This lecture will be held remotely via zoom. Register by Tuesday 3/1 to receive a link for the meeting.

1.5 Continuing Education Credits

Countertransference has come to be viewed as an essential component of all psychotherapies and may be particularly intense during the treatment of suicidal patients. Problems that arise in the course of psychotherapy of suicidal patients may be understood in relation to the therapist’s countertransference reactions. Lack of awareness of countertransference reactions of malice and aversion may be suicide inviting. Countertransference reactions may also alert the therapist to dangers that the patient is unable to articulate. In this presentation we consider case examples of countertransference manifestations and their effects on the treatment of the suicidal patient.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this program, participants will be able to:

1) Identify common problems arising during the course of psychotherapy with suicidal patients.

2) Describe the influence of countertransference reactions on psychotherapy with suicidal patients.

3) Assess the role of communication in treating suicidal patients.

Biography:

Mark Goldblatt is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is a Faculty Member of the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, and chair of the Discussion Group on ‘Treating the Suicidal Patient’ at the APsaA national meetings. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and teaches and supervises residents at McLean Hospital. He is a Founding Member of the Boston Suicide Study Group which focuses on the psychoanalytic understanding of self-destructive patients. He presents internationally and publishes widely on many aspects of suicidality and self-attack.

References:

Briggs, S.,  Netuveli, G., Gould, N., Gkaravella, A., Gluckman, N.,  Kangogyere, P., Farr, R., Goldblatt, M., Lindner, R.,  (2019). The effectiveness of psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy for reducing suicide attempts and self-harm: Systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Psychiatry 1-9. doi: 10.1192/bjp.2019.33.

Maltsberger JT, Buie DH. Countertransference hate in the treatment of suicidal patients. (1974). Arch Gen Psychiatry. 30(5):625-33.

Goldblatt MJ, Briggs S, Lindner R. Schechter, M and Ronningstam E. (2015). Psychodynamic Psychotherapy with Suicidal Adolescents. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy 29:1, 20-37, DOI:10.1080/02668734.2015.1004188: 

Schechter, M., Ronningstam, E., Herbstman, B., Goldblatt, M.J. (2019). Psychotherapy with Suicidal Patients: The Integrative Psychodynamic approach of the Boston Suicide Study Group. Medicina DOI 10.3390/medicina55060303

Gabbard, G.O. (2003). Miscarriages of Psychoanalytic treatment with suicidal patients. International Journal of Psychoanalysis  34:239-261