Psychoanalysis & You

Maggie Zellner, Ph.D., L.P., is a neuropsychoanalytic educator and psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City. She is the Executive Director of the Neuropsychoanalysis Foundation in New York, and former Managing Editor of the journal Neuropsychoanalysis. Maggie received her Ph.D. from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in the Neuropsychology Sub-program at Queens College. She is a founding member of the International Neuropsychoanalysis Society, and a graduate and member of the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis (NPAP) in New York. Maggie has taught neuroscience to the psychoanalytically-minded since 2003.

What if police officers understood clinical concepts around traumatic stress? Would that change the way they respond in heightened circumstances? What if they had the tools to identify people in need and refer them to the appropriate clinical resources?Dr. Steven Marans, MSW, PhD, is a child and adult psychoanalyst at the Yale School of Medicine, where he serves as Harris Professor of Child Psychoanalysis, Professor of Psychiatry at the Child Study Center and Department of Psychiatry, and Director of the Yale Center for Traumatic Stress and Recovery.Having devoted much of his career to developing psychoanalytically informed responses to children, families and communities traumatized by violent and catastrophic events, Dr. Marans is also Founder of the Child Development-Community Policing Program, a pioneering collaboration between mental health and law enforcement professionals. On this episode of Psychoanalysis and You, Dr. Marans joins host Dr. Gail Saltz to discuss his work with the New Haven Police Department, describing what he’s learned from working with law enforcement and how it informs his clinical practice.Dr. Marans explains how consistent exposure to traumatic events impacts police officers and explores how training in clinical concepts helps cops visualize themselves as helpers and apply safer, more effective strategies in high-stress situations. Listen in to understand how Dr. Marans’ partnership with the New Haven PD inspired the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention and learn how we might scale the model of collaboration between clinicians and law enforcement in police departments across the country. Topics Covered·      What inspired Dr. Marans’ work with the New Haven Police Department·      The potential police have to identify kids and families exposed to trauma and refer them to clinical resources·      How consistent exposure to traumatic events impacts police officers·      Dr. Marans’ insight around what clinicians and police officers can learn from each other·      How training in clinical concepts helps police visualize themselves as helpers·      How Dr. Marans’ work with police helps officers self-reflect on their responses and apply safer, more effective strategies moving forward·      What Dr. Marans has learned from working with police and how it informs his clinical practice·      How Dr. Marans’ collaboration with police birthed the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention·      How amenable police departments are to implementing programs similar to that of Dr. Marans’ curriculum for the New Haven PD·      Why we have yet to scale the model of collaboration between clinicians and police officers in departments across the country Connect with Dr. Marans Dr. Marans at the Yale School of Medicine Connect with APsAThe American...

Gun violence is a common occurrence in America, and that makes us an outlier among developed nations.There were 39 mass shootings in January 2023 alone, and firearms are the #1 cause of death for children in our country.How can we use our training as psychoanalysts to recognize who might be at risk for committing mass gun violence and intervene long before they’re inclined to take action?Dr. Jeffrey Taxman, MD, is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst with a private practice Mequon, Wisconsin, and serves on the clinical faculty at the Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Psychiatry. He is also an internationally recognized expert in massive community trauma with a focus on first responders.Dr. Taxman has supported police officers, soldiers, firefighters, medical personnel and mental health workers during crisis situations, and his work to develop a psychoanalytic framework for understanding and preventing mass gun violence in the US is presented and discussed nationally.On this inaugural episode of Psychoanalysis and You, Dr. Taxman joins host Dr. Gail Saltz to explore the tremendous need for mental health care among first responders and explain how he uses psychoanalytic principles to help them do their jobs better in crisis situations.Dr. Taxman walks us through the risk factors for committing a mass shooting and discusses the politicization of gun violence in America.Listen in to understand why gun control alone won’t eliminate mass shootings and learn what we can do as mental health professionals to limit the pool of future shooters in our communities. Topics Covered ·      Why Dr. Taxman is driven to use his skills as a psychoanalyst during massive disasters·      How Dr. Taxman uses psychoanalytic principles to help first responders do their jobs better·      The tremendous need for mental health care among members of the military, first responders and police officers·      Using a psychoanalytic framework to understand and prevent mass gun violence·      The risk factors for committing a mass shooting and what we might do to limit the pool of future shooters·      Who is best qualified to screen children around their capacity for empathy·      How Dr. Taxman thinks about adolescents having access to guns during the high-risk period when they’re highly impulsive·      Why gun control alone won’t solve the problem of mass shootings in America·      The politicization of gun violence and Dr. Taxman’s challenge to Congress to consider the perspective of mental health professionals in addressing the issue Connect with Dr. Taxman Dr. Taxman at Mequon Clinical Associates‘Gun Violence in America—A Tri-Vector Model’ in the International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies Connect with APsA The American Psychoanalytic AssociationAPsA on...

