Cips Winter 2021 Newsbriefs

CIPS WINTER 2021 NEWSBRIEFS Letter from the Editor Dear CIPS Community, This letter attempts to orient you, dear Reader, to the variety contained in this issue. Here you will find examples of courage, inspiration, and creativity as well as be confronted with both bone chilling realities and healing ones. We begin, as usual, with letters from the CIPS President, Batya Monder, who both offers reflections and updates us on the recent accomplishments and upcoming events at CIPS. We then “meet” the CIPS President-elect, Maureen Murphy, and learn about her priorities for her upcoming tenure. This past February, NAPsaC welcomed its new president, Mary Kay O’Neil, who shares her vision with us as well. In the aftermath of the domestic terrorism at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, NewsBriefs invited the presidents of all the member societies to respond. Their letters are included here. Adriana Prengler, vice president-elect of the IPA, introduces us to the good work of The IPA’s committee on Psychoanalytic Emigration and Relocation (PERC). Adriana is the former chair of this committee. Many have described that as the pandemic and our physical isolation from each other and the world continues that it’s harder to think and harder to do. Reminders that others are out there too---living, loving and doing--is somehow a salve reminding us that better days are ahead. We are privileged again in this issue to hear from various members of our societies about matters deeply personal and important to them. There is quite a gamut: reflections on living in these uncertain times of the pandemic, on working the phones prior to the November election, on documenting the sadistic and dehumanizing realities of the US immigration detention centers, on being inspired by courage in the Warsaw ghetto to engage in the present struggles. Haikus! And a poem, written by the analyst to his granddaughter, that can’t help but make us smile. The Reporters of each society share the publications, awards and important speaking engagements of their candidates, members and fellows. We can both learn about and celebrate their hard work and accomplishments. We hear also from Fred Busch about the book which he edited, entitled Dear Candidate: Analysts from Around the World Offer Personal Reflections on Psychoanalytic Training, 1 Education and the Profession. He was also kind enough to include a plethora of excerpts from the contributions of senior analysts to whet our appetite. The CIPS Books Series editors inform us about and invite us to participate in the waiting-to- be written intriguing new CIPS book series of society-based volumes. In the In Memoriam section, we are honored to bear witness to those in our societies whom we have lost. In this issue we remember Dr. Sharen Westin and Dr. Howard Hansen, both long-time members of PCC. We offer our thanks to the presidents of each of the societies for responding to the request to speak to the domestic terrorism of January 6th: Andrea Greenman (CFS), Doris Silverman (IPTAR), Pamela Dirham (LAISPS), Barbara Sewell (NPSI), Jennifer Langham (PCC), and Bruce Weitzman (PINC). And, as always, we thank the Reporters from each society who gathered the Reflection pieces as well as news of publications, awards and speaking engagements during 2020. They are a steadfast, creative, and good-natured crew: Mary Wall (CFS), Joe Davis (LAISPS), Dave Parnes (NPSI), Susan Mitchell (PCC) and Drew Tillotson (PINC). We encourage you to read this from virtual “cover to cover” – we promise you will feel enriched as you go along. With warm regards, Leslie Wells, LP, FIPA President’s Column When I first submitted this essay to NewsBriefs, I had hoped that as 2020 receded, we could perhaps begin to mourn some of the sorrow of the past year. But that was before the defining event on January 6, 2021-- the attack on the Capitol. Even the raging pandemic receded in the face of the insurrection. Never has this country experienced an attempt to overthrow a presidential election, an attempt led by the sitting President. Prior to January 6th, the pandemic overshadowed all else. We lost colleagues and saw friends and family members fall ill. We witnessed how ill equipped our political leaders were to martial the nation’s resources. Our TV screens brought home the tragic loss of Black lives at the hands of police officers as well as the protests for social justice that erupted in their aftermath. We have watched local businesses be shuttered, unemployment soar, food banks be overwhelmed. And as if that were not enough, January 6th happened. 