Integrative Psychoanalytic Couple Therapy Series

6 Presentations/Discussions with Dr Carla Leone PhD, Dr Arthur Nielsen MD, Dr Heather Macintosh PhD and Dr Karen Bloomberg PhD on ZOOM

We at the Institute of Somatic Psychotherapy (IOSP) are very excited to present our upcoming online series on Couple Therapy for 2024. The series will highlight different ways self psychology can be integrated with non-psychoanalytic models and then apply these ideas to treatment of specific couple problems and populations.

This year, we continue our collaboration with Dr Carla Leone and bring in her colleagues: Dr Arthur Nielsen, Dr Karen Bloomberg and Dr Heather Macintosh. All four of them teach the Integrative Psychoanalytic Couple Therapy program – sponsored by the (Chicago) Institute for Clinical Social Work – one of the top couples teaching programs in the US. All are members of the International Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology.

We will be offering a series of 6 online 2 hr live presentations on the specific topics outlined below:

The first 2 sessions will focus on 2 different models of integrative psychoanalytic couples therapy – one by Carla and one by Arthur. Karen will then compare Self Psychology-Informed Couple Therapy with Emotional Focused Therapy for couples. We then move into more specific areas of couples’ therapy: couples with sexual difficulties, trauma history and queer couples. For each session there will be pre-reading in the form of a journal article or a section of a book, a presentation and an interactive discussion.

Topics covered (teacher):

• Self Psychology and Psychoeducation: When Are Educating or Directive Interventions Self Psychological? (Carla)
• A Roadmap for Couple Therapy: Integrating Systemic, Psychodynamic and Behavioural Approaches (Arthur)
• Comparing Self Psychology-Informed Couple Therapy to Emotional Focused Therapy for Couples – Overlaps and Differences (Karen)
• Couples with Sexual Difficulties (Carla)
• Intersectionality in Couple Therapy: working with same sex or queer couples (Heather)
• Couples in which one or both are Trauma Survivors (Heather)

Are you interested in joining us?
Please click the button below.

East Coast (US)

Friday 7pm to 9pm

• May 17 – Carla
• May 31 – Arthur
• June 14 – Karen
• June 28 – Carla
• July 12 – Heather
• July 26 – Heather

How: ZOOM with presentation and interactive discussion.

Cost: A$750
(if you cannot attend a class we can provide you with a recording of the class)

About the Trainers:

Carla Leone, PhD is the Director of the certificate program in Integrative Psychoanalytic Couple Therapy, which is sponsored by the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago.
She is the founder and director of a group private practice in the Chicago suburbs, an adjunct faculty member at the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute, and on the faculty of the Institute for Clinical Social Work. She is co-chair of the Membership Committee of the International Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology (IAPSP), co-founder and former chair of IAPSP’s Couples Therapy Interest Group, and formerly served on the organization’s International Council and its Executive Board.

She is the author of several published papers on the application of self psychology to couple and family therapy and one on the “unseen spouse” of patients in individual therapy, has presented nationally and internationally on these topics, and is currently working on a book on self psychology-informed couple therapy.

Dr. Arthur Nielsen, MD is faculty member of the Integrative Psychoanalytic Couple Therapy program in Chicago, a board-certified psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and the author of A Roadmap for Couple Therapy: Integrating Systemic, Psychodynamic and Behavioral Approaches; Integrative Couple Therapy in Action: A Practical Guide for Handling Common Relationship Problems and Crises; as well as many other relevant publications.

Dr. Karen Bloomberg, PhD is on the faculty of CPI and ICSW and serves as Dean of Students at ICSW. She has taught courses in Psychoanalytic Couple Therapy and presented widely on couples’ issues, including being quoted by The Atlantic.com, and the Showtime series, Couples Therapy.

Heather Macintosh, PhD is Associate Professor and Director of the MScA Couple and Family Therapy Programme at McGill University where she is the recipient of the H. Noel Fieldhouse Award for Distinguished Teaching. Dr. MacIntosh is a clinical psychologist and principal investigator on SSHRC, FQRSC and FAVACS funded research projects examining the impact of early life trauma on the process and outcome of couple therapy, and the development and maintenance of healthy adult relationships. Dr. MacIntosh is the author of the recently released book: Developmental Couple Therapy for Complex Trauma a Manual for Therapists by Routledge Press, a treatment manual outlining her evidence based treatment model for working with couples dealing with the impacts of complex trauma, as well as a number of peer reviewed articles and chapters in the area of trauma and couple therapy. Dr. MacIntosh provides trauma focused consultation and maintains a small private practice.

Couple Therapy from a Self Psychology Perspective

3 Live Presentations/Discussions with Dr Carla Leone

We at the Institute of Somatic Psychotherapy (IOSP) are very excited that Carla Leone, PhD has agreed to run a series of three 2 hour online presentations and discussions of three of her papers on the application of contemporary intersubjective self psychology to couple therapy.

The first will focus on her 2008 paper Couple therapy from the perspective of self psychology and intersubjective systems theory and will provide an overview of how major tenets of self psychology can be applied to work with couples. The second class will address a common dilemma in couple therapy – whether to ever see partners separately – based on Dr. Leone’s most recent paper, currently in press, titled Individual Sessions as Part of Couple Therapy? How Concepts from Self Psychology Can Help Us Decide. The third class will apply this couples approach to work with couples dealing with the aftermath of infidelity, based on Dr. Leone’s two published papers on that topic.

In each two hour class Dr. Leone will summarise and elaborate on major points from her papers, facilitate an open discussion of the concepts presented, and respond to clinical case material presented by participants.

• Dates: 6th of May, 20th of May, 10th of June 2023
• Time: 9-11 am
• How: ZOOM
• Cost: $255
  (if you cannot attend a class we can provide you with a recording of the class)

Are you interested in joining us?

About the Trainer: Carla Leone, Ph.D

Carla Leone, Ph.D., is the Director of the certificate program in Integrative Psychoanalytic Couple Therapy, which is co-sponsored by the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute and the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago.

She is the founder and director of a group private practice in the Chicago suburbs, an adjunct faculty member at the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute, and on the faculty of the Institute for Clinical Social Work. She is co-chair of the Membership Committee of the International Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology (IAPSP), co-founder and former chair of IAPSP’s Couples Therapy Interest Group, and formerly served on the organization’s International Council and its Executive Board.

She is the author of several published papers on the application of self psychology to couple and family therapy and one on the “unseen spouse” of patients in individual therapy, has presented nationally and internationally on these topics, and is currently working on a book on self psychology-informed couple therapy.