Sundays @ CCP

Matt Hiller, A.M., LCSW

Sunday, March 23, 2025

The Return to Janet: How is Dissociation Being Conceptualized as a Therapeutic Modality in Ketamine Treatments?     

12-2pm (CST)

Haymarket House, 800 W Buena Ave, Chicago, IL

&

Zoom

About the presentation: Over the last decade, Ketamine has increasingly gain popularity as a treatment for depression, suicidality, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Part of this popularity has hinged on claims that the dissociative effects of ketamine can assist patients with accessing and processing unintegrated memories and emotions from traumatic experiences. 

In this talk, I explore how this use of dissociation as a therapeutic modality connects to the work of French physician and psychologist, Pierre Janet. I make the case that the use of dissociation as a therapeutic touches on fundamental theoretical conflicts between Janet and Freud, which continue to complicate the relation between psychoanalysis and the field of ketamine therapy. Key among these conflicts are the use of hypnotic methods, the role of suggestion in psychotherapy, and the veracity of recalled memory. By better understanding the history of this conflict, I argue, psychoanalytic therapist will be better equipped to assess the clinical and ethical issues that emerge within ketamine treatments. 

Matt Hiller is a candidate in the joint social work and anthropology doctoral program at the University of Michigan. His doctoral research is support by the National Science Foundation and is currently focused on the use of ketamine as a mental health treatment in the United States.  

Along with being a doctoral student, Hiller is also a practicing psychotherapist. He is a student in the two-year psychoanalytic psychotherapy certificate program at CCP, and this talk is his graduation project. 

Learning Objectives

-Attendees will be able to connect current understandings of dissociation in ketamine treatment to Pierre Janet’s theories of traumatic memory.

-Attendees will understand conceptual differences between Janet and Freud’s understandings of trauma and dissociation.

This is an Intermediate Level of Presentation.

Fees

CCP members: free with annual $195 membership, payable at registration.

Students:free with annual $175 membership, payable at registration.

New Fellows / Ongoing: free with annual $250/$300 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 March 22, 2025 at: tkalven@ccpsa.org

References/Suggested Readings

Breuer, J., & Freud, S. (1957). Studies on Hysteria (J. Strachey, Ed. & Trans.). Basic Books.

Domino, E. F., & Warner, D. S. (2010). Taming the Ketamine Tiger. Anesthesiology, 113(3), 678–684.

Herman, J. (1997). Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror. Basic Books.

Van Der Hart, O. (1989). The dissociation theory of Pierre Janet. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 

2(4), 1–11.

Van Der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Penguin Books.

Presented by

The Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis/CCP Program Committee: Zak Mucha, LCSW, Alan Levy, PhD,  Toula Kourliouros Kalven.

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.