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Introduction to Psychodynamic Assessment 2022F
Tuesday, August 23, 2022, 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM EDT
Category: Courses

Introduction to Psychodynamic Assessment (201)
Instructor: Don Rosenblitt, MD and Renu Goel, MD

Description: Psychodynamic assessment has two meanings. It refers to a mode of conducting an assessment. It also refers to a determination of the degree to which a form of treatment (psychodynamic psychotherapy or psychoanalysis) and a particular patient match. This course will explore both of these topics. The assessment of the match between psychodynamic/psychoanalytic treatment and a particular patient also has multiple components which can be framed as questions that will be addressed in the class. We will consider the “traditional” qualities that have been used to assess for suitability for psychodynamic and psychoanalytic treatment. A component of understanding these issues will review the literature concerning the validity of traditional assessment for suitability. We will explore the various models for conducting an assessment and explore contemporary reconsideration of these traditional ideas based upon the multiplicity of psychoanalytic models of treatment and therapeutic actions.

Target Audience: This course is intended for clinicians at the beginning to intermediate levels.

Format: This class will combine lecture and seminar formats; student participation is encouraged. All the PCC courses are small group discussions that require participants to read and synthesize the materials presented. PCC faculty ensure that gaps in knowledge are addressed.

About the Instructors:
Dr. Rosenblitt is a child and adult psychoanalyst, and the founding Clinical and Executive Director of the Lucy Daniels Center. In August 2019, Dr. Rosenblitt retired from his position of 27 years as Executive and Clinical Director and transitioned into his new role as Director of Medical Services, where he will continue his vital life’s work of serving children and families through in-depth evaluation and treatment. He is on the faculty of the Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas (PCC). He is a Training and Supervising Analyst of the psychoanalytic training program of the PCC and is a Past Director of the Psychoanalytic Institute of the Carolinas, now the psychoanalytic training program of the PCC. He has written and lectured extensively on topics related to early childhood development.

Dr. Goel is an ABPN board-certified psychiatrist and an advanced candidate with the PCC. Since graduating from UNC’s Adult Psychiatry Residency, she has been in private practice for over 20 years in Cary. She is interested in the intersection of treatment of resistant psychiatric diseases with psychogenics coupled with integration therapy and appreciates a strong overlap with the goals of psychoanalytic treatment.





Where: Via Zoom
When: August 23- December 20, 2022 No class Oct 4 or Nov 22.
Time: 5:30 pm-7:00 pm Eastern Time
CME Credits: 24 / CE Clock Hours: 24 / NBCC: 24 clock hours / All others: Letter of Attendance



Prerequisite: Students will need a basic exposure to and understanding of psychoanalytic theory and its application to the treatment of patients. Applicants can meet this requirement through previous coursework, training, or supervision (e.g., Thinking Psychoanalytically: The Basics; the PPSC Introductory Course; psychoanalytic coursework or supervision in graduate school/residency or post-graduation).
Applicants who do not meet this requirement can register for the course with the permission of the instructors.

Training Program Credit: Students who complete this course can earn credit in both the psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy training programs.

Continuing Education Credit: At the end of the course, participants must complete the evaluation form to receive continuing education credit. The instructors of this course have signed financial disclosure form, and they have no commercial support that represents a conflict of interest.

Required Texts: McWilliams, N. (2011). Psychoanalytic diagnosis: Understanding personality structure in the clinical process (2nd ed.). Guildford Press.Amazon.com

Course Syllabus: Assessment Syllabus

Registration and Tuition Deadline is August 16.
$25 Registration Fee is due at the time of application.
Tuition: $650
$485 for students matriculated in the training programs
$600 for residents and graduate students
Payment plans can be arranged with the Administrator

Matriculated students are not charged a course registration fee. Students who register for more than one course in a semester pay only one registration fee. In special circumstances, we may accept registrations after the registration deadline, but there will be an additional $20 late registration fee.
Course Cancellation Policy






Course Learning Objectives: Class participants will be able to:

  1. Explain the importance of an early psychodynamic assessment and demonstrate an ability to formulate a preliminary diagnosis.
  2. Discuss the complexities of the concept of personality organization.
  3. Compare or contrast the basic hysterical traits and histrionic personalities.
  4. Describe obsessive and compulsive personality disorders.
  5. Explain the importance of Zetzel’s formulation of the “So-called Good Hysteric.”
  6. Describe the importance of attachment theory, especially in the early works of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth and the recent contributions of Fonagy.
  7. Compare the different points of view regarding borderline personality disorder and borderline personality organization as discussed by Akhtar and Kernberg.
  8. Describe the differences between narcissistic personality disorder, narcissistic traits, narcissistic personality, borderline personality disorder, and borderline traits.
  9. Describe the clinical presentation of the schizoid patient and the putative etiology of this personality disorder.
  10. Describe the clinical presentation of depressive and manic personality disorders.
  11. Describe the clinical presentation of masochistic personality disorder and its putative etiology.
  12. Describe the clinical presentation of psychopathic personalities.
  13. Demonstrate the capacity to apply an understanding of dissociative states to personality disorders and how this may present in traumatized patients.
  14. Demonstrate an ability to recognize and assess the bio-psycho-social factors which contribute to the client’s psychodynamic assessment and capacity for insight and psychoanalytic treatment.

CE & CME Information

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint provider ship of American Psychoanalytic Association and Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas. The American Psychoanalytic Association is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The American Psychoanalytic Association designates this Live Activity for a maximum of 24 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION FOR ALL LEARNERS: None of the planners and presenters for this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s)* to disclose with ineligible companies* whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.

*Financial relationships are relevant if the educational content an individual can control is related to the business lines or products of the ineligible company. -Updated July 2021

The Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6518. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas is solely responsible for all aspects of the program.


Contact: [email protected]
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101 Cloister Court, Suite A || Chapel Hill, NC 275614
Phone: 919.490.3212 || Fax: 877.897.4034 || www.carolinapsychoanalytic.org

Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas: Promoting Emotional Resilience by Understanding the Mind Through Psychoanalytic Education, Practice and Service.

Contact: [email protected]