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Director's Column

Meryl Dorf, PhD

Leadership Transitions

After nine years of extraordinary service, Laura Arrue is stepping down from her role as Associate Director. Laura has been a thoughtful, steady, and deeply committed leader, working closely with both Debi Roelke and myself to guide CPPNJ through important periods of growth and transformation. We’re fortunate that Laura will remain on the Board as a Member-at-Large, where her insight and institutional memory will continue to benefit us all.

We are pleased to welcome Lynn Egan as our new Associate Director. Lynn has been a vital part of our leadership team as Dean of Students, collaborating closely with the Board, the Training Committee, and our Candidates Organization. Her deep understanding of our programs, candidates, psychoanalytic theory and education, positions her perfectly for this new role.

As Lynn steps into her new position, we are excited to announce that Melanie Karger will become our next Dean of Students. A CPPNJ graduate, Melanie brings tremendous energy and a keen understanding of the candidate experience. Her other leadership roles—including member of the Program Committee, Affiliate Membership Committee and as contributor to our Continuing Education certification process—reflect her strong commitment to our community.

We extend our deepest thanks to Deborah Liner, who has served with distinction as Dean of Faculty and as a member of the Board. Her leadership of the Faculty Enhancement Program has brought us dynamic presentations and meaningful discussions that have enriched our faculty’s development.

Stepping into the role of Dean of Faculty is Genevieve (“Genny”) Shineman, who has coordinated our Continuing Education students with steady care. Genny brings thoughtful energy and experience to this expanded role, and we look forward to her leadership.

We also warmly welcome Lauren Poleyeff and Lila Redmount, who will serve as Co-Directors of the Program Committee. Conferences and events are vital to our institute’s offerings, and Lauren and Lila bring creativity and a shared psychoanalytic enthusiasm to this essential work. We’re delighted to have them join the Board. We offer abundant thanks to Tom Johnson for stepping in with focus, creativity and energy as Interim Program Director.

We thank Adrienne Abramowitz for her work as Candidate Representative to the Training Committee and though she completes her term there, we welcome her to the role of Candidate Representative to the Board. Her experience and dedication to the field will enrich our discussions and help guide our path toward the future. 

Of course, we also extend heartfelt thanks to the dedicated Directors continuing in their current roles:

• Michael Lepak, Director of Continuing Education
• Ozzie Haller, Treasurer
• Janet Hoffer, Director of Training
• And myself, Meryl Dorf, Director

Candidate Leadership

We are equally grateful for the leadership and initiative shown by our candidates. Jane Coyle, who has served as Candidate Representative to the Board, will now co-lead the Candidates Organization alongside Kristy Lauricella. Jane has brought clarity and compassion to Board discussions, consistently advocating for candidate perspectives.

Kristy, meanwhile, has significantly improved our administrative processes, creating streamlined, user-friendly online forms that have simplified training documentation. Together, Jane and Kristy will bring strong leadership and a collaborative spirit to the Candidates Organization.

To all who have said “yes” to leadership roles this year—thank you. Your energy, vision, and commitment continue to shape the future of CPPNJ. I am deeply appreciative of all you do.

With warmest regards,

Meryl Dorf

Director, CPPNJ

Congratulations to Our Graduates

Christopher Anrig, LCSW

Certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

Chris is honored and humbled to receive the certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy from CPPNJ. While he is proud of the accomplishment, he is also aware of how fortunate and privileged he is to be a part of the institute. He is deeply indebted to our distinguished faculty, supervisors and analysts for their wisdom, kindness and generosity. He is eternally grateful for the support of his supervisors, Janet Hoffer, DSW, LCSW, and Veronica Bearison, MSW, LCSW, as well as his analyst Laura Arrue, LCSW. 

He graduated from the Columbia University School of Social Work in 2000 and met with his first psychoanalyst shortly thereafter. He knew then that there were things he needed to talk about, and that there was a way to do it and that it was a good thing. He went on to work primarily as a social worker in oncology for the next twenty plus years. He kept a part-time practice for long-term psychodynamic work. As professionally and academically fulfilling as it was, he knew that his analysis was still unfinished and it couldn’t be clearer to him now that his training at CPPNJ has been one of the best decisions he has made for himself. He now lives and works in Maplewood, New Jersey where he sees individuals and couples.

