The Creative Life as a Foundation to Psychoanalytic Work with Mia Goldman, LMFT
The psychoanalytic dyad is a flexible, constantly evolving entity that is nourished by reality, dreams, and a co-created creative space in which both the analysand and the analyst are influenced by their own pasts, their present and instincts that are informed by the spoken and unspoken. Creativity comes in all forms, both conscious and unconscious. How does one harness one’s own creativity in the work of unraveling profound or chronic trauma with a stranger? How does one find common ground that can be transformational or healing? How can transference and counter- transference be seen as a foundation for change? These are some of the questions raised in a conversation acknowledging the value of creativity in psychoanalysis.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After attending the program in its entirety, attendees will be able to:
- Identify the different forms creativity can take in the psychoanalytic dyad.
- Describe a psychoanalytic situation where one’s own creativity affected the outcome of treatment.
- Explain how, as a working analyst, the results of a theoretical response can have a different result from a creative response when there is a psychological impasse in treatment and how being creative can offer benefits even as it can sometimes mean “not going by the book”.
PRESENTER
Mia Goldman is a psychoanalyst in private practice in Los Angeles. She is a member of the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis Los Angeles as well as a member of the American Psychoanalytic Association. Mia trained and received her certificate at the Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis Los Angeles (ICPLA). She has pursued in-depth studies in Lacan, and has been trained in EFT, EMDR, and was chosen to present her comprehensive case report at the 2024 ICPLA Open House. As a member of the APsA Candidates Study Group for the Holmes Commission Report, she presented with her group at the APsA Conference in San Francisco, February, 2025.
REFERENCES
Ferenczi, S. (1988). Confusion of Tongues between Adults and the Child. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 24(2), 196–206. https://doi.org/10.1080/00107530.1988.10746234
Freud S (1900). The Interpretation of Dreams. Vienna: Franz Deuticke. (English trans. 1913: The Interpretation of Dreams, Macmillan: NewYork.)
Kohut, H. (1976). Creativeness, charisma, group psychology: Reflections on the self-analysis of Freud. In P. Ornstein (Ed.), The Search for the Self (pp. 793–843). New York, NY: International Universities Press.
Shapiro S (1995). Talking with patients: A self psychological view of creative intuition and analytic discipline. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
Shabad P (2017). The vulnerability of giving: ethics and the generosity of receiving. Psychoanal Inq 37:359–374.
Stern DB (2022). On coming into possession of oneself: witnessing and the formulation of experience. Psychoanal Q 91:639–667.
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.