Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I join a Study Group?
Having monthly contact with eight to ten other members is a way to get to know people in the organization in a smaller setting. Exploring ideas and concepts together and struggling with difficult clinical cases are not only intellectually stimulating and technically useful, but promote feelings of connection among group members. Members have reported that being in a Study Group has contributed to their sense of ICP+P being a cohesive organization with a warm and friendly atmosphere. In addition to joining Study Groups, members are encouraged to volunteer to lead Study Groups. This helps to ensure that there are always new groups for members to join and helps to expand the range of diverse and interesting group topics already offered by ICP+P. Please consider, as a leader of a new group, this opportunity to create either a new group with a topic of your choosing, or to select one of the many interesting member suggested topics awaiting a new leader! It is a very straightforward and easy process to start a new Study Group. If interested, please contact the Group Coordinator for details.
Can I be in more than one Study Group?
Yes, you are welcome to participate in multiple Study Groups!
How long does a group last?
Study Groups vary in length, with some lasting a few months and others lasting years. The length and time commitment is decided by the study group leader, often in conjunction with existing members.
How often does a group meet?
Most groups meet once a month, but each group specifies its meeting dates and times.
Can I start a new Group, you may ask?
Absolutely! ICP+P is open to a wide range of subject areas for a Study Group focus, so please do not hesitate to suggest any ideas that are of interest to you.
The first step is to locate a Study Group leader! The leadership role in a Study Group is flexible, depending on the structure and nature of the Study Group. As a leader, you can choose the topic, the schedule, the location as well as the style of leadership for the group.
- Some leaders prefer to organize specific reading lists and enjoy leading the group more formally, while other leaders prefer a member-led group with members deciding together about readings with a peer-to peer style of discussion.
- Some Study Groups have an experiential focus. The current Creativity Study Group invites outside presenters and attends performances, concerts, etc. to enrich their readings and group discussions.
To start a new Study Group the new leader chooses a topic / schedule / location and writes a brief description about the Study Group focus. This information will be posted below for members to review as they consider groups to join. Refer to the list below to get ideas for starting second groups on an existing topic, or to spark your ideas for new topic areas.
Below is the complete listing of Study Group offerings. If you have questions you wish to discuss about a particular group, feel free to contact the group leader or the Coordinator of Study Groups, Rachel Freedman. Study Groups do not offer CE credits.
Title – Affect and Self-Regulation Study Group
Leader – Richard A. Chefetz, MD
Time -7:30 pm on the first Monday of the month
Location -4612 49th ST NW, Washington DC
The overarching frame of reference for this year of study is to deepen our understanding of affect regulation in the context of intense affects associated with what some people have called human evil. It enters the world of perpetrator psychodynamics that better informs us regarding what we and our patients must negotiate in understanding the impact of evil in our lives. While ostensibly only about clinical work, it is also about our geopolitical reality.
Contact/interview with Rich is required for membership.
Title – Attachment Themes in Practice
Leader – Ruth-Ann Stoltzfus – Cell: 240-604-7288, Email: Stoltzfus.ra@gmail.com.
Time – 4:30-6:00 Four meetings: January 12, January 26, February 09, February 23, 2026
Location – on zoom or 8607 Second Ave, suite 407a, Silver Spring, MD 20910
This group will use selected readings from “Attachment Disturbances in Adults” by Daniel P. Brown and David S. Elliott as a jumping-off point to appreciate attachment themes in our clinical practice. This is a four-session, bi-weekly 90-minute group, conducted either on Zoom or in person, as desired and to be determined.
Title – Child, Adolescent, and Family Therapy Study Group
Leaders – Martha Blechar Gibbons, PhD, APRN, BC, and Deborah Marks, MSW
Time – 1st Tuesday of every month from 9:30-11:00 am
Location – Online
This study group welcomes clinicians who are interested in exploring different treatment approaches in working with children, adolescents and their families. Participants identify and discuss topic-related cases and readings, and share the challenges experienced in addressing this population. Current resources related to treatment are acknowledged and reviewed.
The criteria for participation in our group is simply an interest in working with children, adolescents and families. One or both of the study group leaders talks informally with the potential new member, in person or by phone. The information gained is reported back to the group and the decision is made about acceptance.
If a member is interested in joining, please contact leader Deborah Marks at (301) 530-5607 or deborah.marks@icoud.com.
Title – Contemporary Relational Study Group:
Leader – David Wyner, LCSW (davidwyner@verizon.net)
Time – 2nd Friday of every month from 1:00–2:30 pm
Location – 22821 Ridge Road, Germantown, MD
An ongoing reading and discussion group on Relational theory and technique. As in the past, clinical material is always at the center of our discussion.
New members are welcome and are asked to meet with the group leader before joining.
