Fridays @ CCP Lecture Series
***A recording will NOT be available for this session***
Peter Reiner, PhD, LMFT
(Chicago, Il)
Psychoanalytic Essentials for Couple Therapists: Clinical Application of Core Concepts
Friday March 5 , 2027
7-9pm (CST)
1132 S. Wabash Ave., Suite 502, Chicago
& ZOOM
About the presentation: This clinically-focused presentation will illustrate the central role of projective and introjective identification in bridging partners’ internal and external worlds, and in increasing role polarization or fostering empathic connection. A videotaped consultation interview with a married couple will be interwoven with commentary on the integration of systems theory with key psychoanalytic processes: splitting, projective identification, containment, and enactment.
Excerpts from a consultation interview will be presented, including these:
1.An immediate, powerful, clinically-significant sequence of projective/introjective identification between spouses that reveals core relationship dynamics and issues, which are later the topic of heated discussion;
2.Sequences of projective/introjective identification that contribute to the polarization of the couple into “pursuer” and “distancer” roles (“splitting”), thus demonstrating their key role in mediating between the intrapsychic and the interpersonal (or systemic);
3.Examples of projective and introjective identification between the husband and the therapist, showing how these processes can either strengthen or weaken empathic connection and illustrating both the benefits and challenges of containment.
Peter Reiner, PhD, LMFT is faculty and former Vice-President of the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis (CCP); faculty at The Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University; and faculty, and training and supervising analyst at the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute (CPI). He is adjunct clinical consultant in the Institute for Clinical Social Work’s (ICSW) Integrative Psychoanalytic Couple Therapy Program.
Peter was staff and clinical training coordinator at the Family Institute of Chicago, and Secretary of the Chicago Association for Psychoanalytic Psychology. He is an award-winning teacher who has led more than 60 graduate and post-graduate classes or seminars in systemically-oriented couple and family psychotherapy, psychodynamically-oriented psychotherapy, and psychoanalytic technique.
Dr. Reiner has written at length about the training and supervision of psychodynamically-oriented couple and family therapists, including “Training psychodynamic family therapists,” (in Lebow, Chambers, & Breunlin [Eds.] Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy, 2017) and “Systemic psychodynamic supervision,” (in Todd & Storm [Eds.], The Complete Systemic Supervisor: Context, Philosophy, and Pragmatics [2nd ed.], 2014). He is the author of “Psychoanalytic Essentials for Couples Therapists” (in Lebow, Chambers, & Breunlin [Eds.] Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy, revised edition; in press).
Peter is a psychoanalyst, clinical psychologist, and marriage and family therapist who provides consultation to mental health professionals and maintains a private practice in Chicago and by telehealth of psychoanalysis, and psychotherapy with individuals, couples, and families.
Learning Objectives
1.Participants will be able to explain the key role of projective identification in connecting the intrapsychic and the interpersonal realms.
2.Participants will be able to identify interactive sequences in couples that increase polarization and splitting.
This is an All Level 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 4, 2027 at: tkalven@ccpsa.org
References/Suggested Readings
Morgan, M. & Friend, J. (Eds.). (2027). Love, its meaning and exploration in couple therapy. London: Routledge.
Nielsen, A. (2019). Projective identification in couples. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 67(4), 593-624.
Novakovic, A. & Reid, M. (Eds.). (2018). Couple stories: Application of psychoanalytic ideas in thinking about couple interaction. London: Routledge.
Reiner, P. (2017). Training psychodynamic family therapists. In J. Lebow, A. Chambers, & D. Breunlin (Eds.), Encyclopedia of couple and family therapy, (DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_665-1). Springer International Publishing AG.
Ringstrom, P. (2018). Relational psychoanalytic perspective on couples psychotherapy. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 38(5), 399-408
Presented by
The Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis/CCP Program Committee