EVENTS

All events are Eastern Standard Time (EDT).

The Metropolitan Institute for Training in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
The Metropolitan Center for Mental Health and
The Metropolitan Society of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists

Invite you to a Scientific Meeting

WHEN AI SURROUNDS THE CONSULTING ROOM:
RESISTANCE, RECKONING, AND RECLAIMING OURSELVES
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2025   
10:00 AM – 12:00 NOON EDT
PRESENTERS: VALERIE FRANKFELDT, Ph.D. and LEORA TRUB, Ph.D.

AI is now an ever-present force in our patients' lives and, consequently, in their psychotherapy experiences—even when they don't explicitly bring it up. Just two years after generative AI became widely accessible, recent data shows that its most common use is for therapy and companionship. How do we navigate this digital landscape, where individuals frequently turn to non-human entities for support and understanding? How can we communicate the unique, sacred aspects of our work—and human relationships more generally—amidst this new reality? What is it that comprises our uniqueness? AI apps like ChatGPT, Pi, Claude, and others offer various forms of assistance, but their emotional and psychological capabilities are limited by the fact that their programming is culled from cognitively based data from the internet. This presentation posits that Emotional Communication, a way of relating that is viscerally based and quintessentially human, is a superpower of psychoanalysts that sets us apart. Illustrative case examples will be presented to illustrate the contrast between a person conducting psychoanalysis and that of AI offering support. We also address the importance of therapists’ maintaining a deep awareness of countertransference: our own fears, resistances, and hopes regarding AI that may interfere with our ability to address it fully in sessions. Drawing on clinical examples from both the speakers and the audience, we will explore how to approach this evolving dynamic with greater literacy, courage and competence. As therapists, we are tasked with meeting our patients where they are, immersed in a world shaped by AI's opportunities and challenges. We define the roles of both human therapists and AI, while also maintaining a deep awareness of our own countertransference; our own fears, resistances, and hopes regarding AI.

Learning Objectives:
Participants will:
1) identify at least 3 ways AI impacts therapeutic processes and relationships.
2) reflect on how clinicians’ fears may shape their engagement with screens and AI.
3) consider AI literacy as a core competency of conducting therapy, with at least 2 strategies for increasing skill.
4) discuss differences between AI “relating” and that of embodied human therapeutic connection, whether in person or remote.

PRESENTER: Valerie Frankfeldt, Ph.D., Training Analyst, Faculty, and Supervisor: The Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Study Center. Graduate: The Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies; The New Directions Writing Program, The Washington-Baltimore Center for Psychoanalysis. Dr. Frankfeldt has a special interest in the effects of digital life on analytic work and has published several related papers: “Beyond the Algorithm to Emotional Communication: Why AI Lacks the Heart of Psychoanalysis” (Psychoanalysis, Self and Context, 2025), “Can We Hug? The Vibrancy and Vicissitudes of Patients in Person: Sifting Through the Rubble of Covid” (Psychoanalysis, Self and Context, 2024), and “Digital Communication in Psychoanalysis: An Oxymoron?” (Psychoanalytic Social Work, 2020).  Member: The American Psychoanalytic Association Council on AI and Psychoanalysis.

PRESENTER: Leora Trub, Ph.D. Associate Professor: Pace University’s doctoral program in School/Clinical-Child Psychology. Her primary research interests involve how identity development, relationship formation and psychological well-being are impacted by digital technology, and the role of technology in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. Dr. Trub has published extensively on these and other topics in various journals, including in Psychoanalytic Psychology and Psychoanalytic Perspectives. She was recently awarded a research grant from the International Psychoanalytical Association to study analytic process through a screen from the perspective of analysts and patients. She founded Academics for the Advancement of Psychodynamic Psychology in 2023, which is committed to reversing the sharp decline of psychoanalytic thinking in academic psychology programs.

LOCATION: ONLINE THROUGH ZOOM

FEE: NO FEE  

Registration deadline: September 26, 2025

 Zoom instructions and meeting link will be emailed to participants no later than an hour prior to the workshop.

The New York State Education Department has approved this online workshop for 2 contact hours (CEUs) for LMSWs, LCSWs, LMHCs, LPs and Licensed Psychologists. A certificate will be emailed to those who sign in at the beginning of the session, stay until the end of the session, complete an emailed evaluation and pay a $20 fee. Full session must be attended to be eligible for CEUs/Contact hours. There is no charge for those affiliated with MITPP, MCMH or MSPP. 

PATIENTS' SECRETS, ANALYSTS’ SECRETS: THEIR ROLE IN THE ANALYTIC PROCESS
PRESENTER: THEODORE J. JACOBS, MD
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2025
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM EDT ON ZOOM

In this talk, Dr. Jacobs will discuss the role of secrets in analysis and psychotherapy.  By means of several clinical examples involving secrets kept by patients and analysts, he will illustrate the impact that secrets can have on the analytic process.

