The 15th Annual

Bruce A. Gibbard, M.D. Memorial Lectureship Program

presents

Rosemary H. Balsam, F.R.C. Psych, M.R.C.P.

How is the (Pregnant) Body Involved in the Mind? Missed Opportunities in Theory and Clinical Practice

Morning Lecture (10:15-11:45am)

How is the (Pregnant) Body Involved in the Mind?

Missed Opportunities in Theory and Clinical Practice:

Freud was deeply involved in the body’s centrality in the mind. The lecture will first show, using examples from art, that his well-known errors about females were part of a “one-sex” medical idea, present since ancient times. In an overview of potential turning points that might have restored the missing female, we will hear about the first woman in the Freud circle, Margarete Hilferding, about Helene Deutsch’s mixed heritage, and Ottto Rank’s fate. Then we will move to modern times with the theorists Kulish, Elise, Harris and Chodorow. The way will open to social and clinical implications of the theories discussed, such as aspects of motherhood, the physicality of mother/daughter interaction, female pleasure, and the unsettling of gender issues.

Afternoon Workshop (1-3pm)

 Clinical Workshop on the topics outlined above:

Cases will be discussed to highlight the lifelong impact of experiences of pregnancy and birth on both women’s and men’s psyches. Discussion from the audience is encouraged.

*Lunch provided from 12-1pm