Liz Gertner, PhD

Certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

Liz is excited to celebrate this day with her CPPNJ colleagues, teachers, and supervisors. Her path to a career as a psychologist was a winding one. She studied art as an undergraduate, and though her passion was printmaking, she enjoyed the handful of psychology classes that she took, particularly those with a psychoanalytic bent. After graduating, she worked as an elementary school teacher in New York City. But while getting a master's degree in education, she again found her way to psychology classes. Not long after, she started plotting a career change.

In 2003, she received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the City University of New York, followed by a post-doctoral internship doing short term psychodynamic psychotherapy with CUNY graduate students. By then, she was living in Maplewood, raising two small children. Liz joined a group practice nearby and developed a specialty working with children and teens with anxiety and OCD. She opened her own practice in 2018, and soon after took her first class at CPPNJ. Over the years, her practice has expanded to include psychoanalytically informed therapy with people of all ages. She is truly grateful to be part of the CPPNJ Community. 

Christine Highland, LCSW

Certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

Christine Highland started her career in mental health at the Smith College School for Social Work in Northampton, Massachusetts where she graduated in 2015 with her MSW. She went to Smith specifically to learn psychoanalytic theory and because of their anti-racism mission statement which blended critical race theory throughout the curriculum and internships. After graduating from Smith, she worked in inpatient substance abuse treatment in Malibu, CA and then completed a three-year training program in Psychoanalysis at the Wright Institute Los Angeles (WILA) while working at their on-site mental health clinic.

In 2020, she and her partner moved east from Los Angeles to Princeton, NJ to live a quiet life in the country and raise their daughter. She has a private practice in Princeton where she sees PhD students from the university and other adults in the community. In addition to practicing psychoanalytically, she practices from an anti-oppression lens and applies a HAES (Health at Every Size) model. She has enjoyed working in-person again and is trying to leave virtual practice behind if possible!

When she is not working or parenting, she loves jigsaw puzzles, reading fiction, taking naps, and playing with their 11-year-old terrier mutt named Pip. She feels so grateful for the continuing education and community at CPPNJ. The training has enriched her work and her life, and she looks forward to what lies ahead.

Katherine Hauser, LCSW

Certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

It is a joy both personally and professionally for Katherine to celebrate this milestone today. When she graduated from Columbia University’s MSW program eleven years ago and took her first clinical social work job, she was initially disheartened by her experiences. These early experiences suggested that therapy was not the creative, rich, and deep process she had imagined and instead was only the implementation of rote interventions and strategies. During that time, however, she needed to hire her own clinical supervisor for her LCSW, and she is incredibly grateful now that, through the fortuitous recommendation of her Highland Park neighbor, she found her way to Jeffrey Longhofer. Under Jeff’s inspiring and invigorating tutelage, the therapeutic endeavor began to open into the creative, exciting, and meaningful work that she had always imagined it could be. Soon thereafter, after she began working in Jeff’s practice, he directed her to CPPNJ to continue her training. She is pleased to say here that CPPNJ has satiated her intellectual curiosity and supported her personal and professional growth through supervision, class, and analysis. It is with great gratitude to Jeffrey Longhofer, Jerry Floersch, and all the CPPNJ faculty that she moves into the next phase of the program.

Katherine’s practice is now located in Dalton, PA (near Scranton), where for the past several years she has enjoyed working with patients across the lifespan in her home office in the woods. When she is not working or doing CPPNJ things, she is involved in her local community, parenting her 8-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son with whom she was pregnant when she took her first class at CPPNJ. Finally, she is grateful to her husband, Chris, who has been at her side through graduate school, when she started this program, and ever since.

Upcoming Programs

Daniel Gaztambide, PsyD

Decolonizing Psychoanalytic Technique: Rethinking Our Foundations from Developmental Theory to Clinical Practice

October 26, 2025

9:00am-1:00pm

Interactive via Zoom

Click Here to Register

Social Justice Reflection Community

From the Editors:

   We commend the hard work and accomplishments of the CPPNJ Social Justice Committee as evidenced by the following report. The Steering Committee consists of Rose Oosting, PhD, Tom Johnson, LCSW, EdD and Christine Highland, LCSW and Ellie Muska, LCSW. We want ALL OF YOU--the members of our extended Newsletter community—to be informed about CPPNJ’s current priorities. If you have further questions, please email Marion Houghton at Marion427@verizon.net.

CPPNJ “SOCIAL JUSTICE REFLECTION COMMUNITY” CONTINUES TO DRAW ROBUST DISCUSSIONS

Submitted by Rose Oosting, PhD

The Reflections Community movie-watching events constitute an effort to offer CPPNJ members the opportunity to join in community to discuss issues of Social Justice from a psychoanalytic viewpoint.

