In Celebration of the Inquiring Spirit and Life of Joseph D. Lichtenberg

with Joseph D. Lichtenberg, MD,
Sandra Hershberg, MD and Linda Gunsberg, PhD


This program was offered on Saturday, September 12, 2015


Narratives and Clinical Engagement
We are pleased to offer this conference to honor and celebrate Joseph D. Lichtenberg, MD on the occasion of his 90th birthday. In the first part of the morning, Dr. Lichtenberg will share his latest proposal about the importance of narratives and their central purpose in achieving meaning, with a particular focus on the clinical exchange. Using verbatim notes from a clinical session, Dr. Lichtenberg will discuss the interplay of narratives that were developed by the clinical couple. Against the backdrop of Dr. Lichtenberg’s ten user-friendly principles of technique, he will teach how to identify in the presented clinical material his guiding principles of clinical engagement including filling the narrative envelope, wearing the attribution, working with model scenes, following the interpretive sequence, and several others. There will be time for discussion.

Making Meaning: The Public Narrative, the Private Narrative and the Collaborative Narrative
In the second half of the morning, Sandra G. Hershberg, MD and Linda Gunsberg, PhD, Co-Editors and Contributors to Psychoanalytic Theory, Research and Clinical Practice: Reading Joseph D. Lichtenberg* to be published by Routledge this fall, will describe ways in which they have been struck by the process of how various narratives have emerged and evolved, existing independently of each other and/or becoming integrated into Dr. Lichtenberg’s larger life narrative. The presenters will illustrate how the catalyst for the development of these narratives has been what Dr. Lichtenberg refers to as “the spirit of inquiry.” During their presentation, they will dialogue with Dr. Lichtenberg and the audience about these narratives.

At the conclusion of this program, participants will be able to:

  1. Discuss Lichtenberg’s proposal about the importance of the clinical couple’s efforts to develop meaning through narratives.
  2. Identify and describe three of Lichtenberg’s principles of technique in relation to the clinical material presented.
  3. Explain the concepts of public, private and collaborative narrative and their clinical usefulness.

Lunch Celebration after the Conference:
We hope you will join us for a luncheon at La Ferme Restaurant, 7101 Brookville Road, Chevy Chase, Maryland following the conference, from approximately 1:00 to 3:00 pm. The lunch is an optional event. The fee for the lunch is $60.00. There is free parking next to the restaurant. There will be an opportunity to share personal remembrances and express birthday wishes to Joe at the luncheon. You can attend the lunch without attending the conference.

More about our Speakers:

Joseph D. Lichtenberg, MD is known as a prolific clinical, developmental, and theoretical innovator, contributing significantly to the field. He Co-Founded ICP+P with Rosemary Segalla in 1994 and is Editor-in-Chief, Psychoanalytic Inquiry. Here is an interview with Dr. Lichtenberg, from the Washington Center for Psychoanalysis History Project.

Sandra G. Hershberg, MD is the Chair of the Psychoanalytic Training Program and a Founding Member of ICP+P and a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Washington Center for Psychoanalysis. She is a Consulting Editor, Psychoanalytic Inquiry and The International Journal of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology.

Linda Gunsberg, PhD is Chair, Family Law and Family Forensic Training Program, Washington Square Institute, New York City and Co-Chair, Psychoanalysis and the Law Discussion Group, American Psychoanalytic Association. She is a Consulting Editor, Psychoanalytic Inquiry.

* Thanks to Hershberg and Gunsberg for giving us the title of this conference. It was originally the working title of their book.

This conference is appropriate for clinicians at all levels of experience.

Continuing education credit: ­ 3 CE credits available for full attendance. The Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis (ICP+P) maintains responsibility for this program and its content. ICP+P is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. ICP+P is approved by the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners to offer Category I continuing education credit. Because ICP+P has approval from the Maryland Board, CE credit hours awarded by ICP+P may also be claimed by social workers licensed in Virginia and the District of Columbia. These continuing education credits meet the ANCC approval standards for nurses and the approved standards for marriage and family therapists. Attendees from the above professional groups will earn 3 CE credits for attending the conference. Full attendance is required to receive the designated CE credit. ICP+P is accredited by MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society to provide continuing medical education for physicians. ICP+P designates this educational activity for a maximum of 3 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s). Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

* Joseph D. Lichtenberg, MD, Sandra G. Hershberg, MD, Linda Gunsberg, PhD, Elizabeth Carr, APRN, MSN, BC, and Marie Hellinger, MSW have informed us that they do not have a conflict of interest and have disclosed that they have no relevant financial relationship with any commercial interests pertaining to this educational activity. Additionally, the presenters have been instructed to disclose any limitations of data and unlabeled or investigational uses of products during this presentation. This presentation will not contain any references to off­label (non­FDA approved) use of products or devices.