primitive states of mind, and working with narcissistic psychic structures. Britton’s theories of sharing space with another separate mind paved the way toward a British Object Relations conceptualization of otherness that is different from the French concept and from the American inter-subjective/interpersonal approach. Those differences were explored in this series.
Seminar Co-Coordinators: Doug Dennett and Mina Levinsky-Wohl
Seminar leaders: Mika Barker-Hart, Douglas Betts, William Butler, Douglas Dennett, Sharon Dennett, Bertold Francke and Mina Levinsky-Wohl.
2011-2012
VPSG initiated its One Year Psychoanalytic Seminar Series (OYPSS) with the goal to enrich our understanding of psychoanalytic theory and practice. The 14 session seminar series delved into Ferenczi’s, Balint’s, Lacan’s and Winnicott’s contributions to psychoanalysis. Consideration was also given to the historical and contemporary context of their ideas. Overviews of these four significant theorists were presented, as was introductory information detailing their theories and their influences on subsequent psychoanalytic concepts and communities.
Seminar Leader: Mina Levinsky-Wohl
Seminar leaders: Douglas Betts, William Butler, Douglas Dennett, Sharon Dennett, Bertold Francke, Mina Levinsky-Wohl, Carol Lidstrom, and Judith Lewis
2010-2011
The VPSG Seminar Series,“Further Developments for Psychoanalytic Study”; addressing dreams and their clinical use, oedipal theory and its clinical relevance from multiple perspectives and how work with children has informed the analytic undertaking. Readings were from relevant classical authors as well as contemporary writers from the French, British Object Relations and American perspectives. Goals were to continue developing a breadth and depth of analytic perspectives, encouraging analytic thinking and to stimulate clinical questions for those clinicians who are deeply engaged in their work. Authors included Freud, Parsons, Steiner, Reisser, Klein, Ogden, Fairbairn, Winnicott, Searles, Chausseguet-Smirgel, McDougal, Loewald, and Ferro.
Seminar Coordinator: Sharon Dennett
Seminar leaders: Douglas Betts, William Butler, Douglas Dennett, Sharon Dennett Bertold Francke and Mina Levinsky-Wohl
2009-2010
VPSG offered a seminar series centered on “Basic Analytic Concepts, Origins and Evolution”. The “Introductory” seminar opened with discussion of Ogden’s work on initiating treatment. “In the Beginning” seminars paired articles of Freud’s with later writer’s articles on the same subject and included the topics: The Unconscious and Dreams, Transference, The Oedipal Complex, Regression, Repetition and Working Through. “Evolution”seminars turned to the analytic project’s evolution through work with children and touched on Anna Freud: Child Development and Defenses, Winnicott: Transitional Space, Transitional Objects, True and False Self, Klein: Play Therapy, Paranoid Schizoid and Depressive Positions; Projection, Splitting, Idealization and Ambivalence. “Further Developments”seminars focused on the work of the analyst involving Racker: Countertransference, Bion: Negative Capability Container/Contained and Beta Bits/ Alpha Function and Groups, and Bollas and Ogden: On Self and Objects.
Seminar Coordinator: Sharon Dennett
Seminars Leaders: William Butler, Sharon Dennett, Doug Dennett, and Mina Levinsky-Wohl
Spring 2009
VPSG initiated its seminar series offering “Advanced Listening for the Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist”. The six seminar series was entitled “Listening So The Unconscious Can Hear” and was designed to explore the various ways we listen to and work with the unconscious in our clinical work. In the seminar The Frame and Beginnings, participants were asked to think about how they consider their internal working space as therapists and how to create a space for analytically oriented listening with their patients. Parsons was read in consideration of establishing and maintaining a psychoanalytic space and Faimberg, Ogden and Bion were read in relation to Analytic Listening. Free Associationwas approached through the lenses of Quinodoz, Bollas, Ogden and Mahoney and discussion touched on the question of whether free association is really free or subject to the demand of the therapist. Laconian Methods and Ideas for the Non-Laconian Therapist were considered in conjunction with reading Fink and his work which articulated Lacanian methods for listening, promoting free association, interpreting, and working with transference/countertransference.
