Fridays @ CCP Lecture Series
Neil Altman, Ph.D
(Cambridge, MA)
February 18, 2022
White Privilege: Psychoanalytic Perspectives
7-9pm (CST) : ZOOM
About the presentation: In this seminar we will look at race and the significant role it plays in society and in clinical practice. Much of the effort going into racial consciousness-raising rests on the concept of unearned "white privilege". We will look deeply into this notion, suggesting that there are hidden assumptions in the idea of white privilege that perpetuate the very same racially prejudicial notions that are purportedly being dismantled.
We will examine in depth the structure of racial categories, polarized between white and black, that are socially constructed, resting on fallacious ideas of physical or psychological differences among peoples. We will also critically examine such related concepts as privilege, guilt, and power, suggesting that political positions are also artificially polarized into categories of "liberal", "left" and ''conservative", "right", in ways that contribute to stereotyping between people with different political leanings, foreclosing mutual respect, dialogue, and understanding. Finally,we will explore the implications for the theory and practice of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, discussing these ideas in detail and depth with clinical illustrations.
Neil Altman, PhD, is a member of the faculty at the William Alanson White Institute in New York City, and at the Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis in Boston, He is an Honorary Member of the William Alanson White Society, and Visiting faculty at Ambedkar University of Delhi, India. He is Editor Emeritus and Associate Editor of Psychoanalytic Dialogues, and on the editorial staff of The Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy, The Journal of Child Psychotherapy, and The International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies. He is author of Psychoanalysis in Times of Accelerating Cultural Change: Spiritual Globalization (2015), The Analyst in the Inner City: Race, Class and Culture through a Psychoanalytic Lens, (2010), and White Privilege: Psychoanalytic Perspectives (2020). He is co-author of Relational Child Psychotherapy (2002). Dr.Altman has published more than sixty articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Learning Objectives
1. Participants will be able to explain three forms of racially linked privilege
2. Participants will be able to explain three examples of how socially constructed notions of race influence psychoanalytically informed clinical work.
This is an Intermediate Level Presentation
Fees
CCP members: free with annual $175 membership, payable at registration.
Students:free with annual $150 membership, payable at registration.
Fellows: free with annual $150 membership, payable at registration.
Non-CCP members, single admission: $50
Student non-members, single admission: $15
Continuing Education
This program is sponsored for Continuing Education Credits by the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis. There is no commercial support for this program, nor are there any relationships between the continuing education sponsor, presenting organization, presenter, program content, research, grants or other funding that could be construed as conflicts of interest. Participants are asked to be aware of the need for privacy and confidentiality throughout the program. If the program content becomes stressful, participants are encouraged to process these feelings during discussion periods. The Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis maintains responsibility for this program and its content. CCP is licensed by the state of Illinois to sponsor continuing education credits for Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Licensed Social Workers, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors, Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy Counselors and Licensed Clinical Psychologists (license no. 159.000941 and 268.000020 and 168.000238 Illinois Dept. of Financial and Professional Regulation).
Professionals holding the aforementioned credentials will receive 2.0 continuing education credits for attending the entire program. To receive these credits a completed evaluation form must be turned in at the end of the presentation and licensed psychologists must first complete a brief exam on the subject matter. No continuing education credit will be given for attending part of the presentation. Refunds for CE credit after the program begins will not be honored. If a participant has special needs or concerns about the program, s/he/they should contact Toula Kourliouros Kalven by February 17, 2022 at: tkalven@ccpsa.org
References/Suggested Reading
1. Altman, N. (2021) White Privilege: Psychoanalytic Perspectives. London and New York: Routledge.
2. Altman, N. (2015) Psychoanalysis in Times of Accelerating Cultural Change: From Spirit Possession to Globalization. London and New York: Routledge.
3. Altman, N. (2010). The Analyst in the Inner City: Race, Class and Culture through a Psychoanalytic Lens Volume 2. New York and London: Routledge.
4. Baldwin J. (1993) The Fire Next Time. New York: Vintage International
5. Morrison, T. (1993) Playing in the Dark; Whiteness and the Literary Imagination. New York: Vintage International.
Presented by
The Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis/CCP Program Committee: Carol Ganzer, PhD, Toula Kourliouros Kalven, Alan Levy, PhD
The Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis is an IRS 501(C)(3) charitable organization, and expenses may be tax deductible to the extent allowed by law and your personal tax situation.