When Less is More: The Therapist's Use of Self with a Narcissistically Vulnerable Adult Patient

September 18, 2014 | Chicago, Illinois

Presented by Chicago Chapter and Institute for Clinical Social Work
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Andrea Harris Alpert explores the complexities of working with an adult patient whose early deprivation and subsequent limited functioning in adulthood result in the use of the therapist to fulfill rudimentary selfobject functions. This transference relationship presents countertransference challenges for the therapist in terms of tolerating periods of uncertainty in the treatment and the desire to &lquo;do more.” Following a case presentation, Constance Goldberg will lead a discussion of the salient clinical issues that emerged from the clinical material presented.

Presenter

Andrea Harris Alpert, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical social worker who has worked with adolescents and adults for 20 years and has maintained a private practice in downtown Chicago for the last 14 years. Dr. Alpert received her Master's degree at Columbia University in New York and her doctorate at the Institute for Clinical Social Work. Her doctoral dissertation is entitled “The Vicissitudes of Hope in the Psychoanalytic Clinician.”

Discussant

Constance Goldberg, M.S., L.C.S.W., B.C.D, provides clinical consultation and dissertation advisement at ICSW. Her clinical expertise is adult psychotherapy for individuals and couples. She is interested in researching what constitutes therapeutic action and what accounts for change. Ms. Goldberg enjoys being a member of the ICSW community because of the spirit of collegiality and the commitment to the highest levels of clinical practice and teaching.

About AAPCSW

The American Association of Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work is a professional organization whose aim is to provide an organizational identity for social work professionals engaged in psychoanalytically informed practice.

About ICSW

The Institute for Clinical Social Work offers a Master's degree in Clinical Counseling and Psychotherapy and a PhD in Clinical Social Work. ICSW develops scholar practitioners, advances knowledge, and deepens the quality of psychodynamic clinical practice.