During these trying times, remaining balanced in our responses to the crises we face regarding the pandemic and emerging social issues can be challenging and exhausting. Anxiety tends to erode spacious thought and discernment. Outrage may cause us to slip into polarized positions of certainty about right and wrong, us and them. At these times, we need all the internal balance we can muster. Dialogue amidst an atmosphere of respect and tolerance can help to regain the internal space and balance needed to restore our capacities for wide-ranging thought. This online study group aims to facilitate thoughtful group discourse as an antidote to the forces that can undermine whole-mindedness.
A previous study group taught by Anderson, "Protecting our Humanity in the Midst of Tribal Warfare" met last spring to discuss some of her writings on how one can lose, but then regain, one's mind amidst overwhelming emotion and polarizing circumstances. Since then, the deepening pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests facilitated first-hand experience of what members of the study group were considering theoretically. Sessions offered a safe space for participants to feel, listen, name, and think about the often traumatic overwhelm these crises imposed. Participants indicated appreciation for what the group offered and some expressed a desire for its continuance.
The previous study group experience and the ongoing crises have prompted Anderson to offer another opportunity to read about and discuss responses to the psychological and sociopolitical challenges we currently face. Previous readings will be reviewed by the instructor and discussed by the group before adding others as a frame for discussion and dialogue.
Maxine K Anderson, MD, FIPA is a training and supervising psychoanalyst with Northwestern Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, Seattle Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, and the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. She is a Fellow with the British Psychoanalytical Society. Recent publications include, The Wisdom of Lived Experience: Views from Psychoanalysis, Neuroscience, Philosophy and Metaphysics (Karnac, 2016) and From Tribal Division to Welcoming Inclusion: Psychoanalytic Perspectives (Routledge, 2019). She lives and maintains a psychoanalytic private practice in Seattle, Washington.
General Information
Who May Register: This Study Group is open to psychoanalysts, psychotherapists and interested non-clinical members of the community. Registration is open to 30 participants on a first come, first served basis.
Course Length: 2nd Thursday of each month, September, 2020 through June, 2021.
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 pm (If this time is inconvenient for a majority of participants, faculty will consider meeting from 7:30-9:00 pm)
