The CIPS Clinical Conference of 2006 was held in Los Angeles on November 3-5, 2006 at the very beautiful Luxe Hotel. There was a large turnout for the event and feedback from participants was very enthusiastic.
REFLECTIONS: Jane Hall, Representative from the Direct Member Society; Past President, NYFS.
The bi-annual (every two years) conference held on November 3-5, 2006 in Los
Angeles, California was a pleasure to attend. I thought I would share a few words about my experience.
First of all, the accommodations could not have been nicer. A small, modern, outdoor atmosphere with lovely rooms, beautiful grounds and dining spaces with an attentive staff and good food provided the space for contemplation and relaxation. CIPS has a knack for finding attractive venues.
As is the usual format, small groups of 6 or 7 with a facilitator met three times. The topic was Enactment, Transference, & Countertransference. Each group seemed to have members with different theoretical backgrounds and in my group, each participant presented case material. The beauty of this conference is the trust and respect felt by each presenter. The high level of clinical sensitivity to each case presented made it feel that we were all speaking the same language - and so Klienian, Bionian, Object Relations, Freudian theories merged into sensing each patient/analyst dyad as unique. It was a marvelous experience of seeing internalized theory enhancing effective listening to the patient and to each other. Each analyst spoke in her own erudite voice and proved that analytic listening is the key to understanding. Theory never dimmed the patient's voice. Each member of the group worked from the heart as well as the mind and thus offered ideas about each case in a supportive, uncritical manner.
This small conference, so unlike the APsaA and IPA venues, where papers are passively listened to and audiences do not have the chance to partake in discussions as a rule, was like a treasure and I recommend future CIPS meetings to those who are participators, willing to exchange ideas and interested in intimate learning. North America has, in this conference, what the EPF and FEPAL provide in Europe and South America. Its organizers: Vicki Stevens, Abbot Bronstein, and Richard Reichbart did a superb job. I came away wishing that this meeting could be held every year.
REFLECTIONS: Fredric T. Perlman, CIPS President
The CIPS Clinical Conference of 1006 was a remarkable event, notable for the conviviality and the spirit of unity that we all enjoyed, the intimacy of the small group experience, and the intellectual pleasure of looking at clinical material in depth from diverse points of view. I was personally very moved by some of the case material I heard, and deeply grateful to have the opportunity to discuss troubling case material of my own.
The feedback I have received about the event, especially in the days following, made it clear to me that other people felt much as I did. To a person, everyone with whom I spoke was really happy with the place, the atmosphere, and the spirit of the conference as a whole. But more important - a number of people told me that the conference was "transformative" (two people used this word, and others communicated the same meaning). A number of people want to be able to communicate with other participants going forward. For those who felt the conference was transformative, the key was the unprecedented "openness" that they experienced, which enabled them to talk about aspects of their work that are ordinarily denied, rationalized, suppressed and withheld. People felt a significant increment of self-acceptance and self-respect as a result of their experience of the conference.
The discussions I had with people reminded me of Freud's monograph on Mass Psychology - but in a benign, growth promoting sense - the group culture that took hold at the conference permitted an alteration in the usual professional super-ego functioning (self-hate for flaws and violations of analytic "rules") and, as reported by the participants with whom I spoke, emboldened them to "own" their experience, to take an attitude of benign curiosity and acceptance toward their own uncertainties and enactments, and to better respect their own gut feelings about their patients and what cures them. My own mind is still buzzing with ideas along these lines, and I feel a real sense of excitement about the conference and our potential to hold these conferences in a way that will facilitate each of our developments as analysts. |
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