Taught by Michael Levin, M.D.
Spirituality means many different things to different people. For some, it means a search for release from all earthly problems. For others, it may be a longing for the oceanic feeling of the womb. And for others, it can mean religion, or meditation, or mindfulness, or a way of life. Without discounting any of these notions, this talk will focus on the psychology of spirituality. The spiritual experience is one basic to being human. Evidence for a prominent role of spirituality in human psychology exists dating back to earliest homo sapiens. Dr. Levin returns this year with a discussion of the role of spirituality in the process of recovering from addiction. Interest in this talk arose out of hearing that 12-step dogma suggests that of all the steps, only the first must be completed to 100%. The first three steps are about giving up control to a higher power. Empirically, this bit of dogma seems true. Making things even more interesting, it is also these steps that clients have the most difficulty with. But this is not a talk about AA. This is a talk about the psychology of spirituality; what it is, and what role it can play in the lives of our clients. On a more practical note, this is a talk on how to think about and how to talk to our clients about this basic feature of being human. This seminar will also address questions such as:
- Was Freud right?
- What has psychoanalysis had to say about spirituality?
- Psychoanalysis meets India – what is Bion’s concept of O?
- Was Lacan a Buddhist?
- What is it about addiction that spirituality plays an especially important role in its treatment?
- What role has language played in our understanding of spirituality?
As usual, Dr. Levin will use ideas from Buddhism, Neuroscience, Engineering and Psychoanalysis to tackle these questions. By request, he will not spend much time reviewing information from past seminars. But, most of all, he hopes this topic will lead to lively discussion about this aspect of a fascinating disease and how to deal with it in our practices.
Michael Levin, M.D. brings to this talk his 28 years of experience dealing with patients suffering from addiction, 7 years of psychoanalytic training, 5 years practice as an internist, 4 years work in R&D as an engineer, and 2 years experience in basic neuroscience research.
Fees: Students - $65.00; Society Members - $75.00; Non-Society Members - $85.00
Deadline to register has been extended to October 11, 2018
There will be NO refunds after October 11th, any refunds prior to October 11th will be less a $25.00 administration fee.
Certificates of Attendance will be distributed upon completion of the course. No CME credits are provided.
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