Title – Couples
Leaders – Peggy Miller, LICSW and Sharon Ballard. LCSW-C
Time – 1st Friday of every month from 1:10-2:40 pm
Location – 3000 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 214, Washington, DC 20008
The challenges of working with couples will be explored through readings that draw from self psychology, attachment theory, intersubjectivity and relational theories, neuroscience, as well as clinical discussion. Topics will include working with oppositional couples, countertransference dilemmas, sexual issues, infidelity, loss and blended families. Additional topics will be determined by the interests of group participants. Group members should be actively working with couples.
THIS STUDY GROUP IS CLOSED TO NEW MEMBERS.
Title – Experiential and Theoretical Investigation into the Creative Process
Leader – Katherine Williams, PhD, ATR-BC
Time – 3rd Tuesday of every month from 7:30-9:00 pm
Location – 3715 Alton Place, NW, Washington, DC 20016
Our group views creativity as a capacity that is integral to being human, although the ability to express that creativity may be developed to differing degrees. Our readings have built up a body of thinking about creativity that draws on classical, self psychological, and relational theories. The group shares some responsibility for suggesting topics and readings related to these issues, and collaborates in inviting researchers and artists to join us to discuss their process.
THIS STUDY GROUP IS CLOSED TO NEW MEMBERS.
Title – Theory and Practice of Inter-Generational Transmission of Trauma
Leaders – Katherine Richardson, LCSW and Nancy Wolfson, LCSW
Time – 2nd Friday of every month from 2:30-4:00 pm
Location – 4400 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814
The Study Peer Group will include reading and discussing articles and texts that focus on clinical theory and psychotherapeutic practice in the expanding area of inter-generational transmission of trauma. Traumas that have occurred as a result of genocide, slavery, natural disasters, and other mass events (“Big-H history”) and childhood, interpersonal, and other more individualized events (Small-h history”) will be included. Discussion will be based on seminal readings as well as the participants’ personal and professional experiences.
THIS STUDY GROUP IS CLOSED TO NEW MEMBERS.
Title – Intersubjectivity Study Group
Leader – Janet Dante, MSW (janet.dante@yahoo.com)
Time – 3rd Friday of the month from 10:00-11:30 am, September-June
Location – Office of Janet Dante, 5207 Hampden Lane, Bethesda. (New location)
The focus of this study group is deepening our capacity to work and think intersubjectively with our patients. We generally read a book addressing Intersubjectivity one chapter per month. We discuss the concepts from the chapter and bring in our experiences in the therapy room, both with our patients, and sometimes with our own therapists.
Please email Janet Dante, janet.dante@yahoo.com, if interested.
Title – Reading Plays to Better Understand the Human Condition
Leader – Lee Futrovsky, PhD
Time – 1st Friday of the month from 2:00-3:30 pm
Location – 2 Wisconsin Circle Suite 665, Chevy Chase, MD 20815
This study group is for those who find the theater illuminating of the human condition. We will choose plays, assign parts and read. We will use both the dramatic material and the experience of “being another” to deepen our understanding of human nature, both intrapsychic and interpersonal. Relating all that we experience while in character to our clinical work will be encouraged.
THIS STUDY GROUP IS CLOSED TO NEW MEMBERS.
Title – Self Psychology and Selected Readings in Contemporary Theory
Leader – Mary Jean Kane, MSW (maryjeankane@gmail.com)
Time – 3rd Thursday of the Month from 6:50-8:20 pm
Location – ICP+P Office, 4601 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20008
In this study group, we will explore contemporary self psychology, as well as readings from other contemporary theories including intersubjectivity, relational theory, and mind-body paradigms. We will use this material to help us think about our own clinical work. Participants are encouraged to bring in case material which spontaneously comes to mind from the readings.
Please call Mary Jean 703-550-4298 if interested. Space remaining for 1 member.
Title – The Reading of Novels and Memoirs Through the Lens of a Psychotherapist
Leader – Gail Winston, LICSW
Time – 3rd Friday of the Month from 2:00-3:30 pm
Location – Gail’s office: 4601 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 3, Washington, DC 20008
Our group will be reading both fiction and non-fiction material that brings to light issues, emotions and relationships we deal with when working with our patients. Our discussion will be informed by the additional reading of Kathy Steele’s book, Treating Trauma Related Dissociation. Some of the books we will be reading this year are: You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie; Anything Is Possible by Elizabeth Strout; Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison and Memory Wall by Anthony Doer.
THIS STUDY GROUP IS CLOSED TO NEW MEMBERS.
Educational Level:
Study group participation is a benefit of membership and the default level of instruction is for all levels, since our members range from graduate students to senior practitioners. Some study group leaders stipulate qualifications for participants: in such a case, those are listed above.