Western Branch Canadian Psychoanalytic Society
Extension Program (Vancouver)
The Oedipus Complex Today
September –November 2013
Preamble:
Being in love with the one parent and hating the other are among the essential constituents of the stock of
psychical impulses which is formed at that time and which is of such importance in determining the
symptoms of the later neurosis... This discovery is confirmed by a legend that has come down to us from
classical antiquity: a legend whose profound and universal power to move can only be understood if the
hypothesis I have put forward in regard to the psychology of children has an equally universal validity.
What I have in mind is the legend of King Oedipus and Sophocles' drama which bears his name.
- Sigmund Freud
The Interpretation of Dreams (1900), In James Strachey (ed.) The Standard Edition of the Complete
Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud (1953), Vol. 4, 260-1.
Course Description:
The myth of Oedipus, as told by Sophocles, has long been considered to be the center point of analytic
theory. Sigmund Freud first used the story of Oedipus to further his understanding of the development of
the personality and its difficulties, as well as a means of exploring the deepest levels of the human mind.
The Oedipus Complex is a concept linked with the change from a two-person to three-person means of
relating, which psychoanalysis still recognizes as “the central cluster of conflicting impulses, phantasies,
anxieties and defenses” (Segal, 1989) of the human psyche.
Klein in her work with children, developed the concept further, believing that it originated much earlier in
the child's development. Both Klein and Bion believed that the quality of the primary relationship formed
with mother or primary caretaker was a vital determinant in how the more complicated triangular
relationship was negotiated or resolved.
This course, using a seminar format and relying on class participation, explores current literature in which
various psychoanalysts use the Oedipus complex in unique and creative ways in their work. The overall
goal of this course is to broaden the student’s understanding of the Oedipus Complex and its uses while
allowing for more creative applications to practice.
Recommended Readings:
Participants will be emailed all reading materials required for the course.
Schedule:
The seminars will be held on Fridays from 4:00 - 7:00 pm:
4:00 - 5:20 theory,
5:20 - 5:40 break
5:40 - 7:00 clinical discussion.
Dates for seminars( all in 2013):
Sept. 20; Oct. 4, 18; Nov. 1, 15, 29.
Location: Classes will be held in the CP Meeting Rooms, 1st floor Centennial Pavilion Room 113
(Arbutus) and 114 (Hemlock), Vancouver General Hospital, 855 West 12th Avenue.
Cost:
$270 for professionals and $160 for students;
Reading materials are in PDF format and will be provided after registration.
CME Credits:
Accredited by RCPS of Canada for 2.75 credits per session attended.
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Faculty:
James Fabian, MD, FRCP(C), Janet Oakes, RCC, Judy Setton-Markus, M.Ed., R.Psych., Elie Debbane,
MD, FRCP(C), Catherine Young, Ph.D.
Organizing Committee:
Endre Koritar, MD, FRCP(C), James Fabian, MD, FRCP(C), Janet Oakes, M.A. ATP,
Catherine Young, Ph.D., Rose Vasta, Ph.D.
Registration:
Send payment and registration form to address below or contact Nancy Briones at nbriones@shaw.ca
with further enquiries.
Western Branch-CPS
c/o Nancy Briones
7755 Yukon Street
Vancouver, BC V5X 2Y4
The Oedipus Complex Today
Course Description:
This course, following a seminar format and relying on class participation, explores the current literature
in which various psychoanalysts use the Oedipus complex in unique and creative ways in their work. The
overall goal of this course is to broaden the student’s understanding of the Oedipus Complex and its uses
while allowing for more creative applications to practice.
Participants will be asked to present clinical material in the second part, which will serve as a basis for
group discussion with clinical concepts from the theory applied to the clinical material.
Pre - Reading: These background readings are intended to be completed before the first class but will
not be specifically discussed except as they pertain to the material.
1. Freud, S. (1900) The Interpretation of Dreams, In James Strachey (ed.) The Standard Edition of the
Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud (1953), Vol. 4, 260-66.
2. Klein, M. (1928). Early Stages of the Oedipus Conflict. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 9:167-180
Seminar 1 The Primal Scene
Sept. 20: Elie Debbane
Required Readings:
1. Britton, R., Chused, J., Ellman, S. and Likierman, M. (2006). Panel II: The Oedipus Complex, the
Primal Scene, and the Superego. J. Infant Child Adolescent. Psychotherapy, 5:282-307
2. Britton, R. (1989). Chapter Two: The Missing Link: Parental Sexuality in the Oedipus Complex. The
Oedipus Complex Today Clinical Implications, 83-101
3. Steiner, J. (1993). Chapter Eight: The Relationship to Reality in Psychic Retreats. Psychic Retreats,
88-102.
Objectives:
1. Participants will be introduced to the concept of the primal scene in the Oedipus myth and how
different theories locate its presence along different developmental timelines.
2. Participants will be able to discuss the dynamic interactivity between the Oedipus complex and the
depressive position of Kleinian theory.
3. Participants will read about and be able to discuss how the primal scene phantasy may be a
fundamental catalyst for the development of misrepresentations or distortions in psychic reality.