Adele Tutter, an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, explores the deep connections between art and personal history. She discusses how artists process trauma through their work, revealing the therapeutic essence of creativity. Tutter emphasizes the importance of understanding an artist’s life to appreciate their art fully. Additionally, she highlights fashion as a form of emotional expression and discusses how art can help individuals navigate grief, making it a vital tool in therapeutic practices.

The future of psychotherapy as a profession depends, in large part, on how young people understand the discipline.So, what is the best way to introduce the concepts of psychoanalysis to the next generation?Elizabeth Lunbeck, MA, is a historian of psychoanalysis, psychiatry and psychology currently serving as Professor and Chair of the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University. She teaches courses in the history of psychoanalysis, including a general education lecture course, Psychotherapy and the Modern Self. Lunbeck is also the author of The Psychiatric Persuasion: Knowledge, Gender, and Power in Modern America and The Americanization of Narcissism and coauthor of Family Romance, Family Secrets: Case Notes from an American Psychoanalysis. She is currently writing a book on the talking cure—from Freud to TikTok.On this episode of Psychoanalysis and You, Elizabeth Lunbeck joins host Dr. Gail Saltz to explain how she demystifies psychoanalysis for her students without dumbing it down. Lunbeck discusses the benefit of teaching concepts like transference and reenactment by tying them to our everyday experiences and describes her approach to addressing student curiosity around the efficacy of psychoanalytic treatment. Listen in for Lunbeck’s insight on how the pandemic has changed public understanding of psychoanalysis and learn what we can do as mental health professionals to ‘defend the brand’ in a time when anyone can call themselves a therapist. Topics Covered·      Lunbeck’s approach to teaching undergraduates about psychotherapy·      The benefit of teaching concepts like transference and reenactment by tying them to our everyday experiences·      Lunbeck’s students’ openness to learning about psychoanalysis·      How talk is the technology of all 250 branded therapies·      What Lunbeck does to demystify concepts of psychoanalysis without dumbing them down·      How Lunbeck teaches counterintuitive ideas like Fairbairn’s allure of the bad object·      Lunbeck’s approach to addressing the efficacy of psychoanalytic treatment with her students·      How the pandemic has changed public understanding of psychoanalysis·      How the pandemic highlighted the magnitude of the mismatch between mental health providers and need·      Lunbeck’s concerns around distance treatment for mental health conditions·      What psychoanalysts can do to ‘defend the brand’ Connect with Elizabeth LunbeckElizabeth Lunbeck at Harvard University Connect with APsAThe American Psychoanalytic AssociationAPsA on FacebookAPsA on TwitterAPsA on LinkedInAPsA on...