2 The storming of the Capitol has galvanized many in our professional world. And we at CIPS are now grappling with how best to use our psychoanalytic knowledge to be of help in the coming weeks and months. A task force has been organized to think through how to proceed. At the start of 2021, we can feel grateful that we have vaccines to fight the virus and a new president who will manage the rollout and provide much needed guidance and leadership. More personally, we can also be grateful that as psychoanalysts, we have been able to continue to work. Necessity required us to adapt and “see” our patients remotely; similarly, our societies have also adapted. We couldn’t come together in person, but we could meet on Zoom, both in large groups and small, making sure that we retained our collegial connections and furthered our learning. Our professional lives moved forward. CIPS too continued to move ahead. We recently held an election. Maureen Murphy (PINC) is president-elect, and Matthew von Unwerth (IPTAR) is vice president-elect. Their term begins July 1, 2021, and runs till June 30, 2023. The spring lineup of videoconference courses will begin with the Introductory Infant Observation Seminar, which is being done in conjunction with the Anni Bergman Parent- Infant Program. Five other courses will be offered through June. Two focus a psychoanalytic lens on the politics of our times: Psychoanalytic Musings on Trumpism, Delusions, and Malignant Populism and The Indispensable, Unheard Voice of Psychoanalysis in American Politics. In addition, offerings include Trauma and Primitive Mental States as well as Working with Suicidal Patients and Survivors of Suicide Loss. A fifth course, as yet untitled, will focus on Lacan. Look for the announcements in your inbox and note that all courses offered by CIPS are open to members and candidates and provide a wonderful opportunity to learn with analysts from other parts of the country. CIPS is now able to offer CEU’s --something we had wanted to do for a long time. And because we now have a HIPAA compliant Zoom account available to our instructors, they will have the option to record their courses for a time-limited period, allowing people who cannot meet at the prescribed time to be able to take the course. The CIPS Book Series, now in its 11th year, has launched a new initiative to encourage each of our component societies to produce a “society-based” volume representing the work of its members. The Series editors--Rick Perlman, Phyllis Sloate, and Beth Kalish-- are committed to helping fulfill your publication aspirations. The CIPS Biannual Clinical Conference, initially planned for Spring 2020, was one of the many professional casualties of COVID-19. Speakers are lined up and ready to present as soon as it is safe for us to travel. It will be a great reunion to look forward to, hopefully in the Spring of 2022. Until then, please remain safe. Batya R. Monder, MSW, BCD President, CIPS 3 Letter from the CIPS President-Elect Dear CIPS Colleagues, “And now let us believe in a long year that is given to us, new, untouched, full of things that have never been, full of work that has never been done, full of tasks, claims, and demands." -Rainer Maria Rilke I'm honored to be elected as the incoming CIPS president and to be joined by Matthew Von Unwerth as vice president. Thank you for your confidence in us to steward the fine work that Batya and Lisa are doing on CIPS behalf. My commitment to CIPS over the last decade is as a voice for the Independent component societies- a hard won and important voice within international psychoanalysis. During this time, I've had the chance to participate in the many ways that CIPS serves this community: our bi-annual Clinical Conference, a book series, study groups, certification and, importantly, outreach to Candidates. These experiences have provided a canvas for imagining some next steps. Going forward, if Matthew and I were to create a banner to encompass our planning for CIPS, it would be Communication and Education. I'll start with Communication. Since joining CIPS, I've had the opportunity to meet analysts and develop colleagues and friendships that I would not have otherwise experienced. Of the many benefits of CIPS, these are my most valued. Yet many members only know CIPS as a set of organizational initials. In that spirit, increasing contact among societies, individual members and the IPA is a major goal. This affiliation is already in progress with NewsBriefs under the able editorship of Leslie Wells and our Book Series, a new initiative of society based volumes - a project that will be discussed later in the Newsletter. The other area of communication will be with our Candidate members. CIPS has long provided IPSO membership to all of our Candidate members- acknowledging these analysts in training as our future. Now to Education. In the past two years CIPS has increased its educational offerings including continuing education units for all our courses, and we intend to continue these efforts.

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