In the film Unsane, Sawyer Valentini relocates from Boston to Pennsylvania to escape from the man who's been stalking her for the last two years. While consulting a therapist, Valentini unwittingly signs in for a voluntary 24-hour commitment to the Highland Creek Behavioral Center.  Her stay at the facility soon gets extended when doctors and nurses begin to question her sanity. Sawyer now believes that one of the staffers is her stalker and she'll do whatever it takes to stay alive and fight her way out. The film is shot entirely on an iPhone 7 Plus, directed and edited by Steven Soderbergh.

Learning Objectives

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

• Explain the psychodynamics of paranoia, specifically the role of projective identification both intra-psychically and interpersonally
• Discuss the tenuous boundaries between sanity and insanity, and the ease with which they are traversed, especially in people who have experienced significant trauma

Jill Lummus, PsyD, an advanced candidate at the New Center for Psychoanalysis (NCP), is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Beverly Hills.  She is responsible for teaching and training the doctoral students at Airport Marina Counseling Service. At NCP, she is also on the faculty of the Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Program, teaching courses in gender and  sexuality, as well as psychosis.  She is the first recipient of the Elyn Saks Scholarship for the study of psychosis and psychotic states of mind. 

Joshua Richmond, MPW, is a vested member of the Writers Guild of America West and has written for film and television for over twenty years, writing scripts for Ron Howard, Universal, Disney etc., and has created TV shows for Fox and Disney.  Currently he teaches screenwriting and sitcom writing at Cal State Fullerton and is a psychoanalytic studies candidate at the New Center for Psychoanalysis.

Target audience: Open to the public but mainly for mental health professionals

Level: Every Level

CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION FOR ALL LEARNERS: None of the planners and presenters of this CME/CE program have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.

PHYSICIANS: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the American Psychoanalytic Association and the New Center for Psychoanalysis. The American Psychoanalytic Association is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The American Psychoanalytic Association designates this Live Activity for the maximum of 2.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

PSYCHOLOGISTS: The New Center for Psychoanalysis is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. New Center for Psychoanalysis maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Full attendance is required for psychologists to receive credit; partial credit may not be awarded based on APA guidelines. For the psychologists’ records, certificates of attendance are provided at the completion of the course.

SOCIAL WORKERS, MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPISTS (LCSW, LMFT, ASW, IMF, LEP, LPCC, PCCI) The New Center for Psychoanalysis is a continuing education provider that has been approved by the American Psychological Association, a California Board of Behavioral Sciences recognized approval agency.

REGISTERED NURSES: The New Center for Psychoanalysis is an accredited provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing (Provider #CEP1112). Registered Nurses may claim only the actual number of hours spent in the educational activity for credit.