Fridays @ CCP Lecture Series

NO RECORDING

Gudrun Opitz, PhD

(New York, NY)

The Royal Unknown: Reclaiming the Extraordinary Position of Dreams 

Friday September 19, 2025

7-9pm (CST)

Join us for drinks and light appetizers before the lecture!

Time: 6:30 PM - 7:00 PM (CST)

Lecture begins 7 PM(CST)

Location: After-Words Bookstore, 23 E. Illinois Street, Chicago

&

Zoom

We look forward to seeing you there, whether in person or virtually via Zoom.

About the presentation: Although Freud regarded dreams as the royal road to the unconscious, psychoanalysis has gradually shifted its focus away from them. Historically, this change stemmed from theoretical moves toward ego psychology. Despite significant advancements in diversifying both theory and technique, dreams are still not universally considered essential to psychoanalytic progress. There is a lack of understanding about the benefits that patients can derive from exploring their dream experiences, as well as a lack of appreciation for the inherent challenges that dreamwork presents for clinicians.

Dreamwork demands that clinicians possess a high tolerance for ambiguity and complexity, engage openly in discussions on any topic with serious consideration—regardless of its difficulty—and hold a firm conviction that the content of patients’ dream lives is worthy of attention. Confusion regarding psychoanalytic neutrality may also contribute to the neglect of dreams. Some clinicians believe that neutrality implies not showing too much interest in dreams, for fear of triggering a dynamic process. Others confuse the concept of neutrality with a lack of strong conviction about what constitutes a fulfilling life, and fail to recognize how dreamwork can foster the character traits that enable one to experience “the good life.”

Dr. Gudrun Opitz is a Clinical Psychologist and Psychoanalyst in New York City. She provides individual psychoanalytic psychotherapy and runs Dream Groups for clinicians and non-clinicians. She is on the Faculty and a Training and Supervising Analyst at the William Alanson White Institute. Her teaching, presenting, and groups currently focus on dreamwork.

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will understand the inherent difficulties for clinicians in working with dreams.

2. Participants will explore the relationship between intense curiosity about and openness to dreams and psychoanalytic neutrality.

This is an Intermediate 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 September 18,  2025 at: tkalven@ccpsa.org

References/Suggested Readings

Bion, W.R. (1962). Learning from Experience. New York: Basic Books.

Blechner, M. (2001). The Dream Frontier. New York: Routledge.

Blechner, M. J. (2018). Psychological Defenses and Dreams. In: The Mindbrain and Dreams. New York:  Routledge, p. 146-181. 

Lippmann, P. (2000). Nocturnes: On Listening to Dreams. Analytic Press. 

Civitarese, G. (2021). Get in the Picture: Are Dreams Still Central to Psychoanalysis? Modern Psychoanalysis. 45(1): 8-32.

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.

”

Fridays @ CCP Lecture Series

Jan Abram, PhD

(London, UK)

Holding and Containing: on Winnicott’s Specificity of Object Relations Theory  

Friday October 17, 2025

7-9pm (CST)

Zoom

About the presentation:  In this lecture Abram offers her thoughts about how Winnicott was influenced by Freud’s writings and, in turn, how Bion was influenced by Winnicott’s perspectives on early psychic development. In examining the meaning of holding and containing in Winnicott’s work Abram identifies the specificity of his clinical paradigm in contrast to other clinical paradigms such as both Freudian and Kleinian.

Jan Abram is a training and supervising analyst of the British Psychoanalytical Society in private practice London. She is visiting professor at the University College London and President of the European Psychoanalytical Federation. She has published many books notably: The Language of Winnicott (1996 1st edition; 2007 2nd edition), judged Outstanding Academic Book of the Year (1997); Donald Winnicott Today (2013); The Clinical Paradigms of Melanie Klein and Donald Winnicott (2018) and The Clinical Paradigms of Donald Winnicott and Wilfred Bion (2023) (with co-author R.D.Hinshelwood).

Learning Objectives:

Participants will be able to identify the holding and containing concept in Winnicott’s work.

Participants will be able to distinguish between holding and containing in psychoanalytic technique.

This presentation is designed for intermediate to advanced-level participants.

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 October 16,  2025 at: tkalven@ccpsa.org

References/Suggested Readings

Abram, J. (2021) On Winnicott’s concept of trauma Int J Psychoanal., (102) (4): 778-793

Abram, J. (2008) Donald Woods Winnicott (1896 – 1971): a brief history Education Section Int J of Psychoanal 89: 1189-1217

Freud, S (1911) Formulations on the Two Principles of Mental Functioning SE 12 213-226 Winnicott, DW (1962) Letter to Bion in The Spontaneous Gesture

Winnicott DW (1968-9) The Use of an Object in the context of Moses and Monotheismin Abram 2013 Chapter 13

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.

