MOVING FORWARD BETWEEN OBSCURITIES AND REVELATIONS: POST PANDEMIC REFLECTIONS ON THE INFANTILE IN INFANT OBSERVATION

featuring

Janine Sternberg, PhD

Consultant Child Psychotherapist at the Portman Clinic,

Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust

and

Persila Conversano, PsyD

Psychoanalytic Center of California

Saturday, February 11, 2023

9:00 am to 12:30 pm (PST)

CEUs: 3.25

When

Saturday, February 11, 2023

8:45 am Sign-in

9:00 am Paper Presentation (Dr. Sternberg): "What prevents us from learning? How the experience of infant observation can engender and develop capacities needed by a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and times when this doesn't happen".

10:00 am Discussion of Paper

10:30 am Break

10:45 am Paper Presentation (Dr. Conversano); "An exploratory account of the nature of infant observation as a psychoanalytic method to develop insentient layers of the mind"

11:30 am Dr. Sternberg's discussion of Dr. Conversano's paper

11:45 am Audience discussion

12:30 pm Adjourn

Virtual Meeting Service

Zoom Video Conference (The Zoom login ID will be provided after registration).

Program Description

Infant Observation as a training instrument has been found to help analysts and psychotherapists in training to contact infantile experience in an actual infant as well as within themselves. The value of this tool in training has been deeply researched by Dr. Sternberg, who will present some of her findings that support this claim. The usefulness of this in-vivo tool has also encountered many impediments and criticisms. This conference will highlight the value and explore some obstacles to the future of the Infant Observation experience. 

Target Audience

MD's, Psychologists, LCSW's, MFT's, Registered Nurses, candidates and members of psychoanalytic institutes, and student clinicians who are interested in psychoanalytic training programs.

Course Objectives

At the end of this activity, participants should be better able to:

1. Name three skills developed over an Infant Observation;
2. Differentiate Infant Observation from reading about infantile states;
3. Identify three therapeutic qualities Infant Observation helps to develop.

Janine Sternberg, PhD is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and also an adult psychotherapist in private practice. She is currently Emeritus Clinical Course Director for the Independent Training offered by the Independent Psychoanalytic Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy Association at the BPF and the Anna Freud Centre, accredited by University College, London. 

Previously she worked as a Consultant Child Psychotherapist at the Portman Clinic, Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, having worked for many years before that at the Tavistock Mulberry Bush Day Unit, a small unit for children with complex difficulties. She trained originally as a child psychotherapist at the Tavistock Clinic and subsequently as an adult psychotherapist at the British Association of Psychotherapists (now the British Psychotherapy Foundation (BPF).

She is very involved in training issues and active in the professional body for child psychotherapists, the Association of Child Psychotherapists. She has been editor of the Journal of Child Psychotherapy and Editorial Co-ordinator of the British Journal of Psychotherapy.  As well as numerous other chapters and briefer publications, she has written a book which addresses what capacities and skills are needed for psychotherapeutic work and how these may be enhanced by infant observation ( ‘Infant Observation at the Heart of Training’ ) and co-edited (with Cathy Urwin) a book on infant observation as a research methodology (‘Infant Observation and Research: Emotional Processes in Everyday lives').   

Persila Conversano, PsyD, FIPA, BCPsa is a psychoanalyst and a clinical psychologist. She is a member of the Psychoanalytic Center of California, Chair and Senior Faculty of the Infant Observation Committee, and assistant faculty in the core program. She serves as a member of the Continuing Education Committee and the Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Program (ICAPP). Dr. Conversano is endorsed as Infant-Family and Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist by the California Center for Infant-Family and Early Childhood Mental Health. She has taught at the Alliant University (formerly CSPP - Los Angeles Campus), Chicago School of Professional Psychology (formerly CGI), and Reiss-Davis Child Study Center. Dr. Conversano has supervised at the Wright Institute and Valley Community Clinic. At the Children's Hospital Los Angeles-Early Childhood Program, she served as clinical faculty and pediatric staff psychologist where she conducted developmental assessment of infants with psychotherapeutic interventions for infants and caregivers, conducted psycho-diagnostic testing, assessment and treatment of children on the autism spectrum disorders, children with behavioral and emotional difficulties, and children with chronic and severe medical conditions. At Didi Hirsch CMHC, she served as Clinical Director for emergency services and centralized intake. She worked as a clinician at Casa Pacifica, a residential treatment center-cottage for boys with severe emotional disturbance age 6-17. She is in private practice in Beverly Hills where she works with adults, couples, children and parents.

