APS AND TPA CO-SPONSOR DR.MARK BLECHNER
Each year at the TPA convention in Nashville, APS co-sponsors a daylong
psychodynamically oriented presentation. APS members attend the
convention, or the single day, at TPA member prices. This year our
sponsored speaker will be Dr. Mark Blechner, whom some of you may
remember from his presentation at APS two years ago. Dr. Blechner is an
engaging, personable, speaker and a frequently published expert on issues
that arise in the psychotherapy of people with widely varying sexualities.
At TPA on Saturday, November 1st, Dr. Blechner will present two
independent but complementary three-hour programs dealing with current
theories of gender and sexual identity, and the issues – including
transference and countertransference dilemmas – that arise in the course
of ongoing psychotherapeutic treatment. There will be abundant clinical
material and practical applicability to our work with diverse patients.
Attached please find Dr. Blechner's brief biography and the course
descriptions, learning objectives, and times for his presentations. To
register for Dr. Blechner and other convention programs, and for complete
TPA convention information, including accommodations, please go to
tpaonline.org.
Presenter: Mark J. Blechner, Ph.D.
Affiliations: William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry,
Psychoanalysis, and Psychology, New York City/New York University
Course Description: This presentation will describe major changes in
our understanding of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual
excitement, and sexual patterning. It will integrate scientific findings
from sexology, sociology, medicine, and clinical psychological work to
understand people with heterosexual, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender), paraphilias, and other sexual patterns. With many
clinical examples, it will show how sexual issues are raised and
explored in psychotherapy, how they may appear in the treatment
relationship, and how therapy can help a person understand and
develop sexual experience. Barriers in the therapist to hearing
about, understanding, and working with some sexual patterns will be
discussed. The role of societal, legal, religious, prejudicial, and other
constraints on the expression of gender and sexualit
y will also be explored.
Learning Objectives:
A. Describe variations in sexual patterning and sexual dysfunction, learn how to
work clinically with them, and discover relevant new discoveries about sexual
anatomy
B. List ways to educate yourself about sexual patterns that are different than your
own, through academic learning, gathering information on the internet, and
first-hand interpersonal experience
C. Describe resistances in yourself toward working with particular sex and gender
issues, and ways of overcoming such barriers
D. Compare the ways that sexual feelings can be used productively in treatment,
and the pitfalls and dangers signs leading to destructive sexual interactions in
treatment
[332] Various Patterns of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in
Youth and Adulthood
Intermediate/3 CE credits (Type I)
Co-sponsored by the Appalachian Psychoanalytic Society
(This presentation will include clinically relevant discussions as well as
visual imagery of anatomy related to sexuality.)
Presenter: Mark J. Blechner, Ph.D.
Affiliation: William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry,
Psychoanalysis, and Psychology, New York City/New York University
Course Description: This presentation will describe major changes in
our understanding of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual
excitement, and sexual patterning. It will integrate scientific findings
from sexology, sociology, medicine, and clinical psychological work to
understand people with heterosexual, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender), paraphilias, and other sexual patterns. With many
clinical examples, it will show how sexual issues are raised and
explored in psychotherapy, how they may appear in the treatment
relationship, and how therapy can help a person understand and
develop sexual experience. Barriers in the therapist to hearing
about, understanding, and working with some sexual patterns will be
discussed. The role of societal, legal, religious, prejudicial, and other
constraints on the expression of gender and sexuality will also be
explored.
Learning Objectives:
A. Compare the difference between sexual orientation and
gender identity
B. Describe the continua of bisexuality and bigenderism
C. Create and develop guidelines for working with gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender youth and adults
D. Describe how personal, religious, and moral attitudes are
significantly related to the outcome of psychotherapy with sex
and gender issues, and learn ways to expand your views
Presenter Biography: Mark J. Blechner, Ph.D. is Training and
Supervising Analyst and teaching faculty at the William Alanson
White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis, and Psychology and at
New York University. Besides his private practice, he teaches private
courses on “Sexual Issues in Psychotherapy” and on “Working with
Dreams.” He is the founder and former director of the HIV Clinical
Service at the White Institute. Dr. Blechner is the former Editor-inChief of the journal Contemporary Psychoanalysis, and the author of
three books: Sex Changes: Transformations in Society and
Psychoanalysis (2009), The Dream Frontier (2001), and Hope and
Mortality: Psychodynamic Approaches to AIDS and HIV (1997).