2018 Fall Conference

Psychotherapy and Boundary Violations

Saturday, October 13, 2018
Faculty Club, University of Toronto (41 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3)

“This event is an accredited group learning activity (section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by the Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA). The specific opinions and content of this event are not necessarily those of the CPA, and are the responsibility of the organizer(s) alone.”

« La présente activité est une activité d'apprentissage collectif agréée (section 1), au sens que lui donne le programme du Maintien du certificat du Collège royal des médecins et chirurgiens du Canada; elle a été approuvée par l'Association des psychiatres du Canada. Les opinions et le contenu spécifiques de cette activité ne sont pas nécessairement ceux de l'APC, et sont la responsabilité exclusive de l'organisateur ou des organisateurs. »

View/Download the Program at a Glance

Guest Speaker – Andrea Celenza

Andrea Celenza, Ph.D. is Training and Supervising Analyst at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and Assistant Clinical Professor at Harvard Medical School. Co-Director (with Martha Stark, MD) of a blended, online program in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy sponsored by William James College. As part of this program, she offers an on-line course, What, Where is Psychoanalysis? Classic Concepts, New Meanings, tracing a trajectory of psychoanalytic theorizing from the intrapsychic to the intersubjective. Dr. Celenza is the recipient of several awards and has authored two books. Sexual Boundary Violations: Therapeutic, Supervisory and Academic Contexts, was published by Jason Aronson in 2007. Her new book, Erotic Revelations: Clinical Applications and Perverse Scenarios is published by Routledge. She is in private practice in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Psychotherapy and Boundary Violations

Learning objectives

This course will provide participants with the ability to identify misunderstandings about the problem of sexual boundary violations.
Participants will be able to describe the most typical transference/countertransference scenario where sexual boundary violations occur.
To explore the ways in which the analyst’s countertransference can foster or inhibit the emergence of the full intensity of erotic transferences at different phases of the treatment.

The program would be in two parts: The morning program includes a powerpoint presentation on Sexual Boundary Violations: How Do They Happen? The afternoon would focus on a detailed presentation of a case, where an erotic transference challenged the therapist and through the use of her countertransference, she was able to navigate the treacherous journey without violating boundaries. The title of the afternoon program would be: Erotic Transferences: What Countertransferences Can Illuminate.

Sexual Boundary Violations: How Do They Happen?

There is widespread concern about the problem of sexual boundary violations in professional relationships. This is especially true for the analyst-patient relationship. Among mental health professionals, sexual boundary violations are recognized as unethical due to the power imbalance inherent in the structure of the therapist-patient dyad. In the analytic context, the relationship is structured by the asymmetric distribution of attention wherein the psychoanalyst learns a great deal about the patient while the reverse is not true. This type of relationship encourages transference-based illusions derived from early childhood rendering the patient particularly vulnerable to exploitation.

This program will include a review of the prevalence, types of transgressors, precursors in transgressors, traumatic sequellae for the victims, and recommendations for prevention. Eight precursors to sexual boundary violations have been identified. Many of these precursors refer to unresolved narcissistic pathology in the professional. Most of these character issues bear on the analyst’s temptation to exploit the power imbalance inherent in the asymmetric structure of the professional relationship. Other precursors refer to situational and life stressors of the analyst that commonly occur in these cases. Also included are common early childhood factors that have been identified in such cases. All of these precursors will be highlighted in order that the analyst may be aware of the vulnerabilities and potential blind spots to consider throughout his/her professional life.

Erotic Transferences: What Countertransferences Can Illuminate

Some form of erotic transference frequently arises in the course of analytic therapy, yet clinicians feel unprepared to cope with the level of desire and erotic material likely to emerge. This program discusses erotic transferences in all of their manifestations through clinical illustrations. The varieties and meanings of the analyst’s countertransference will also be presented as a major source of co-construction in the emergence of unconscious factors that help elucidate the nature of transferences. A challenging case will be used to illustrate these clinical manifestations.

Program

8:30 am	Registration and Breakfast
9:00 am	Welcome and Introductions
9:15 am	Session I. Sexual Boundary Violations: How Do They Happen?
10:15 am	Q&A
10:30 am	Refreshment Break
10:45 am	Session I. Continued...
11:45 am	Q&A
12:00 noon	Luncheon
1:00 pm	Session II. Erotic Transferences: What Countertransferences Can Illuminate
2:00 pm	Q&A
2:15 pm	Refreshment Break
2:30 pm	Session II. Continued...
3:30 pm	Q&A
3:45 pm	Closing Remarks and Conclusion

Registration Fees:

	Before September 15, 2018	After September 15, 2018
OPA Members – Full	$225.00 + HST = $254.25	$240.00 + HST = $271.20
OPA Members – Associate/Life/Honorary/Inactive	$175.00 + HST = $197.75	$190.00 + HST = $214.70
Residents	$195.00 + HST = $107.35	$110.00 + HST = $124.30
Non-Members – Physicians	$245.00 + HST = $276.85	$260.00 + HST = $293.80
Non-Members – Allied Health Care Professionals	$195.00 + HST = $220.35	$210.00 + HST = $237.30

To qualify for member fees your membership should be in good standing.

How to Register

You can either conveniently register online using your credit card, or you can register by mail/fax and pay by cheque. To do so, simply download our printable registration form, and mail or fax it to the address indicated on the from.

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