The Psychoanalytic Center of California is accredited by the California Medical Association (CMA) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.



The Psychoanalytic Center of California designates this live activity for a maximum of 3.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in this activity.

As per the California Board of Psychology, psychologists may apply AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ earned by attendance at this CME accredited live activity toward their continuing education requirement for licensing. 

The Psychoanalytic Center of California is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) to sponsor continuing education for LMFT's and LCSW's (CAMFT Approved Provider # 135374). The Psychoanalytic Center of California maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. This course meets the qualifications for 3.25 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. These learners must attend the entire course to claim credit; no partial credit is offered according to CAMFT requirements.

This course is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing (Provider #CEP6003) for up to 3.25 contact hours. 

The PCC maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.  

Claiming Credit: Participants will receive a certificate of attendance at the event, which can be used toward licensing requirements. Credit is offered for actual instruction time and does not include breaks.

Refunds/Cancellations: Refunds, less a $10 administrative fee, will be made if cancellation notification is phoned or postmarked three (3) business days in advance of this program. There will be no refunds on requests received after the refund deadline. Full refunds are made in the event that PCC must cancel this program.

Returned Checks: A $25.00 service charge will be assessed for checks returned by the bank.

Grievances: While PCC goes to great lengths to assure fair treatment for all participants and attempts to anticipate problems, there will be occasional issues that come to the attention of the PCC staff which will require intervention and/or action on the part of the staff. Visit  www.p-c-c.org/ethics for PCC's procedural guidelines for handling such grievances.

Special Needs: Facilities are accessible to persons with disabilities. If you have a special need and plan to attend the conference, please contact the PCC Office by phone at (310) 478-4347 or via email at [email protected]. Special needs requests will be fulfilled if received one week prior to the event, which will ensure we have ample opportunity to meet your needs.

Commercial Support Disclaimer: The planners and presenters for this event have not received commercial support for this event nor are there any relevant financial relationships between the sponsors, presenters, program content, research, grants, or other funding that could reasonably be construed as conflicts of interest.

Financial Support Disclaimer: The planners and presenters for this event have no financial relationships to disclose.

Continuing Education Membership: Any person who attends a PCC Continuing Education conference shall become a Continuing Education Member for one year. The registration fee for the conference covers the cost of membership. A Continuing Education Member will be provided with a PCC newsletter as available, and the option to participate in periodic forums to discuss continuing education offerings. Continuing Education Members will also be eligible to attend Continuing Education planning meetings. 

Confidentiality:  By registering for this educational event, attendees agree to strictly maintain confidentiality of any clinical material shared and will not distribute or convey such confidential material outside of the conference. 

List of Program Planners

Presenters:

Janine Sternberg, PhD and Persila Conversano, PsyD

Continuing Education Committee:

Philip Lance, PhD (co-chair), Leigh Tobias, PhD (co-chair), Jennifer Kunst, Ph.D. (member and CME coordinator) and Chris Minnick, MD (member and CME chair); Persila Conversano, PsyD, Jason Snyder, LMFT, Stacey Nicklas, PsyD, Jennifer Langham, PhD, and Yelena Kashtuyeva, MFT (members)

PCC Infant Observation Committee:

Diane Garcia, PhD, Shirley Gooch, PhD, Lisa Hilger, PsyD, and Shari Saperstein, PsyD



Registration

General Admission: $100

Candidate/PPP Admission: $50

Full time Student Admission: $50