Course Title:  Arranging the Field for Playing and Dreaming (12 CE credits)

Instructor:  Jeremy Bloomfield, PsyD
Meeting dates (2022):  March 23, 30; April 6, 13, 20, 27
Meeting time: Wednesdays, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. (CST)
Location:  Evanston, IL and via Zoom

Course Description:

Freud’s characterization of dreams as the “royal road to the unconscious” and Winnicott’s dictum “the analyst’s first task is to help the patient to be able to play” -- Why have these held up so robustly over time?  Despite many subsequent variations, these foundational concepts have remained at the forefront of therapeutic work with the unconscious because they bear such important, unique fruits.

This clinically-based seminar will explore various theories of play and of dreaming as well as clinical tactics to prepare the psychoanalytic field for the work of play or play of work. These theories and tactics inform and enhance psychotherapeutic work associated with myriad theoretical orientations, including existential, psychodynamic, and psychoanalytic.

We will begin by discussing elements of the frame and their function, with an added focus on the method of free association and the preparation of the patient for therapeutic work.  Next, we’ll consider a selection of classic readings (e.g., Freud, Winnicott) and more contemporary readings (e.g., Parsons) that address the purpose and function of play in psychotherapy.  We’ll also explore readings about working with dreams (e.g., Freud, Ogden). Participants will have opportunities to share their own experiences of working with patients’ dreams and of encountering obstacles to doing so.  Together, we’ll collaboratively explore our patients’ dreams or dream fragments, as well.

Biographical Information:

Jeremy Bloomfield, PsyD, is Visiting Faculty at The Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis.  Dr. Bloomfield has served as training director at Trilogy, Inc. and as a supervisor in Northwestern University’s psychoanalytically oriented counseling program.  Dr. Bloomfield spent the early part of his career at Northwestern University as a pre-doctoral fellow, researching psychotherapy: its efficacy, effectiveness, and efficiency.  He presented his research internationally at the Society for Psychotherapy Research (SPR). This experience enhanced his appreciation of the gap between research and practice and was one of the sparks that led to his study of psychoanalysis.  He was an invited discussant for a live demonstration of clinical supervision at a recent APA Division 39 conference. Dr. Bloomfield is a psychoanalyst in private practice in Evanston, Illinois who treats adults individually, leads several consultation groups, and provides individual consultation.