Presented by Dr. Jennifer Hanlin

Attendees will explore Philip Bromberg’s paper, Treating Patients with Symptoms- and Symptoms with Patience: Reflections on Shame, Dissociation, and Eating Disorders. Bromberg’s theory is that the therapist’s task if to allow themselves to slowly discover the patient’s multiplicity of self-states and the existing gap between the states. Further, the case presented within the paper will be discussed, and the need to maintain the dissociative structures within the mind, presenting as “illness,” will be emphasized. Examples of the interpersonal relational psychotherapy process will be given to enhance the understanding of treatment.

Course Objectives: 

1. This seminar will provide an overview of assessing disordered eating patients’ capacity for psychoanalytic psychotherapy.
2. Clinical material will explore Bromberg’s theory around the multiplicity of self-states and the “resistance” or dissociative structures patients manifest for self-preservation.
3. Discuss interpersonal relational psychoanalysis’s ability to help patients create new self-states and growth potential through the analyst holding the patients’ unrecognized hope.

About Dr. Jennifer Hanlin: 

Jennifer Hanlin is a Psychoanalyst, Marriage and Family Therapist and a Registered Dietitian, practicing in South Orange County; with over 25 years’ experience in the field, with expertise in the treatment of disordered eating, depression, anxiety, trauma, abuse and relationship difficulties. In addition to being a prominent eating disorder specialist, Jennifer has presented at national conferences and to general audiences speaking on the topics of disordered eating treatment.

3 CE Credits Available