The Rebirth of History and Trauma in Psychoanalysis: The Work of Jonathan Sklar

Denni Liebowitz, LCSW

Wednesday Jan 22, 7:30 PM–9:00 PM

In anticipation of Jonathan Sklar’s visit to PINC as our International Visiting Scholar, March 23-29, this pre-seminar will be an introduction to his work.

Jonathan Sklar thinks, works, and writes as “a psychoanalyst nurtured within the British Society and, in particular, the Independent tradition that stretches back to the clinical and theoretical dialogues of Freud and Ferenczi through Winnicott and Michael and Enid Balint towards the 21st century.”  Indeed, in the introduction to Sklar’s Landscapes of the Dark: History, Trauma, Psychoanalysis, Christopher Bollas writes, “This is a work that owes a huge debt to Ferenczi and Balint, of whose tradition Sklar is a direct heir.”

Sklar addresses the Real of history and its impact on mental development and clinical process.  He is concerned with totalitarian states of mind within the traumatized individual and also, passionately, in society.  His most recent book is Dark Times: Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Politics, History, and Mourning.

We will be studying the first chapter of Landscapes of the Dark to encounter Sklar’s ideas about regression, the psyche-soma, and various ways of understanding the complexities of trauma as they articulate the relationship between history and the unconscious.

Readings will be provided to those that register.

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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.