Course Title:  Thoughts and Thinkers in Neuropsychoanalysis (12 CE credits, IL)

Instructor:  Derrick Hassert, PhD

Meeting dates (2024): January 29, February 5, 12, 26; March 4, 11 

Meetings time: Mondays, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. (CST), via Zoom

Course Description:

Neuropsychoanalysis attempts to integrate insights derived from the study of the brain with the clinical findings of psychoanalysis to enrich our understanding of human experience and behavior, and offers a more detailed picture of the biological underpinnings of subjective experience. This course will provide an overview of the essential theoretical contributions that have emerged from the incorporation of neuroscientific findings into psychoanalytic thought.

After reviewing the basics of brain functioning, participants will discuss key concepts derived from the work of Mark Solms, Jaak Panksepp, Allan Schore, and Jeremy Holmes.  We’ll also appraise Otto Kernberg’s recent reflections about the implications of these findings for certain theoretical and clinical concepts, notably those regarding the centrality of emotion in clinical work and in the formation of the self.  Finally, participants will consider how debates in psychoanalysis have influenced research in the affective and cognitive neurosciences.  
          

Biographical Information:

Derrick Hassert, PhD is Visiting Faculty at the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis, Faculty at the Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy at Loyola University Chicago, and Professor of Psychology at Trinity College in Palos Heights, Illinois.  He is an advanced candidate at the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis and a Clinical Fellow of the International Neuropsychoanalysis Society.   Derrick received training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy through the William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis, and Psychology and the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research.  He maintains a private practice of psychoanalytically-oriented psychotherapy in Matteson, Illinois and by telehealth.