The Whiteness Taboo: Interrogating Whiteness in Psychoanalysis

Molly Merson, LMFT, Janie Riley, LMFT and Ben Ringler, LMFT
discussant Julie Leavitt, MD

Thursday Feb 27, 7:30 PM–9:00 PM

As part of PINC’s institutional move towards greater diversity and inclusion, three candidates and the past president discuss how grappling with whiteness must be an institute-wide focus.

In the spirit of its founding, and in a time of great social upheaval and reckoning, PINC finds itself in an institutional dialogue around accessibility, diversity, and inclusion. In this symposium, panelists contend that grappling with diversity and inclusion requires grappling with whiteness. Using elements of our 2019 Division 39 panel as a starting point, we will weave together the personal, theoretical, communal, and institutional as a way to generate collective thinking and discussion among all participants about the definition of whiteness as it pertains to our professional community as well as our personal selves. We will discuss ways in which whiteness emerges at the level of the collective and in our interpersonal interactions, and how without this necessary interrogation, whiteness in all of its vicissitudes will prevent us from constructively and truly diversifying our community. Rather than being a one-off experience, this panel is designed as a way to further work toward institutional change. Panelists and attendees will engage and collaborate on proposals and suggestions for the next actions our institute can take, with the aim that psychoanalysis be a theory and practice for the people, while grappling with whiteness’s ubiquity and deeply embedded grasp on our psyches and systems.

After taking this course, participants will be able to:

1. Identify historical roots and current representations of whiteness in themselves, in theoretical constructs, their training institutes, and communities.

Contact: 415-288-4050 — 530 Bush St, Suite 700, San Francisco CA USA — pincsf@gmail.com
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The Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California (PINC) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. PINC maintains responsibility for this program and its content. This course meets the qualifications for Continuing Education Credit(s) for PhDs, MFTs and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.