Fridays @CCP
Steven Cooper, PhD
(New York, NY)
Friday, October 20, 2023
The Oedipal Virtual Citadel: Varieties of Isolation, Oedipal Conflict, and Cover-Up
7-9pm: (CST): ZOOM Presentation & Discussion
About the presentation: The author elaborates some of the fantasies and defenses which protect some patients in their Oedipal fixations, particularly those related to forms of personal isolation. To some extent, cover-up is intrinsic to Oedipal conflict and fantasy, but what is covered up is quite variable. In this paper, the author highlights elements of personal isolation that the patient cultivates in order to protect love for a desired Oedipal parent and the conscious and unconscious fantasies associated with this love. While the schizoid’s isolation tries to solve the problem of fearing that his love destroys, the patients described here use forms of personal isolation to cover up and secure the gratification of Oedipal fantasies. Their isolation also serves to protect them from fantasies of unique forms of destructiveness in relation to self and the desired other. The citadel, a concept from Guntrip’s description of defenses protecting the schizoid patient’s fear of destructive love, is characterized here for the neurotic patient as virtual since in some ways, each of the participants in Oedipal conflict turn a “blind eye” (Steiner, 1985) to a staged cover-up. Clinical illustrations examine the process of shifts from turning a blind eye to sustaining a process of seeing what is being covered up but has already been seen.
Dr. Steven Cooper, is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University. He is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and also at the Columbia Center for Psychoanalysis and Research. He is also on the faculty at the New York University Postdoctoral Program for Psychoanalysis. He is Chief Editor Emeritus of Psychoanalytic Dialogues, Consulting Editor for Contemporary Psychoanalysis and has served on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Psychoanalysis and the Journal of the American Psychoanlaytic Association . Steven is the author of four books in psychoanalysis: Objects of Hope (Routledge, 2000); A Disturbance in the Field: Essays on Transference-Countertransference (Routledge, 2010, and The Melancholic Errand of Psychoanalysis (Routledge, 2016). His most recent book, "Playing and Becoming in Psychoanalysis" was published earlier in 2023 by Routledge. In the last ten years he has been trying to think about Winnicott's concepts of playing in the context of contemporary psychoanalytic theory related to enactment, intersubejctivity,and performative action.
Learning Objectives
1. Participants will be able to describe and explain distinctions between experiences of isolation that neurotic individuals experience in comparison to schizoidal patients.
2. Participants will be able to describe unique forms of coverup and defense that are important in Oedipal conflict.
This is an Intermediate /Advanced Level Presentation
Fees
CCP members: free with annual $195 membership, payable at registration.
Students:free with annual $175 membership, payable at registration.
Fellows: free with annual $175 membership, payable at registration.
Non-CCP members, single admission: $50
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 October 5, 2023 at: tkalven@ccpsa.org
References/Suggested Readings
Cooper, S. H., 2022) Playing and Becoming in Psychoanalysis. London: Routledge
Coooper, S. H. (2023) The play of mourning. J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn. 71: 61-82.
Ogden, T. H. (1991) Some theoretical comments on personal isolation. Int. J. Psychoanal. Dial. 1: 377-390.
Steiner, J. (1985) Turning a blind eye: The cover up for Oedipus. Int. Rev. Psychoanal. 12: 161-172.
Winnicott, D.W. The capacity to be alone. (1958) The capacity to be alone. Int. J. Psycho-Anal. 39: 416-420.
Presented by
The Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis/CCP Program Committee: Toula Kourliouros Kalven, Alan Levy, PhD, Zak Mucha, LCSW
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.
