Positions: The Making of a Psychotherapist
Via Zoom - First and final class optional in-person. | Max Capacity: 30
With all of the theories, ideas, and accumulated wisdom of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy at our fingertips—perhaps now more than ever—what do we actually do with them when we are sitting with another complicated human being? How do we begin to digest and distill these many intellectually interesting, albeit cognitive, ideas so that they become something lived in us, rather than simply something we know about? How do we become the kind of psychotherapist who is not only kind and helpful, but also alive, grounded, challenging, and available for transformation?
In this deeply thoughtful and beautifully pragmatic book, one of my psychoanalytic heroes Neville Symington turns toward these very questions and offers us a guide to the lifelong task of becoming a creatively useful psychotherapist. Symington, a remarkably experiential and wide-ranging thinker, gathers into this text the living spirits of Freud, Klein, Bion, Winnicott, Fairbairn, Jung, and Fromm, among many others. He writes with a rare blend of depth, clarity, practicality, and soul—making the book as helpful to those just beginning in psychotherapy as it is to those who have been practicing for many years and wish to return to the foundations of our strange, difficult, and beautiful work.
Over eight weeks together, we will read the entirety of this rich and provocative text, while also making generous space to reflect, converse, and workshop alongside one another. We will wrestle with exploratory questions, bring in real clinical material, and practice how these ideas might actually sound and feel in the consulting room. The hope is not simply to understand Symington’s book, but to let it work on us—to sharpen us, deepen us, and help us become more balanced, courageous, and creatively alive in the presence of those who come to us for help.
Speaker and Credentials: D. Michael Louderback, MA, LMHC
D. Michael Louderback, MA, LMHC is an eclectic and passionate psychoanalytic psychotherapist who has been in private practice in Seattle for over fourteen years. His work includes clinical psychotherapy, supervision, consultation, and teaching across a variety of psychoanalytic institutes and communities throughout the city. He enjoys ferocious reading and writing, as well as the occasional ferry ride.
Find out more at dmlouderback.com.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand and contrast the rich and varied context of psychoanalytic origins, theory, and practice—including Symington's contribution.
- Comprehend more fully, and practically, how to embody the position of being an effective, holistic, truthful psychotherapist using my concept of the "tightrope".
- Differentiate the various forms of complex transference and countertransference experiences that arise in a clinical encounter.
Fees: $550 Alliance Members/$600 Alliance Non-Members
(Sliding scale available upon request. Please contact Michael Louderback directly.)
Cancellation Policy: If you need to cancel your purchase, please do so before September 21, 2026 by emailing admin@nwaps.org to request a refund minus a 30% cancellation fee. We are unable to process or offer any refund for cancellations made after September 21, 2026. Allow 2-4 weeks to process your refund request. Note that participation in the entire event is required to obtain CE credits.
