Using Group Relations Learning to Deepen Understanding of the Analytic Dyad and as a Lens to Examine the Group Dynamics Operating Within and Between Psychoanalytic Institutes

January 19, 2019, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Registration has closed and there is no walk ins

Co-sponsored with Grex, the West Coast Affiliate of the A. K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems

The analytic dyad reflects and enacts dynamics operating within the larger culture, including group dynamics present in the analytic institutions where analysts live and train. This program considers these issues from the perspective of group relations theory as established in the traditions of the Tavistock Institute and the A. K. Rice Institute. The program exploers “group-as-a-whole” unconscious dynamics as described by Wilfred Bion in his work Experiences in Groups. The event begins with a brief introduction to group relations followed by a sequence of small study groups and a large study group experience, with the Grex staff serving as consultants. Following Bion’s training model, these events focus on the here and now of emergent group experience. The day concludes with a summary session devoted to discussion, application, and review. The emphasis of the work is on understanding how group relations apply to the analyst-analysand dyad; the impact of the larger socio-cultural context in which psychoanalysis operates; and the group dynamics occurring within and between psychoanalytic institutes. This workshop is open to members of the psychoanalytic psychotherapy community.

Learning Objectives

As a result of attending this course, participants should be able to:

  • Discuss group relations theory, especially “group-as-a-whole” theory and concepts such as boundaries, authority, roles, task, projection, role valence, and leadership
  • Analyze the operation and evolution of power and authority in groups
  • Assess the powerful group forces operating in institutions; how those forces affect the functioning of an institution; and how those consequences are lodged into the “products” of the institution 

Faculty/Staff include the following and others to be named: 

Raymond Bakaitis, PhD, is a psychologist in independent practice in Los Angeles; President of Grex, the West Coast Affiliate of the A. K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems; and Past-President of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association. He has worked as a consultant and administrator at group relations conferences in Europe, Asia, and the United States. 

Ara Haroutiounian, MS, is an independent organizational development consultant in Los Angeles and core faculty in the Organizational and Leadership Psychology Department at William James College. He is the Vice-President of Grex: The West Coast Affiliate of the A.K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems. As a consultant, he has worked with organizations in the technology, pharmaceutical, design, engineering, and entertainment industries, small and medium sized enterprises, family businesses, academic institutions, and not-for-profit organizations. He has also served in faculty and/or consulting capacities at various academic institutions, including UCLA, California State Universities at Los Angeles and Dominguez Hills, Soka University, and University of San Diego’s Leadership Institute.

Marilyn S. Jacobs, PhD, ABPP, is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst working with psychoanalysis in health care. She is a faculty member at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine – in psychiatry/biobehavioral sciences and in anesthesiology. She is a consultant to medical teams for collaboration of care. She is on the faculty of the Wright Institute Los Angeles providing clinical supervision and teaching. Dr. Jacobs is the Historian of Division 39 (Psychoanalysis) of the American Psychological Association as well as a member of the Ethics Council of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. She has an interest in political psychology, having written on this topic, most notably, American Psychology and the Quest for Nuclear Peace (Prager 1987). Currently she is a member of the Board of Directors of Grex.

Leonard Levis, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice of psychotherapy and organizational consultation in Berkeley, Ca. He is a senior training consultant and clinical supervisor at Westcoast Children’s Clinic in Oakland, CA. He is a certified consultant, A. K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems and a frequent consultant at Group Relations conferences; former Grex board member and a current member of the A. K. Rice Institute and Grex. His work interest includes the intersection of organizational life, culture, identity, and trauma from psychodynamic and systemic perspectives.

John Lundgren, MD, is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of California and an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA School of Medicine. He served as Co-Director of the Group Relations Training Course at the UCLA Department of Psychiatry. He is a member of the A. K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems and Grex.  He serves as a consultant to Tavistock group relations conferences and is presently exploring the integration of this training model and psychoanalytic training. This Fall, he will present a paper entitled “The place were psychoanalysts live: introducing group relations to psychoanalytic institutes at an international conference for Tavistock consultants and conference directors. He is in private practice in Beverly Hills.

Cydny Urbina Rothe, LCSW, is a Jungian analyst affiliated with the CG Jung institute of Los Angeles. She maintains a private practice of 40 years in Pasadena. A former Board Member of Grex and the Jung Institute, she is currently a member of the AK Rice Institute and Grex. She serves as a consultant to Group Relations conferences and heads group training at the LA Jung Institute where she also supervises and chaired the Certifying Board. She has given talks on issues around dying, the body in psychotherapy, working with dreams, effects of racism and viewing film through a Jungian lens.   

Suzy Spradlin, PhD, is an analyst member of the C. G. Institute of San Francisco where she is the recent past president of the Institute, and is a former member of the GREX board of directors. She is on the Group Process faculty at the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California (PINC), and serves as a consultant to both PINC and SFCP (San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis). Her primary interest is the study of the unconscious in organizations and the interplay of the individual and the group. She is in private practice in Berkelely, Calfornia.

Tara L. Victor, PhD, ABPP/CN, is a board certified neuropsychologist in independent medico-legal practice in Los Angeles. She is a Professor of Psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills and Associate Clinical Professor within the Geriatric Psychiatry division of UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. She serves on the Grex Board of Directors and is a member of the A. K. Rice Institute. She has worked as a consultant and administrator at group relations conferences and also serves as a psychological consultant to the creative task within the entertainment industry.  Her research interests include cross-cultural neuropsychology, the detection of feigned neurocognitive and psychiatric symptoms, and trauma and resiliency from neuropsychological, psychodynamic and systemic perspectives.  

Saturday, January 19, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM  -  6 CE Credits

8:30 – 9:00 AM Sign-in and Continental Breakfast

One hour lunch provided on site.

ONLY PRE-REGISTRATION IS ACCEPTED.  NO WALK-IN REGISTRATIONS ON DAY OF EVENT.

Space will be limited for this workshop.  Early registration is advised.

$175.00 early bird rate, registration received by December 20, 2018

$200.00 registration after December 20, 2018

For questions, please contact:  info@grexgrouprelations.org