It is, in a time of cultural upheaval in which both analysts and their patients are struggling, an effort to approach current cultural and societal currents from an analytic lens. Psychoanalytic theory and practice offers us the ability to try to investigate our world(s) through our unique understanding of the roles of transference, countertransference, resistance, projection and counter-projection in human relationships.

Using our stance as analysts, we explore and examine the impact of external events and structures on the internal psyche of patients and analysts. We have looked at many issues: anti-Semitism, ableism, racism, gender identity and expression, climate suffering, and much more as we try to discuss psychic impact of our social world.  ALL CPPNJ MEMBERS ARE WELCOME.  

Movie Recommendations of the Month:

1.  Ben Raines, The Last Slave Ship (2022)

And: David Wright Falade: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/07/11/the-truth-about-my-father.  Falade is a direct descendant of the rulers of Dahomey, the original slave catchers; this is a story about his experience in discovering this. At the end of the story is an interesting connection to psychoanalysis.

2. "FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO," a deeply moving documentary about the experiences of six gay and transgender young people, from different backgrounds and different parts of the country, as they negotiate coming out, for better or worse, with their families and their communities. One featured family is from Montclair, the Porchers, and it explores their journey as their daughter becomes a son. www.fortheyknow.org

3. In a Different Key, on autism. In this award-winning movie, a mother tracks down the first person ever diagnosed with autism, now an elderly man in rural Mississippi, to learn if his life story holds promise for her own autistic son. Her journey exposes a startling record of cruelty and kindness alike, framed by forces like race, money and privilege – but leads to hope that more of us are learning to have the backs of those who are "different." It is available on Amazon Prime, for rent, and possibly on other streaming platforms.

A Look Back at Our Spring 2025 Events

CPPNJ Open House Event

Submitted by Deborah Greenberg, LCSW

On Sunday, May 4, 2025, The Admissions Committee hosted an Open House for 7 prospective candidates and for the first time presented a live demonstration of a psychoanalytic supervision. Those present were Deborah Greenberg, Interim Director of Admissions, Chris Anrig, CPPNJ Candidate graduating from the Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy portion of our Training Program this June 2025, and a Member of the Admissions Committee, and Adrienne Abramowitz an advanced Candidate in the Program for Psychoanalysis and a Member of the Admissions Committee. In addition, we were joined by Ronnie Bearison, CPPNJ Training Analyst, Supervisor, and Faculty Member, Genny Shineman, a new CPPNJ Board Member, and Cathy Van Voorhees, the CPPNJ Administrative Director.

The program began with a live supervision between Ronnie Bearison who is currently supervising Chris Anrig on a patient that he sees twice a week. In my opinion, it was an excellent example of psychoanalytic supervision. To quote Ronnie Bearison, “Psychoanalytic supervision is not about problem solving, but rather helping a therapist understand the unconscious wishes, thoughts, and feelings a patient may be unaware of that might affect how they feel about themselves and how they relate to others. It is based on trust between the supervisor and therapist because in the course of supervision thoughts and reaction emerge that help both capture the emotional and relational tone of the ongoing treatment.” I believe that we were all able to see these concepts come alive as we watched Ronnie and Chris engage in a deep and meaningful exchange.

The program continued with a discussion about the various aspects of our Training program and the requirements for supervision and analysis. I think we had a lively and engaging discussion with many questions about both the supervision session and aspects of our Training Program.

All in all it was an informative and educational morning for those in attendance.

Creating Connection in the Analytic Dyad:

A Talk by Donnel Stern, PhD

Submitted by Mirel Goldstein, LPC

On Sunday, May 18, approximately 100 members of CPNNJ and the broader psychoanalytic community gathered on Zoom for a rich and thought-provoking presentation by Donnel Stern. Drawing from his extensive experience and personal journey, Stern offered a deeply human and accessible perspective on beginning psychoanalytic treatment.

Central to his talk was the idea that psychoanalysis starts with connection. Stern emphasized the importance of opening treatment on a personal note, with the goal of creating an emotional bond between analyst and patient. He shared how our theoretical orientations are often shaped by personal experience and guided by our values and aesthetic sensibilities. Theories, in his view, are not abstract frameworks we impose, but expressive of who we are—and how we are—with our patients.

Stern traced his own path toward a relational-interpersonal approach to psychoanalysis, one that views the therapeutic relationship as mutually constructed and inherently dynamic. He noted that relational analysts often experience continuity between their analytic selves and their private selves, approaching their patients with authenticity, spontaneity, and openness. While acknowledging the inherent asymmetry of the analytic relationship, Stern stressed that the analyst’s role includes allowing for a natural, emotionally alive presence.

