October 10, 2026
Monica Vorcheimer
Live Interactive Online Webinar
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Time:
9:00 am – 11:00 pm PST
12:00 noon – 2:00 pm EST
Content Level: Intermediate
One-Session Program: 2 CEs
Member Fee: $80.00
Candidate/Student Fee: $50.00
This videoconference is co-sponsored by The Confederation of Independent Psychoanalytic Societies (CIPS) and The Contemporary Freudian Society (CFS)
Love, Infidelity and the Fragility of Togetherness: Contributions from Link Theory by Monica Vorcheimer
Description
Love, Infidelity and the Fragility of Togetherness: Contributions from Link Theory
This presentation offers a psychoanalytic understanding of infidelity through link theory. Its central argument is that what sustains a couple is not simply the love between the two individuals, but the psychic reality created by the relationship itself – the “we” that emerges between partners.
The couple is a psychic reality that exceeds the sum of two individuals. What binds partners is not only love for each other but also love for the shared representation of the “we.” The crises of couple life – including infidelity – often arise when this representation collapses. The survival of the couple depends less on preserving the illusion of perfect unity than on developing the capacity to sustain connection in the face of difference, uncertainty, and disillusionment.
Rather than viewing affairs simply as evidence of a breakdown in love, Dr. Vorcheimer proposes that they often reflect the collapse of the representation of togetherness. When the shared “we” can no longer be sustained partners feel a profound identity crisis. One partner may seek a new relationship that recreates the lost experience of belonging and idealized unity. Thus, infidelity is interpreted less as the disappearance of love than an attempt to restore a lost experience of togetherness elsewhere.
The presentation concludes by revisiting the Beatles refrain, “All You Need Is Love.” In this version, love alone is not enough. Love creates the founding illusion that allows a couple to emerge, but enduring couplehood requires the capacity to tolerate difference, survive disillusionment, mourn the loss of idealized unity, recognize the partner as a separate and ultimately unknowable subject.
Clinical vignettes will be used throughout to illustrate the Link model.
Monica Vorchheimer is a Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst at the Buenos Aires Psychoanalytical Association (APdeBA). She has a private practice in Psychoanalysis with adolescents, adults, families, and couples in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She teaches and lectures locally and abroad in several countries. She was the Latin America Co-Chair of ING, the International New Groups Committee and past Co-Chair for Latin America at the IPA Committee on Psychoanalysis with Couples and Families (COFAP. Currently she serves on the IPA Board as a Latin America Representative.
References
De Varela, Y. (2022) Infidelity and the Shared Unconscious Phantasy of the Couple. Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy in China 5:125-130
Puget, J. (2020) How difficult is it to think about uncertainty and perplexity. International Journal of Psychoanalysis 101:1236-1247
Muszkat, S. & Vorcheimer, M. (2021) The Role of Secrets in the Invention or Reinvention of Families. Couple and Family Psychoanalysis 11:129-141
Vorcheimer, M. & Wang H. (2022) Someone to Talk To1: When Couples Lose Passion and Lack Words. Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy in China 5:146-153
Learning Objectives
After completing this course, participants will be able to:
- Compare traditional psychoanalytic understanding of couples’ relationship with that of Link Theory.
- Describe the psychic development of the representation of the “WE” within a given couple.
- Describe the vicissitudes of the representation of we as manifest in infidelity.
Who Should Attend
Mental Health Professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, licensed professional counselors, e.g., LPs, LCATs, and pastoral counselors) and those with an interest in psychodynamic and psychoanalytic thinking and clinical applications.
Continuing Education Credits
- NY Social Workers: The PTI-CFS is recognized by the NYS Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #0087
- NY Psychoanalysts: The PTI-CFS is recognized by the NYS Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychoanalysts #P-0021.
- NY Licensed Psychologists: The PTI-CFS is recognized by the NYS Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Psychologists #PSY-0017.
- Psychologists: The Contemporary Freudian Society is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The CFS maintains responsibility for this program and its content. (DC, MD and VA Psychologist licensing boards accept CE credits provided by an APA approved Sponsor. All other psychologists should check with their licensing boards.)
- DC, MD and VA Social Workers: The Social Work Boards of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia will grant continuing education credits to social workers attending a program offered by an APA authorized sponsor.
CE credits will only be granted to participants with documented attendance of the entire program. No partial credit will be offered. It is the responsibility of the participants seeking CE credits to comply with these requirements. Upon completion of this program and online evaluation form, participants will be granted CE credits.
Important Disclosure Information: There is no conflict of interest or commercial support for this program.
Cancellation Policy:
Full refunds will be issued if notification of cancellation is received 72 hours prior to the start of the course.