The 2009 CIPS Biennial Clinical Conference will be held on the weekend of April 17, 18 and 19, 2009 at the legendary Algonquin Hotel in New York. The theme of the conference will be the vicissitudes of creativity and concreteness in the psychoanalytic situation. All members of CIPS, including candidates, are invited to attend the conference.

To read more about creativity and concreteness in the psychoanalytic situation, please click here.

The Biennial CIPS Clinical Conference is a unique event. There are no lectures or planned panels – just small group discussions of clinical material. Small groups are intentionally heterogeneous, composed of CIPS analysts and candidates from around the country representing a wide diversity of clinical orientations. Participants are invited to present clinical material for intimate group discussion and reflection.

This year, we are very excited to be holding our conference at the historic Algonquin Hotel. In the 1920's, the Roundtable Restaurant at the Algonquin Hotel was the site of the daily lunches of Dorothy Parker, Alexander Woollcott, Heywood Broun, George Kauffman, Robert Benchley, Harpo Marx, Herman Mankiewicz, Franklin P. Adams, Edna Ferber, Harold Ross (founder of THE NEW YORKER) and other inimitable New York City writers, critics, actors and wits who shaped American humor in the decade after World War I. The group, which was widely referred to as "the Algonquin Round Table," celebrated its sharp collective wit and edgy humor by referring to itself as "the Vicious Circle."

In keeping with the history of the Algonquin, we are referring to this year's clinical conference the "CIPS Clinical Roundtable." Our conference logo features "The Vicious Circle," a painting of the Roundtable group by the artist Natalie Ascencios. The painting, commissioned by the hotel, hangs above the famed round table, which still remains a centerpiece of the hotel restaurant.

Accommodations in New York are available at the Algonquin Hotel at the Conference rate of 289 dollars per night and at Club Quarters, around the corner from the Algonquin. Out of town registrants are also invited to stay with CIPS members who live in New York. For more information about accommodations, please click here.

The conference schedule features a gala Friday night "Founders Dinner Dance", small group sessions on Saturday morning and afternoon, and small group sessions and Plenary "wrap-up" Sunday morning. Conference fees include Friday night dinner, Saturday breakfast and lunch, and Sunday breakfast. For more on the conference schedule, click here.

Saturday evening is free for socializing and entertainment. Discounted tickets are available to "early bird" registrants for the new Broadway production of "West Side Story." The Algonquin Hotel also contains the famous "Oak Room" cabaret, which will be featuring the popular vocalist, Maude Maggart, on Saturday night. For more information about Saturday night entertainment, click here.

For more on Conference Fees and Registration, please click here.

For reviews and pictures of the last CIPS Clinical Conference, click here.

Here's a closer look at "The Vicious Circle" along with a guide to the people represented in it.

"A Vicious Circle" by Natalie Ascencios
Photograph by Paul Godwin

1. Dorothy Parker Of all the Round Table members, only Dorothy Parker has achieved cult status... » Read More 2. Robert Benchley ...moved to the New York Tribune and then became managing editor of Vanity Fair... » Read More 3. Matilda Matilda is the Algonquin's steadfast feline. » Read More 4. Franklin Pierce Adams Known as "F.P.A," Franklin P. Adams is considered the father of the Algonquin Round Table... » Read More 5. Robert Sherwood The playwright Robert E. Sherwood captured the changing American attitudes toward the country... » Read More 6. Harpo Marx Harpo Marx, renowned for his comedic genius... » Read More

7. Alexander Woollcott A caustic wit and brutal honesty made Alexander Woollcott the most feared and hated critic... » Read More 8. Harold Ross Harold Ross created The New Yorker magazine... » Read More 9. George S. Kaufman Apart from being a formidable poker player and notable wit, George S. Kaufman had an impressive career... » Read More 10. Heywood Broun ...spent his life championing the underprivileged, earning accolades from friends and Presidents... » Read More 11. Marc Connelly The only member of the Round Table from a theatrical family, Marc Connelly worked as a reporter... » Read More 12. Edna Ferber Like many writers from the Midwest, Edna Ferber was concerned with the glorification of America... » Read More

For more information about the artist, Natalie Ascencios, go to www.ascencios.com

For more on the Algonquin Round Table, visit:

• www.algonquinroundtable.org,
• www.pbs.org,
• or any of the numerous links on www.davidpietrusza.com.

For pictures and reviews of the last CIPS Clinical Conference, click here.