He introduced the evocative term “partners in thought” to describe the collaborative process at the heart of psychoanalytic work. Stern suggested that meaningful connection often begins when we speak from the heart, and that frequency of contact—meeting multiple times per week—can deepen the emotional resonance of the work.

Rejecting traditional notions of “resistance,” Stern encouraged a stance of curiosity and humility when a patient disagrees with an interpretation. Such moments, he suggested, signal that the analyst may have missed something, offering a new opportunity to explore the relational field co-created between analyst and patient.

Through compelling case material, Stern illustrated how spontaneous moments of shared emotional experience can catalyze growth, often becoming touchstones for reflection later in the treatment. His presentation underscored that at its core, psychoanalysis is about human connection—and that much like in everyday life, it is this connection that allows the work to unfold and deepen.

Presented in warm, accessible language, Stern’s talk offered a powerful reminder: the beginning of analysis is not unlike the beginning of any meaningful relationship. It is in the emotional bond that healing begins.

Staying in the Struggle for Racial Equity in Psychoanalysis: What I Can Say to You, What You Can Say to Me, What We Can Say to One Another and Together, Forging a Path Forward

Dorothy Evans Holmes, PhD 

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Submitted by Marion Houghton, EdS, LMFT

Today’s speaker was introduced by Tom Johnson, LCSW, EdD, CPPNJ Analyst and Co-Chair of the Social Justice Committee, and Michelle Stephens, PhD, a Rutgers University Psychoanalyst and Director of the Institute for Global Racial Justice.

Dr. Holmes, our presenter, described today’s program as designed to be “interactive”-- with the inclusion of small group discussions—in an attempt to discover what we can do together through psychoanalysis to address the current political environment. In her introductory remarks, she advocated for analysts to provide our patients with tools to achieve one’s “liberated self’. She distinguished between tolerance and inclusion—with the latter as our aim. Despite the darkness of our times, Dr. Holmes called attention to hope. She quoted Rumi, who said “the wound is where the light enters”, and Amanda Gorman who spoke at a recent Presidential Inauguration saying “there is always light,”

Dr. Holmes introduced the experiential phase of the program consisting of six groups. She offered several questions to be considered by the groups

1. What has been your experience of systemic racism in psychoanalytic training?

2. What steps can institutes take to address racism in training?

3. What resistances exist in institutes toward expanding our view of the role of psychoanalysis in addressing current tensions in society? (e.g., recognizing our own enactments; how do we create better holding environments?)

In a final large group session, Dr. Holmes listened to the reports from the breakout groups. She suggested “telling stories” as a way to approach doing therapy. She referred to psychoanalytic treatment as a “liberating act” and called us to be open to “amazement and surprises”, and to both process experiences and hold them. She asked us to share more of our pain together. She described the work of challenging systemic racism as “re-prioritizing our deeply held priorities.”

The audience was enthusiastic in its praise for Dr. Holmes. Some present said they would have preferred to listen to more of her thoughts. She clearly wanted us to have the experience of speaking and entering into dialog with one another. “So the light can get in.”

Upcoming Member Events

Welcome Back Brunch

Orangerie (Monninger Center)

Fairleigh Dickinson University

Florham Park Campus

Sunday, September 7, 2025

9:00am-1:00pm

Member Awards, Presentations and Publications

Ruth Lijtmaer, PhD

Paper: "Patriarchy and violence against women". IPA (International Psychohistory Association). Conference theme: Imagining Brighter Futures for our Divided World: What Psychohistory Can Contribute. 5-23-25 to 5-25-25 Online.

Linda Meyers, PsyD

Winning Writers is pleased to announce the results from its tenth annual North Street Book Prize competition. Dr. Linda I. Meyers of New York, New York won the Grand Prize and $10,000 for her literary memoir-in-essays, THE TELL.

Contributions to Our Newsletter

To our CPPNJ Newsletter readers: Marion and Mirel invite you to share your current interests and recommendations for worthwhile topics in psychoanalytic psychotherapy and related subject areas by submitting book reviews to be published in future newsletters. To participate, send your recommendation to Mirel Goldstein mirelgoldstein@gmail.com or Marion Houghton marion427@verizon.net. Thank you.

Newsletter Editorial Staff

Co-Editor Marion Houghton, EdS, LMFT

Co-Editor Mirel Goldstein, MS, MA, LPC

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