Emmanuel College, University of Toronto
Room EC001
75 Queen's Park Crescent, Toronto

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Both religion and psychoanalysis offer ways of understanding and repairing the rifts that occur within and between human beings. Despite this common aim, psychoanalysis has tended to devalue religion, explaining religious beliefs reductionistically as wishful illusion or defense. To do so is to create a rift between different but equally sophisticated views of human nature that might otherwise be enriched by respectful dialogue and mutual understanding.

It is the purpose of this conference to explore areas of common ground and contribute to the building of empathic bridges between religion and psychoanalysis. As psychotherapists, we are faced with people whose religious or anti-religious beliefs play a powerful and enduring part in their lives, consciously or unconsciously, positively or negatively. The same is true of therapists, of course, influencing the work we do in a variety of ways. It is hoped that by bringing these background factors to the fore, we can further a dialogue that is already under way.

The presenters approach this multifaceted issue from quite different angles shaped by their own clinical experiences and diverse religious affiliations. Three of the papers examine the links between psychoanalytic self psychology and religion, and one of the papers demonstrates clinically an expanded frame of reference for psychoanalytic theory.

8:30 - 9:00 Registration/Coffee

9:00 - 9:15 Introduction

- Dr. Taras Babiak -

9:15 - 10:00 Judaism and Self Psychology

10:00-10:45 Beginnings: A Self Psychological Interface between Christianity and Psychoanalysis

10:45 - 11:10 Coffee

11:10 - 11:55 Self or No Self: Buddhist Psychology and Psychoanalytic Self Psychology

12:00 - 1:15 Lunch (provided)

1:15 - 2:00 Beyond Self Cohesion: Taking Spirituality Out of the Self Psychology Closet - a Clinical Experience

- Dr. Doris Brothers -
- Ms. Ellen Lewinberg -

2:20 - 3:30 Panel Discussion

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For more information contact Rosemary Adams at radams2@interlog.com.

Doris Brothers, Ph.D., is a psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City. She is co-founder, training and supervising analyst with the Training and Research Institute for Self Psychology (TRISP) in New York City and author of several books on psychoanalysis. Work in progress explores the topics of gender and faith.

Jacqueline Hanley, Dipl. TCPP, is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist in private practice and is on the Faculty of the Toronto Child Psychoanalytic Program.

Sam Izenberg, MD, FRCP(C), is a psychoanalyst in private practice, Director of Psychotherapy Training at University Health Network and Associate Director of IASP.

Ellen Lewinberg, BSW, MSW (equiv), CSW, is Director, faculty and supervisor at IASP, faculty and supervisor at the Toronto Child Psychoanalytic Program, and faculty at both the Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis in Toronto and at the Training and Research Institute for Self Psychology in New York.

John Sloane, MD, FRCP(C), is a psychoanalyst in private practice. He is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and a psychotherapy supervisor at the Toronto Hospital. He is a board and faculty member of IASP.

Self Psychology Page | IASP Home Page | Registration Form