The Politics of Emotion: Social, Political, and Environmental Concerns in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy with Charles Couchman, PhD
In the face of rising oppression, authoritarianism, and climate breakdown, keeping space for social, political, and environmental concerns in psychodynamic therapy may be more important than ever. With this in mind, we will consider the impact of macro system-level social harms on our clients, the potential benefits of helping them integrate emotional impulses related to these harms, and the place of political action in mental health and psychotherapy. We will also consider suggestions, inspired by critical approaches to psychotherapy, for how we may better help our clients with these concerns… without introducing an agenda or changing what we value about psychodynamic work. Our exploration will be informed by the concepts of intrapsychic conflict, as used in experiential dynamic therapies such as Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP), and emotional hegemony—the ways in which people with power teach us to fear the emotions of political resistance and solidarity (i.e., rage and love) while also steering us towards defense mechanisms that serve their interests. The didactic portion of this presentation will be complemented by recorded video of a case example to illustrate points and stir discussion.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After attending the program in its entirety, attendees will be able to:
- Describe emotional hegemony from a psychodynamic, intrapsychic conflict perspective.
- Identify two potential benefits or challenges related to exploring macrosystemic social harm in psychotherapy.
PRESENTER
Dr. Charles Couchman is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Austin, Texas. He has been providing psychotherapy for over 25 years and currently practices Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP), an active and focused form of psychodynamic treatment. He has a long-standing interest in the application of psychology to problems of oppression, exploitation, and the climate emergency, and he presents professionally on topics such as climate anxiety, the importance of emotion to climate and political action, and keeping space for the political in psychotherapy. As an activist, he is an organizer with Extinction Rebellion Austin and provides regenerative services to activist and environmental groups.
REFERENCES
Eder, S. L. (2015). Off the couch and into the streets: Psychotherapy and political activism. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 85(4), 373–386. https://doi.org/10.1080/00377317.2015.1095022
Gaztambide, D. J. (2024). Decolonizing psychoanalytic technique: Putting Freud on Fanon’s couch. Palgrave Macmillan.
Stanley, S. K., Hogg, T. L., Leviston, Z., & Walker, I. (2021). From anger to action: Differential impacts of eco-anxiety, eco-depression, and eco-anger on climate action and wellbeing. The Journal of Climate Change and Health, 1, 100003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joclim.2021.100003
DISCLOSURES
Division 39 is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Division 39 maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Austin Psychoanalytic is approved by the Texas State Board of Social Workers Examiners (Provider # 5501) to provide continuing education for social workers and the Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists (Provider #1138). We also meet the requirements to provide continuing education for the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors. This program, when attended in its entirety, is available for 1.5 continuing education credits. Division 39 is committed to accessibility and non-discrimination in its continuing education activities. Division 39 is also committed to conducting all activities in conformity with the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles for Psychologists. Participants are asked to be aware of the need for privacy and confidentiality throughout the program. If program content becomes stressful, participants are encouraged to process these feelings during discussion periods. If participants have special needs, we will attempt to accommodate them. Please address questions, concerns and any complaints to info@austinpsychoanalytic.org. There is no commercial support for this program nor are there any relationships between the CE Sponsor, presenting organization, presenter, program content, research, grants, or other funding that could reasonably be construed as conflicts of interest. Participants will be informed of the utility/validity of the content/approach discussed (including the basis for the statements about validity/utility), as well as the limitations of the approach and most common (and severe) risks, if any, associated with the program’s content.