Seminar leaders: Bill Butler, Sharon Dennett, and Mina Levinsky-Wohl
2022-23 flyer
2021-2022 flyer
2019-2020 flyer
2018-19
OYPSS looked in depth at the psychoanalytic concept of narcissism. Freud’s seminal 1914 paper, “On Narcissism” was read and discussed as were the writings of contemporary authors representing various schools of thought, countries of origin, and points of view. Through those writings, participants examined the evolution of the theory and the contribution narcissism has made to the field of psychoanalysis.
Seminar co-ordinators: Mika Barker-Hart and Bertold Francke
Seminar leaders: Mika Barker-Hart, Mina Levinsky-Wohl, Bertold Francke, Teresa Meyer, Emma Burrous, Johanna Boyce and Susan Alnasrawi
2017-2018
OYPSS examined the pioneering work of Donald Winnicott. We read large portions of the book “Donald Winnicott Today” in addition to a number of original articles. The group studied theoretical ideas relating to Winnicott’s thoughts about primitive emotional development including transitional phenomena, disillusion of omnipotence, false-self-development and aggression. We also discussed a number of clinical topics including regression, dissociation and creativity. Participants explored the ways in which Winnicott’s thinking extended both Freud’s instinct theory and Klein’s object relations theory and discussed the ways in which Winnicott’s theories about early psychic development and the infant/mother matrix influenced the practice of child and adult psychoanalysis.
Seminar co-ordinators: Mika Barker-Hart and Bertold Francke
Seminar leaders: Mika Barker-Hart, Mina Levinsky-Wohl, David VanBuskirk, Bertold Francke, Teresa Meyer, Emma Burrous, Johanna Boyce and Susan Alnasrawi
2016-17
In anticipation of VAPS’s Scientific Meeting with Marilia Aisensten, OYPSS began the series with several articles on psychosomatic illness. Following that, participants read Freud's important paper ‘Mourning and Melancholia’ and discussed portions of: “On Freud's "Mourning and Melancholia.” From reading and discussing Freud’s original paper, participants could discern the origins of object relations theory and trace the evolution of psychoanalytic thought from the topographical to the structural theory. Also elaborated in the seminar: the relationship between mourning and melancholia from multiple perspectives opening up a multitude of other topics (including: internalization, super ego formation, anxiety, depressive states and narcissism).
Seminar co-ordinators: Mika Barker-Hart and Bertold Francke
Seminar leaders: Mika Barker-Hart, Mina Levinsky-Wohl, David VanBuskirk, Bertold Francke, Teresa Meyer, and Emma Burrous
2015-2016
OYPSS continued in its goal of offering a year-long curriculum to enrich the understanding of psychoanalytic theory and practice. This year Melanie Klein’s work was studied with participants reading: “Envy and Gratitude Revisited,“ edited by Priscilla Roth and Alessandra Lemma.
Seminar co-ordinators: Mika Barker-Hart and Bertold Francke
Seminar leaders: Mika Barker-Hart, Douglas Betts, William Butler, Douglas Dennett, Sharon Dennett, Bertold Francke, Mina Levinsky-Wohl and David VanBuskirk
2014-2015
OYPSS program participants read “On Freud's "Splitting of the Ego in the Process of Defense" and studied the defensive mechanism of splitting as viewed by different theorists. Authors included Freud, Brenner, Boyle, Garvey, Bolognini, Moreno, Bokanowski, Kancype, Hartke, Carignan, and Zuckerfeld.
Seminar Co-coordinators: Mika Barker-Hart and Bert Francke
Seminar leaders: Mika Barker-Hart, Douglas Betts, William Butler, Douglas Dennett, Sharon Dennett, Bertold Francke and Mina Levinsky-Wohl and David VanBuskirk
2013-14
OYPSS explored Transference and Countertransference, examining these concepts as they developed over the years. Theorists read included Freud, Racker, Klein, Loewald, Winnicott, Etchegoyen, Greenson, McDougall, Bertrand, Faimberg, Smith, H.F., Segal, Strachey, Gabbard, Jacobs, T.J., Brennan Pick, Casement, Mitrani, Roth, and Joseph, B. Participants developed further skills in recognizing and defining these concepts and understanding their clinical usefulness.
