The Therapeutic Action of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Pre-Conference Institute
Listening, Listening Poorly and Refusing to Listen
with Salman Akhtar, MD

Thursday, March 22, 2012 | 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel, Boston, MA

• 8:15 am Registration
• 8:45 am Welcoming Remarks, Robert Pyles, MD
• 12:30-1:45 pm Lunch (on your own)
• 5:00 pm Adjourn

This workshop will be presented in four parts. The first part will focus upon therapeutic listening and will elucidate the types of material one listens to and the various ways in which one listens. The second part will address ‘listening’ to silence. The psychodynamic and technical variations of the silence of the patient, the therapist, and the simultaneous silence of both will be examined. The third part will elucidate the factors that impede listening; these range from mild hearing defects through characterological resistances and cultural sensitivities. The fourth and final part will focus upon the unusual intervention of the therapist’s refusing to listen to the patient; the indications, risks, and theoretical rationale for such radical departure from the customary rules of technique will be highlighted. Throughout the workshop, clinical examples will be provided and discussion encouraged.

Upon completion, participants will be able to:

1. Enumerate the various types of clinical listening
2. Distinguish eight different types of silences
3. Understand the technical principles of dealing with patients’ silences
4. Improve their skills of listening to patients

6 CE/CME Credits
Program Code: SA12

Salman Akhtar, MD, is a Professor of Psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College, and Training and Supervising Analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia. He has served on the Editorial Boards of the International Journal of Psychoanalysis and Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, and is currently the Book Review Editor of the International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies. His nearly 300 scientific publications include the books, Broken Structures (1992), Quest for Answers (1995), Inner Torment (1999), Immigration and Identity (1999), New Clinical Realms (2003), Objects of Our Desire (2005), The Damaged Core (2009), Turning Points in Dynamic Psychotherapy (2009), The Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychoanalysis (2009), Immigration and Acculturation (2011), and Matters of Life and Death (2011). In addition, he has edited 35 books, including the following in the realm of culture and psychoanalysis, including Freud along the Ganges (2005), The Crescent and the Couch (2008), Freud and the Far East (2009), and The Glow of Darkness (2012) which deal with India, the Islamic world, the Far Eastern culture, and the African American population of this country, respectively. Dr. Akhtar is the recipient of the Best Paper of the Year Award from the Journal of American Psychoanalytic Association (1995), the Edith Sabshin Award (2000) from the American Psychoanalytic Association, the Kun Po Soo Award (2004), the Irma Bland Award (2005) from the American Psychiatric Association, the Sigmund Freud Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychoanalysis from the American Society of Psychoanalytic Physicians (2000), and the Robert Liebert Award (2003) for distinguished contributions to Applied Psychoanalysis from the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research. He has also published seven volumes of poetry and is a Scholar-in-Residence at the Inter-Act Theatre Company in Philadelphia.

Reduced tuition for attending BOTH Therapeutic Action of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy conferences:

1. The Therapeutic Action of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: Pre-Conference Institute The "Listening, Listening Poorly and Refusing to Listen" and
2. The Therapeutic Action of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: Current Concepts of Cure

When registering for both conferences we suggest that you write down the appropriate discount code noted in red (below) so that you have it available during the checkout process.