Michigan Psychoanalytic Society presents
The Costs of White Privilege and The Benefits of Sharing Power: Our Journey of Self-Study through a Psychoanalytic Lens
Presenters:
Paula Kliger, PhD, ABPP and Neil Altman, PhD
April 24 and May 8, 2021
2:00 – 4:00 PM
*4 CME and CE Credit Hours
*($15 per credit hour for non-MPS members)
Register in advance for this meeting:
zoom.us/meeting/register/...
James Baldwin teaches us that whiteness entails a delusion of omnipotence. The fantasy of whiteness draws one into a commitment to amass and maintain power in the sense of mastery and dominance, as if thereby one could transcend the human condition of vulnerability and mortality. The impossibility of this project enchains us to an ever-accelerating treadmill of acquisition, aggression, and oppression.
We will outline a plan for liberation from this treadmill through psychoanalytically informed self-study and reflection. Questioning our submission to the imperatives of power will open up possibilities of community with others, fellow travelers in the human condition.
BIOGRAPHIES
Neil Altman, PhD Faculty, William Alanson White Institute, New York, and Visiting Faculty, Ambedkar University of Delhi, India; Editor Emeritus, Psychoanalytic Dialogues, Editorial Board Member, Journal of Child Psychotherapy and International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies; Member of Board of Directors, Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy;author, The Analyst in the Inner City, Second Edition, and Psychoanalysis in Times of Accelerating Cultural Change; co-author, Relational Child Psychotherapy.
In his new book, White Privilege: Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Neil Altman, "once again, has done the exceptional as in his classic The Analyst in the Inner City. He takes us on a journey of the evolving self as relational and uncovers the power of a psychoanalytic theoretical lens and the empiricism of psychoanalysis in practice to examine ourselves."
Paula Kliger, PhD, ABPP Faculty, Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute, Clinical Assistant Professor, Wayne State University, School of Medicine, Psychiatry Residency Program, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Clinic and Organizational Consultation Supervisor, University of Detroit Mercy; author, Power Your Heart, You Power Your Mind, Self-Study then Build A Bridge to Someone; Wellness Webinar Series "During COVID-19: Meditation (Parts 1-3) and Being A Creative in Professional Practice (Parts 1-2):" American Psychological Association; co-author: The Podcast: We Are Human First on Spotify and Apple.
Making use of psychoanalytically informed experiential self-reflection practices of story vignettes and film, Paula Kliger invites participants to embrace moments of our embodied feelings, thoughts, images, and lived experiences, examining the historical costs of privilege, while discovering glimpses into our human potential for hope and transformation.
The Michigan Psychoanalytic Society Learning Objectives
1) Apply your self-analytic/self-study capacities by embracing with greater recognition your impact on others: How
you operate in the world, in clinical practice, professionally and within the community.
2) Identify the discomfort of recognizing your own internalized "othering" biases.
3) Discuss concepts (now embedded forces) like "whiteness," "privilege," "black rage", "white rage," and
"othering" and their power to shape who we are and what we become.
4) Identify pathways to share privilege: knowledge and expertise, position and authority, recognition and
sponsorship, and other empowerment-based opportunities.
Readings and Resources for Seminars 1 and 2:
Books* and Film**
Neil Altman (2020). White Privilege: Psychoanalytic Perspectives. New York: Routledge Focus.
Paula Kliger (2021). We Are Human First. (Film: Second Edition). Michigan: Psychological Assets.**
Carol Anderson (2016). White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Journal Articles***
Powell, D. (2020). From the Sunken Place to the Shitty Place: The Film Get Out, Psychic Emancipation
and Modern Race Relations from a Psychodynamic Clinical Perspective. The Psychoanalytic Quarterly. 89:3, 415-445, DOI: 10.1080/00332828.2020.1767486.
Leary, K. (2012). Race as an adaptive challenge: Working with diversity in the clinical consulting room. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 29(3), 279-291.
Guralnik, O. (2011) Ede: Race, the law and I. With Culture in Mind (Edited by Muriel Dimen), Studies in Gender and Sexuality. 12 (22-26).
White, K. P. (2002) Surviving Hating and Being Hated: Some Personal Thoughts About Racism from a Psychoanalytic Perspective. Contemporary Psychoanalysis. Vol 38 (401-422).
Additional Suggested Books* and Articles***
James Baldwin (1993). The Fire Next Time. New York: Vintage International.*
Toni Morrison (1993) Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination. New York: Vintage International.*
Paula Kliger (1999). Apartheid Thinking: Inside South Africa and Psychoanalysis: Human rights (rites) and their role in development and change. American Psychological Association, Division 39, Psychoanalytic Psychology Conference. ***
Neil Altman (2000). Black and White Thinking: A Psychoanalyst Reconsiders Race.Psychoanalytic Dialogues. 10(4) 589-605.***
Paula Kliger (2018) Power your Heart...You power your Mind: Self-study then Build a Bridge to Someone. Michigan: SEDA Press.*
*From Amazon ** Introduced April 24, in Seminar 1 ***Available from PEP-Web and MPS
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 Michigan Psychoanalytic Society. 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 a maximum of 4 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION FOR ALL LEARNERS: None of the planners and presenters of this CME program have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.
PSYCHOLOGISTS: The Michigan Psychoanalytic Society is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Michigan Psychoanalytic Society maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
SOCIAL WORKERS: The Michigan Psychoanalytic Society is an approved provider with the Michigan Social Work Continuing Education Collaborative.
The views of the speakers do not necessarily represent the views of the Michigan Psychoanalytic Society.
Please call Monica Evans at 248-851-3380 for additional information or visit our Website: mpi-mps.org
