Registration

Reserve your spot today. Register early and receive a $5 discount (where fees apply).

IT TAKES COURAGE TO LIVE IN A GOOD FIT The Omnipotent Child Syndrome: The Role of Passionately Held Bad Fits in the Formation of Identity | View Full Calendar

Presented by Stewart L Aledort, M.D.

2/20/2010

Fee: $75.00

Saturday, February 20, 2010

9 AM–1 PM CE/CME Credits: 4

New Center for Psychoanalysis

$75 pre-registration; $80 at the door

This seminar explores the hidden somatic passions that get laid down in the earliest bad fits (i.e., misattunements) and become the source of highly resistant narcissistic behaviors that support and concretize one’s identity. The omnipotent child syndrome is used to define these passionate, somatic, psychic attachments. The omnipotent child is that part of the internal psychic structure that is the final common pathway of all the passionately held bad fits that characterize, not only the person’s object ties and attachments but also, his most powerful internal psychic identity. Recent infant research, coupled with neurobiological advancements, supports the idea of the formation for these attachments.

Dr. Aledort believes the group can create an analytic culture that will allow the formation of the bad fits in their fullest expression, and, at the same time, provide a safe holding environment in which the bad fits can be transformed into good fits through the process of rapprochement and internal psychic mergers. As the identity shifts, the courage to live in the good fit becomes the central work of the group. After an introduction to his theory, Dr. Aledort will lead a demonstration group comprised of volunteers from the audience. The group will attempt to recreate the earliest experiences of life where the original bad fits occurred. The central role of the therapist will be demonstrated, both as the “mother” of symbiosis and as an instrument in the formation of group cohesion.

A large group discussion will follow the demonstration group. Audience participation is encouraged.

Dr. Stewart L Aledort is a member and one of the founders of the National Group Psychotherapy Institute of the Washington School of Psychiatry. He is a faculty member of the Washington School of Psychiatry, the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute and a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the George Washington University School of Medicine. He is in Private practice in Washington DC. He has presented workshops and Institutes at AGPA, and its affiliates for many years. He has published articles defining his theory and its clinical applications.

LECTURE AND DEMONSTRATION GROUP

By Stewart L. Aledort, M.D. CGP, FAGPA

References

Aledort, S, L. (2002). The Omnipotent Child Syndrome: The Role of Passionately Held Bad Fits in the Formation of Identity. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 52,67-88.

Aledort,S. L. (2003) Fleshing out the Omnipotent Child in Group Psychotherapy.

Group, 27,151-169.

Aledort,S.L. (2009) Excitement: A Crucial Marker for Group Psychotherapy. Group, 33.1, 45-63.

Mahler, M.S, (1968). On human symbiosis and the vicissitudes of individuation. New York: International University Press.

BACK