Fridays @ CCP Lecture Series

Ann D’ Ercole, PhD, ABPP

(New York, NY)

Love, “The Kiss” and Repair: Clara Thompsons Contributions to Relational Theory

Friday November 7, 2025

7-9pm (CST)

After-words bookstore, 23E Illinois Street, Chicago

&

Zoom

About the Presentation:  An important aspect of Clara Thompson's pioneering work in psychoanalysis stems from her personal analysis with Sandor Ferenczi. Her contributions, deeply rooted in her own experiences of emotional trauma and psychic pain, led to an innovative clinical perspective that emphasized empathy and mutuality. This approach challenged traditional Freudian methods and laid the groundwork for the relational turn in psychoanalytic practice. Thompson's legacy continues to shape contemporary psychoanalytic thought, underscoring the significance of empathic connections and the influence of the analyst's personality in therapy.

Ann D'Ercole, Ph.D. ABPP,  Clinical Associate Professor of Psychology at New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. Distinguished Visiting Faculty at the William Alanson White Institute. Author of Clara M. Thompson’s Early Years and Professional Awakening: An American Psychoanalyst (1893-1933) and Clara M. Thompson’s Professional Evolution and Legacy: An American Psychoanalyst (1933-1958), Routledge, 2023. Co-Editor of Uncoupling Convention: Psychoanalytic Approaches to Same-Sex Couples and Families (2004) and other essays. 

Recipient of the APA, Div.39, SGI Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of Sexualities and Gender Identities in Psychoanalysis and the American Board and Academy of Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Psychology (ABAPPP) book award for her contribution to Frie, R. & Sauvayre, P. (eds). Culture, Politics, and Interpersonal Psychoanalysis: Breaking Boundaries, Routledge, 2022 for, Considering the Radical Contributions of Clara Mabel Thompson. She is in private practice in New York City.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Participants will be able to describe the life and work of Clara M. Thompson.

2.  Participants will be able to identify Clara M. Thompson’s contribution to relational theory.

This presentation is for all levels of professional experience. 

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 November 6,  2025 at: tkalven@ccpsa.org

References/Suggested Readings

D’Ercole, A. (2023a). Clara Thompson’s Early Years and Professional Awakening: An American Psychoanalyst (1893-1933). Routledge Press, London & New York. 

D’Ercole, A. (2023b). Clara Thompson’s Professional Evolution and Legacy: An American Psychoanalyst (1933-1958). Routledge Press, London & New York. 

Dupont, J. (Ed.). (1988). The clinical diary of Sándor Ferenczi (M. Balint & N. Z. Jackson, Trans.). Harvard University Press.

Thompson, C. (1938). Notes on the psychoanalytic significance of the choice of analyst. Psychiatry, 1(2), 205–216.

Thompson, C. (1941). The role of women in this culture. Psychiatry, 4(1),1-8.

Thompson, C.  (1944) Ferenczi’s Contribution to Psychoanalysis, Psychiatry, 7:3, 245-252. 

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.

Fridays @ CCP Lecture Series

Derek Hook, PhD

(Pittsburg, PA)

Perversion as a Diagnostic Category….? A Clinical and Critical Exposition of a Lacanian Concept

Friday December 12, 2025

7-9pm (CST)

After-Words Bookstore, 23 E. Illinois Street, Chicago

&

Zoom

About the Presentation:  The Lacanian conceptualization of perversion has been subject to multiple critiques, both from without and within Lacanian psychoanalysis, despite that it arguably remains clinically instructive. Some have argued that perversion is an outmoded clinical category, particularly given its pejorative connotations, in an era where ‘kink’ and BDSM (Bondage, Dominance and Sadomasochism) are increasingly considered mainstream sexual practice. Even some Lacanians have insisted that perversion falls short of a subjective/diagnostic structure. Taking heed of these concerns, this talk nonetheless introduces a vignette of perversion (stemming from the author’s time working as a trainee in a prison context). This provides a way of exploring the various facets of the Lacanian notion that the perverse subject positions themselves as the object-cause of the Other’s enjoyment. This minimal definition entails at least three crucial Lacanian concepts: the symbolic (big) Other, (libidinal) enjoyment (or jouissance) and the idea of subject as object-cause. Utilizing multiple grounded examples, this talk will offer an introduction to the Lacanian conceptualization of perversion, draw out clinical implications, and offer critical reflections on whether perversion (and the associated defense of disavowal) should be considered (or used) as a structural diagnostic category.

Derek Hook is a Professor in Psychology and a clinical supervisor at Duquesne University. A scholar and practitioner of psychoanalysis, he is one of the editors (along with Calum Neill) of the Palgrave Lacan Series and of the four-volume Reading Lacan's Ecrits (with Calum Neill and Stijn Vanheule). He began his analytical training in London, at the Center for Freudian Analysis and Research. He is the author of Six Moments in Lacan and the co-editor of Lacan on Depression and Melancholia, in addition to papers on various facets of the clinical and cultural dimensions of Lacanian Psychoanalysis. He maintains a YouTube channel with many lectures on Lacanian Psychoanalysis.