We live in a time of great political polarization in America. A polarization fueled by the narrative that promoting equity for marginalized communities means taking something away from everyone else.How might we use the principles of psychoanalysis to understand the resistance to diversity and inclusion initiatives and innovate for meaningful change?Can we leverage our experience as analysts to promote equity in public policy as well as the organizations we serve?Dr. Kimberlyn Leary, PhD, is Senior Vice President at the Urban Institute, a DC-based research and policy think tank, Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School, and Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.Dr. Leary previously worked as Senior Policy Advisor to the White House Domestic Policy Council, where she implemented President Biden's Executive Order on Equity, and served as Advisor to the Obama White House Council on Women and Girls, where she spearheaded the Advancing Equity Initiative to improve life outcomes for women and girls of color.On this episode of Psychoanalysis and You, Dr. Leary joins host Dr. Gail Saltz to discuss the principles of psychoanalysis she brings to policy work, explaining why the best public policy is a collaboration between policymakers and the communities they serve.Dr. Leary describes her work with the Holmes Commission on Racial Equality in the APsA and explores the generational differences in how we think about equity and belonging.Listen in for Dr. Leary’s insight on the implications of overturning Affirmative Action in the US and learn the value in understanding the story behind a political perspective that differs from your own.Topics CoveredLeary’s role as an advisor to both the Obama and Biden administrationsThe principles of psychoanalysis that Dr. Leary uses to innovate for changeWhy the best public policy is a collaboration between policymakers and the communities they representHow Dr. Leary approaches the issue of diversity and inclusionUsing bias to rethink the architecture of how our organizations workLeary’s work with the Holmes Commission and what problems they identified within the APsAThe generational differences in how we think about equity and belongingWhy it’s challenging for senior leaders to tolerate feeling unskilled during a period of learningLeary’s insight on the implications of overturning Affirmative ActionHow Dr. Leary thinks about the scarcity mindset that fuels political polarization in the USUnderstanding the story behind a political view that differs from your own Connect with Dr. Leary Dr. Leary at the Urban InstituteDr. Leary on LinkedInDr. Leary on TwitterConnect with APsAThe American Psychoanalytic AssociationAPsA on FacebookAPsA on Twitter

There is a growing opposition to treating children and adolescents with the DSM-5 diagnosis of gender dysphoria or the ICD-11 diagnosis of gender incongruence.But as psychoanalysts, we have an obligation to remove politics and ideology from the treatment room and do what’s best for the people we serve.So, how do we learn to recognize our own fears and leverage our training to best treat young people navigating gender dysphoria? Dr. Jack Drescher, MD, is Training and Supervising Analyst at the William Alanson White Institute, Adjunct Professor at the NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, and Senior Psychoanalytic Consultant at the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research.Dr. Drescher is also a 2022 recipient of the Sigourney Award in recognition for his work around gender and sexuality, and he served on the APA’s DSM-5 Workgroup on Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders and the World Health Organization’s Working Group to revise sex and gender diagnoses in the ICD-11.On this episode of Psychoanalysis and You, Dr. Drescher joins host Dr. Gail Saltz to discuss public anxiety around gender dysphoria and the legislation that forbids transgender people from getting treatment.Dr. Drescher discusses the ethical problem with ‘talking to children until they change their mind’ as the only treatment for gender dysphoria and addresses the concerns of policymakers and parents around detransitioners.Listen in for Dr. Drescher’s insight on understanding and allowing for the nuances of gender and learn how our training as psychoanalysts can be of particular benefit to families dealing with gender dysphoria. Topics Covered·      What’s behind the growing opposition to treating children and adolescents with gender dysphoria or gender incongruence·      How what’s happening now with the transgender community compares to past reactions to homosexuality·      How Dr. Drescher thinks about educating a public that is afraid and wants to create laws forbidding transgender people from getting treatment·      Why Dr. Drescher recommends finding a practitioner with expertise in treating transgender children before you make any decisions re: hormones or puberty blockers·      Dr. Drescher’s response to conservative psychoanalytic voices who suggest talking to children until they change their mind as the only treatment for gender dysphoria·      What Dr. Drescher says to parents and policymakers concerned about the ramifications of interventions for transgender young people who change their minds (known as detransitioners)·      Why there’s resistance among some psychanalysts to recognize the existence of biologically-based gender dysphoria·      The mental health concerns surrounding young people who suffer from gender dysphoria·      How our training as psychoanalysts can be of benefit to families dealing with gender dysphoria·      The exaltation of gender stereotypes in our culture and how young people benefit from parents who are comfortable with atypical behaviorsConnect with Dr. DrescherDr. Drescher’s WebsiteDr. Drescher on LinkedIn Connect with APsA

This is the trailer for a new podcast from the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsA), hosted by Dr. Gail Saltz: Psychoanalysis & You.You can learn more and browse episodes here.