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Seminar 2 The Plague of Infertility
Oct. 4: James Fabian
Required Readings:
1. Britton, R. (1992). The Oedipus Situation and the Depressive Position. New Lib. of Psycho-Anal.,
14:34-45
2. Feldman, M. (1989). Chapter Three: The Oedipus Complex: Manifestations in the Inner World and
the Therapeutic Situation. The Oedipus Complex Today Clinical Implications, 103-128
3. Steiner, J. (2011). Helplessness and the Exercise of Power in the Analytic Session. Int. J. PsychoAnal., 92:135-147.
Objectives:
1. The participant will be able to see the relationship between the achievement of the depressive position
as described by Klein and a person’s capacity to give up various Oedipal illusions that stand in the
way of creativity and fertility.
2. The participant will examine the link between the way the Oedipal situation is construed internally
and the patient’s capacity to think.
3. The participant will be able to relate the paranoid outcome of the Oedipus complex to the need of the
therapist to be overly active in treatment so that he or she may avoid recognizing the limitations of the
analytic work.
Seminar 3 - Turning a Blind Eye: Disavowal in the Oedipal Drama
Oct 18: Judith Setton-Markus
Required Readings:
1. Steiner, J. (1985). Turning a Blind Eye: The Cover up for Oedipus. Int. Rev. Psycho-Anal., 12:161172
2. Britton, R. (1994). The Blindness of the Seeing Eye: Inverse Symmetry as a Defense Against Reality.
Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 14:365-378
3. Steiner, J. (1993). Chapter Ten: Two Types of Pathological Organization in Oedipus the King and
Oedipus at Colonus. Psychic Retreats, 116 – 130
4. Steiner, J. (1990). The Retreat from Truth to Omnipotence in Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus. Int.
Rev. Psycho-Anal., 17:227-237
Objectives:
1. Participants will be introduced to the concept of blindness in the Oedipal drama and discuss how it
may be identified as a potent presence in clinical practice.
2. Participants will read about and discuss the consequences of the cover up of the “Oedipal crime.”
3. Participants will have the opportunity to expand their understanding of the concept of psychic truth in
the Oedipus story and see how this understanding may inform clinical practice.
Seminar 4 - The Combined Object of the Sphinx
Nov 1: Janet Oakes
Required Readings:
1. O'Shaughnessy, E. (1989). Chapter Four: The Invisible Oedipus Complex. The Oedipus Complex
Today Clinical Implications, 129-150
2. Emanuel, R. (2001). A-Void—An Exploration of Defences Against Sensing Nothingness.
International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 82:1069-1084
3. Frisch, S and Frisch-Desmarez, Christine (2010). Some Thoughts on the concept of the Internal
Parental Couple. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis.91: 325-342.
Objectives:
1. The participant will see how singleness and problems with being in the presence of the oedipal pair
can manifest in the therapeutic session.
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2. The participant will be able to recognize some of the defenses against the sense of nothingness such
as the psychic retreat and the claustrum.
3. The participant will be able to recognize the patient with an internalized distorted image of their
parental couple object most probably owing to early distortions in their relations with objects.
Seminar 5 - Omnipotence
Nov 15: Eli Debbane
Required Readings:
1. Feldman, M. (2008). Grievance: The Underlying Oedipal Configuration. International Journal of
Psycho-Analysis, 89:743-758
2. Steiner, J. (1996). Revenge And Resentment In The ‘Oedipus Situation’. International Journal of
Psycho-Analysis, 77:433-443
3. Feldman, M (2009). Chapter Seven: Envy and the Negative Therapeutic Reaction. Doubt, Conviction
and the Analytic Process, 118 - 137
Objectives:
1. Participants will read about and be invited to discuss the role of omnipotence in psychic retreats and
the consequences for mental development.
2. Participants will be introduced to the concept of grievance and be able to discuss Feldman’s view of
the underlying mechanisms that are involved as it presents clinically.
3. Participants will be introduced to the concept of a negative therapeutic reaction and the role of
omnipotence in creating and perpetuating such occurrences.
Seminar 6 - The Crossroads a Triangular Space
Nov.29: Catherine Young
Required Readings:
1. Britton, R. (2004). Subjectivity, Objectivity, and Triangular Space. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 73:4761
2. Schoenhals, H. (1995). Triangular Space And The Development Of A Working Model In The
Analysis. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 76:103-113Noel-Smith, K. (2002). Time and
Space as ‘Necessary Forms of Thought’. Free Associations, 9:394-442
Objectives:
1. The participant will recognize that the need for agreement in an analytic couple is inversely
proportional to the expectation of understanding.
2. The participant will be able to explain how the establishment of a triangular space in the analytic
situation is linked with the development of symbolic thinking.
3. The participant will understand that the process of healthy ego development depends on a more or
less successful containment of the infant's projected death instinct or fear of death.
Western Branch Canadian Psychoanalytic Society
Extension Program (Vancouver)
The Oedipus Complex Today: September 2013 - November 2013
Registration Form
Name:_________________________________________________________
Address:_______________________________________________________
Phone number:______________________Email address:________________
Student:_____________________________(name
photocopy of proof of registration.
program
and
university;
along
with
Professional Affiliation:____________________________________________
Degrees:_______________________________________________________
Send payment ($270 for professionals or $160 for students) and registration form to the address
below or contact Nancy Briones at nbriones@shaw.ca with further enquiries.
Western Branch-CPS
c/o Nancy Briones
7755 Yukon Street
Vancouver, BC V5X 2Y2