Learning Objectives: 

Participants will be able to:

1. Identify perverse phenomena as thery appear in the clinical domain

2. Explain the component concepts (enjoyment, the Other, the notion of subject as object-cause) that feature within a Lacanian conceptualization of perversion

This presentation is designed for beginners to intermediate-level participants

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 December 11,  2025 at: tkalven@ccpsa.org

References/Suggested Readings

Clavreul, J. (1980). The perverse couple. In S. Schneiderman (Ed.). Returning to Freud: Clinical Psychoanalysis in the School of Lacan. New Haven, NJ & London: Yale University Press, pp. 215-233.

Fink, B. (1999). A Clinical Introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalysis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Chapter on Perversion.

Hook, D. (2022). Perverse act, gaze and structure. Psychoanalytic Practice, 30, 1, 10-38.

Nobus, D. (2017). Perversion in the 21st Century: A psychoanalytic conundrum. In D. Caine & C. Wrights (Eds.) Perversion Now!, pp. 93-107.

Swales, S. (2012). Perversion: A Lacanian Psychoanalytic Approach to the Subject. London & New York: Routledge.

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.

Fridays @ CCP Lecture Series

Judith Harris, PhD

Sylvia Plath’s Mock and Self-Elegies: A Kleinian Reading of her “Edge"  

Friday January 16, 2026

7-9pm (CST)

Zoom

Fridays @ CCP Lecture Series

Chanda D. Griffin, LCSW

(New York, NY)

Standing in the Spaces Between Black and White

Friday April 17, 2026

7-9pm (CST)

After-Words Bookstore, 23 E. Illinois Street, Chicago

&

Zoom

About the Presentation:  This presentation will discuss the White and Black binary, anti-black logics and it’s impact on other marginalized identities, animals, the earth. What does it mean to center Whiteness and our relationship to its construction and belief systems?

Chanda D. Griffin, LCSW,  is a teaching, training, and supervising analyst at the Manhattan Institute for Psychoanalysis (MIP), Clinical co- Director of MIP and MIP- One Year Program: Psychoanalysis and the Socio-Political World. Additionally, she is a faculty member of the National Institute for the Psychotherapies. (NIP),The Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis (ICP) and an Adjunct Professor at the Silberman Graduate School of Social Work at Hunter College. 

Chanda is the co-author of The Secret Society: Perspectives from a Multiracial Cohort with Rossanna Eceygoyén and Julie Hyman and author of  the psychoanalytic Dialogues’ “snapshots”,"Who’s on my couch: BIPOC subjectivity and the climate crisis”, “Grief and Loss, Hopes and Desires,” the MIP blog essay: "Red Pill Psychoanalysis and the Matrix of Racial Roles,"  and the  Psychoanalytic Activist: "Centered." Chanda is a member of Black Psychoanalysts Speak and is in private practice in New York City

Learning Objectives: 

1.Participants will be able to discuss anti-blackness with more complexity.

2. Participants will be able to describe the transitional space between Whiteness and Anti-blackness.

This presentation is for all levels of professional experience. 

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 April 16,  2026 at: tkalven@ccpsa.org

References/Suggested Readings

Griffin, C.D.(2025) ( in press) The White Supremacist Within: Racial Dissociation and Multiplicity.

Griffin, C.D. (2022) "Who’s on My Couch? Considering BIPOC Subjectivity and the Climate Crisis," Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 32:4, 340-341, DOI: 10.1080/10481885.2022.2090807

Suchet, M. (2004). A relational encounter with race. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 14(4), 423–438. https://doi.org/10.1080/10481881409348796

Jackson, Z.I.(2020) Becoming Human: Matter and Meaning in an Antiblack World. 

Vaughans, K. (2014). To unchain haunting blood memories: Intergenerational trauma among African Americans.. In M. O’ Loughlin (Ed.) Fragments of Trauma and the Social Production of Suffering (277-290), Roman & Littlefield.

White, K. P. (2002). Surviving hating and being hated: Some personal thoughts about racism from a psychoanalytic perspective. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 38(3), 401–422. https://doi.org/10.1080/00107530.2002.10747173

Yi, K. (2014). Toward formulation of ethnic identity beyond the binary of White oppressor and racial other. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 31(3), 426–434. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036649

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.

Fridays @ CCP Lecture Series

Patricia Gherovici, PhD

(New York, NY)

Gender and Its Discontents

Friday May 8, 2026

7-9pm (CST)

After-Words bookstore, 23 E Illinois Street, Chicago

&

Zoom

Fridays @ CCP Lecture Series

NO RECORDING

Anton Hart, PhD

(New York, NY)

Who Holds up the Holding?: The “Talking Cure” in Unspeakable Times and Places

Friday June 12, 2026

7-9pm (CST)

After-Words Bookstore, 23 E. Illinois Street, Chicago

&

Zoom