The Relational Revolution: Transforming Psychoanalytic Theory and Practice
Instructor
Dr. Michelle Harwell., Psy.D.
6 Tuesdays
February 11th, 18th, 25th, March. 4th, 11th, 18th, 2025
12-1:30pm (in-person)
Location
The Alamo Psychotherapy and Training
6401 Ruby Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90042
9 CEs offered for qualifying professionals.
Course fee
$ for licensed therapists
$ for pre-licensed and students
“If the goal of psychoanalysis in Freud’s day was rational understanding and control over fantasy-driven, conflictual impulses, the goal of psychoanalysis in our day is most often thought about in terms of the establishment of a richer, more authentic sense of self. . . , a revitalization and expansion of [the patient’s] own capacity to generate experience that feels real, meaningful, and valuable.”
----Stephen Mitchell
The relational turn in psychoanalysis marks an exhilarating break from classical Freudian theory, offering a dramatically different view of the human mind. Rather than seeing us as driven primarily by internal forces, relational theory understands the psyche as fundamentally shaped by our connections with others - the relationships we live, remember, and imagine. This isn't just about our interactions with others, but about how these relationships become the very substance of who we are. By weaving together insights from object relations, self psychology, and interpersonal theory, relational psychoanalysis illuminates how we create meaning through our deepest connections with others.
This transforms our understanding of the therapeutic encounter in profound ways. The relationship between analyst and patient becomes a living laboratory where both participants shape and reshape each other moment by moment. The analyst's emotional engagement isn't a problem to be managed but a vital source of understanding and change. When we embrace the full complexity of the therapeutic relationship - including the analyst's own emotional responses and participation - we open up remarkable possibilities for transformation. This is the heart of relational work: understanding that meaningful change emerges through authentic engagement within the therapeutic relationship itself.
Join us for this 6-week in-person class taught by Dr. Michelle Harwell, for an evocative and enriching exploration of the core tenets of a relational psychoanalytic approach.
Primary text:
Stephen Mitchell, (1993). Hope and Dread in Psychoanalysis. Basic Books.
Learning Objectives
Describe how Mitchell’s concept of the relational matrix holds the tension between the interpersonal and intrapsychic.
Assess the differences between models of the mind that see the self as unified as opposed to those that see it as multiply constituted.
Define enactment, and the role of dissociation, and articulate how working through enactments is one means of therapeutic action.
Define the analytic third and explain how the creation of the “third” enables movement through a treatment impasse.
Delineate the ways in which the assumption of the therapist’s co-creation of the therapeutic encounter differs from an objectivist stance toward the patient.
Articulate the rational for authentic engagement by the analyst and the guidelines for selective use of self disclosure.
Define the Relational Turn.
Instructor Credentials
Philip Ringstrom, Ph.D., Psy.D. is a Senior Training and Supervising Analyst and Faculty Member at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis, in Los Angeles, California,where he is also in full time private practice. He is a founding member of the Board of Directors of IARPP, and a member of the International Council of Self-Psychologists. He is on the editorial boards of Psychoanalytic Dialogues, Psychoanalytic Perspectives and Psychoanalysis: Self and Context. He has published over 60 articles, chapters, and reviews and has presented at conferences all over the world. His book A Relational Psychoanalytic Approach to Couples Therapy (Routledge 2014) won the Goethe Award for best book in psychoanalysis for 2014.
For more information or questions contact us at thealamoprograms@gmail.com
Refund policy: Participants seeking a refund can email us at thealamoprograms@gmail.com at least 15 days before the first meeting. Refunds requested 15 days or earlier will receive 100% refund. 14-7 days prior, participants are eligible for a 50% refund. No refund will be provided 6 days prior or less.
Course certificates awarded at the end of the course upon receipt of completed form.
Course meets the qualifications for 6 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
The Alamo Psychotherapy and Training is a dba of Michelle Harwell Therapy, nad is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (Provider #) to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, and LPCCs. Michelle Harwell Therapy maintains responsibility for this course and its content.
No known conflict of interest or commercial support for Michelle Harwell Therapy, The Alamo Psychotherapy and Training, or the instructor.
Contact Us
To request accommodations for special needs, obtain the grievance policy, report a grievance, request a refund, request more information about the course, or if you have general questions, please email us at thealamoprograms@gmail.com