Seminar Co-coordinators: Mika Barker-Hart and Bert Francke
Seminar leaders: Mika Barker-Hart, Douglas Betts, William Butler, Douglas Dennett, Sharon Dennett, Bertold Francke and Mina Levinsky-Wohl and David VanBuskirk
2012-2013
This year, OYPSS concentrated on the work of Ronald Britton and exploring his contributions to the analytic field which include: conceptualizing the Oedipal complex as triangular space, the analytic “Third Position, contemporary views of hysteria and the primal scene, primitive states of mind, and working with narcissistic psychic structures. Britton’s theories of sharing space with another separate mind paved the way toward a British Object Relations conceptualization of otherness that is different from the French concept and from the American inter-subjective/interpersonal approach. Those differences were explored in this series.
Seminar Co-Coordinators: Doug Dennett and Mina Levinsky-Wohl
Seminar leaders: Mika Barker-Hart, Douglas Betts, William Butler, Douglas Dennett, Sharon Dennett, Bertold Francke and Mina Levinsky-Wohl.
2011-2012
VPSG initiated its One Year Psychoanalytic Seminar Series (OYPSS) with the goal to enrich our understanding of psychoanalytic theory and practice. The 14 session seminar series delved into Ferenczi’s, Balint’s, Lacan’s and Winnicott’s contributions to psychoanalysis. Consideration was also given to the historical and contemporary context of their ideas. Overviews of these four significant theorists were presented, as was introductory information detailing their theories and their influences on subsequent psychoanalytic concepts and communities.
Seminar Leader: Mina Levinsky-Wohl
Seminar leaders: Douglas Betts, William Butler, Douglas Dennett, Sharon Dennett, Bertold Francke, Mina Levinsky-Wohl, Carol Lidstrom, and Judith Lewis
2010-2011
The VPSG Seminar Series,“Further Developments for Psychoanalytic Study”; addressing dreams and their clinical use, oedipal theory and its clinical relevance from multiple perspectives and how work with children has informed the analytic undertaking. Readings were from relevant classical authors as well as contemporary writers from the French, British Object Relations and American perspectives. Goals were to continue developing a breadth and depth of analytic perspectives, encouraging analytic thinking and to stimulate clinical questions for those clinicians who are deeply engaged in their work. Authors included Freud, Parsons, Steiner, Reisser, Klein, Ogden, Fairbairn, Winnicott, Searles, Chausseguet-Smirgel, McDougal, Loewald, and Ferro.
Seminar Coordinator: Sharon Dennett
Seminar leaders: Douglas Betts, William Butler, Douglas Dennett, Sharon Dennett Bertold Francke and Mina Levinsky-Wohl
2009-2010
VPSG offered a seminar series centered on “Basic Analytic Concepts, Origins and Evolution”. The “Introductory” seminar opened with discussion of Ogden’s work on initiating treatment. “In the Beginning” seminars paired articles of Freud’s with later writer’s articles on the same subject and included the topics: The Unconscious and Dreams, Transference, The Oedipal Complex, Regression, Repetition and Working Through. “Evolution”seminars turned to the analytic project’s evolution through work with children and touched on Anna Freud: Child Development and Defenses, Winnicott: Transitional Space, Transitional Objects, True and False Self, Klein: Play Therapy, Paranoid Schizoid and Depressive Positions; Projection, Splitting, Idealization and Ambivalence. “Further Developments”seminars focused on the work of the analyst involving Racker: Countertransference, Bion: Negative Capability Container/Contained and Beta Bits/ Alpha Function and Groups, and Bollas and Ogden: On Self and Objects.
Seminar Coordinator: Sharon Dennett
Seminars Leaders: William Butler, Sharon Dennett, Doug Dennett, and Mina Levinsky-Wohl
Spring 2009
VPSG initiated its seminar series offering “Advanced Listening for the Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist”. The six seminar series was entitled “Listening So The Unconscious Can Hear” and was designed to explore the various ways we listen to and work with the unconscious in our clinical work. In the seminar The Frame and Beginnings, participants were asked to think about how they consider their internal working space as therapists and how to create a space for analytically oriented listening with their patients. Parsons was read in consideration of establishing and maintaining a psychoanalytic space and Faimberg, Ogden and Bion were read in relation to Analytic Listening. Free Associationwas approached through the lenses of Quinodoz, Bollas, Ogden and Mahoney and discussion touched on the question of whether free association is really free or subject to the demand of the therapist. Laconian Methods and Ideas for the Non-Laconian Therapist were considered in conjunction with reading Fink and his work which articulated Lacanian methods for listening, promoting free association, interpreting, and working with transference/countertransference.
Seminar leaders: Bill Butler, Sharon Dennett, and Mina Levinsky-Wohl