Secrets that go undetected, or that are avoided by one or both participants, can have a profound effect on the course and outcome of treatment.

Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
1) understand the role that secrets kept by patient and analyst play in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy.
2) identify and discuss the various defenses and resistances utilized by patients and analysts to avoid exposure of their secrets.
3) identify and discuss the collusions between patients and analysts that not infrequently develop to avoid exposure of their secrets.

PRESENTER: THEODORE J. JACOBS, M.D. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry: The Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Training and Supervising Analyst: The New York Psychoanalytic Institute; The Institute for Psychoanalytic Education. Author: The Use of the Self: Countertransference and Communication in the Analytic Situation, The Possible Profession: The Analytic Process and The Process of Change, and co-author of On Beginning an Analysis (with Arnold Rothstein), as well as novels, The Year of Durocher and The Way it Ends. Dr. Jacobs has written numerous psychoanalytic papers and has published short fiction in Harpers Magazine, Humor from Harpers, Mutiny Magazine, and Martha Foley's Best Short Stories of the Year.

LOCATION: ONLINE THROUGH ZOOM

FEE: $60 or $40 for students (with proof of student status)

NO FEE FOR MCMH STAFF THERAPISTS

 Zoom instructions and meeting link will be emailed to participants prior to the workshop.

 Registration deadline: October 16, 2025

The New York State Education Department has approved this online workshop for 2 contact hours (CEUs) for LMSWs, LCSWs, LMHCs, LPs and Licensed Psychologists. A certificate will be emailed to those who sign in at the beginning of the session, stay until the end of the session, complete an emailed evaluation. The evaluation form will be emailed to you within a week of the event and usually much more quickly. Full session must be attended to be eligible for CEUs/Contact hours.

OPEN HOUSE & CLINICAL PRESENTATION

OPEN TO THOSE CONSIDERING POSTGRADUATE TRAINING

YOU’RE THE BEST! I DON’T NEED YOU!
NAVIGATING NARCISSISTIC IDEALIZATION AND DEVALUATION AS A NEW THERAPIST
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2025   
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
PRESENTER: BRYAN LEACH, LCSW

This clinical presentation describes a four-year treatment with a woman in her late 50s who sought out therapy to address feelings of depression and anxiety related to multiple, concurrent major life transitions. A key feature of the treatment was the intersection of the patient’s narcissistic defenses and my insecurities as a new therapist, which created periods of false peace, facilitated enactments that threatened the treatment, and undermined my confidence as a clinician. This presentation will focus on observable phenomena in the consultation room that may be indicative of a patient's narcissistic organization, as well as on how to work with such patients while simultaneously seeking to establish a stable sense of “professional self” as a new therapist.

PRESENTER: BRYAN LEACH, LCSW Certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Metropolitan Institute for Training in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Adult Program.

LOCATION:  ONLINE VIA ZOOM - Zoom instructions and meeting link will be emailed to participants prior to the event.

RSVP:  There is no fee but you must reserve in advance. For reservations: please email info@mitpp.org.

Training opportunities, including flexible scheduling and financial options to fit individual needs, will be described following the presentation.

MITPP CANDIDATES ARE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE CONTACT HOURS FOR
CONTINUING EDUCATION IN MITPP COURSES.

 Applications are currently being accepted for the Fall 2025 semester.

MITPP Candidates In-Person Wine and Cheese Reception

Sunday, October 5, 2025 from 3-5 PM. 
E.23rd Street, Manhattan location.
Details provided upon registration. 

There is no fee for this event.

PAYMENT OPTIONS

•  Zelle – Debit Card or Bank Account
  You may use Zelle through your bank or download the Zelle app and follow the instructions.  Zelle will not accept credit cards. Payment should be made to: info@mitpp.org.
  

• Chase QuickPay with Zelle – Access through the Chase app.
  

• PayPal - Please add $5.00 to your total to cover PayPal fees for payments up to $75. For payments above $75, contact MITPP for fee information. PayPal payments should be made to info@mitpp.org.
  
  If you are unable to pay electronically and would like to send a check, please contact MITPP.

  For questions about payment, please email info@mitpp.org

   

REGISTRATION FORM

PAYMENT OPTIONS

• Zelle – Debit Card or Bank Account
  You may use Zelle through your bank or download the Zelle app and follow the instructions.  Zelle will not accept credit cards. Payment should be made to: info@mitpp.org.

• Chase QuickPay with Zelle – Access through the Chase app.

• PayPal - Please add $5.00 to your total to cover PayPal fees for payments up to $75. For payments above $75, contact MITPP for fee information. PayPal payments should be made to info@mitpp.org.
  
  If you are unable to pay electronically and would like to send a check, please contact MITPP.

  For questions about payment, please email info@mitpp.org

Refund Policy

If you find you are unable to attend an event for any reason, you must notify MITPP by email at least 48 hours prior to the time the course/workshop begins in order to receive a full refund. No refunds will be issued after that time.