Listen to Our Podcasts
You can listen to our Podcasts via iTunes, or simply browse through our selections below, and click to hear… Topics include Lectures and Seminars, Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Film Analyses and more. More audio files are being added frequently, so check back soon:
Lectures and Seminars
Attachment at the Extremes- Lecture by Charles H. Zeanah, Jr., MD
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This lecture was originally presented as a Lecture of the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute, by Charles H. Zeanah, Jr., MD. To view the video of this lecture on our YouTube Channel, click HERE.
When attachment relationships between infants and their caregivers have been disrupted – by any number of factors, such as neglect, abrupt separation from a parent at an early age, or a lack of caregiver responsiveness – there are often profound effects on the child’s development. Children with reactive attachment disorders may be overly trusting of strangers, behave aggressively, lie, act self-destructively, destroy their possessions or others’ possessions, and can have great difficulty adjusting to school, as well as dealing with authority. Read more →
Childhood Trauma in Cultural Context – Lecture by Gabriel Ruiz, LCPC
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This lecture was originally presented as the 2016 Paul A. Dewald, MD, Lecture of the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute, by Gabriel Ruiz, LCPC. To view the video of this lecture on our YouTube Channel, click HERE.
When looking at what trauma “is” and how it is “experienced” we must look at the cultural context of the child and family. When it comes to processing trauma, a child’s culture typically falls on a continuum ranging from the traumatic disruption of a child’s individual mind to the disruption of an entire community’s way of life. As teachers, clinicians, and professionals, what do we do when it is not only the child’s mind, but the child’s entire cultural way of functioning that is overwhelmed by trauma? Further, how do cultures that privilege a collective mindset mediate childhood trauma when compared to more individualistic cultures?
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Understanding Race, Social Class, and Culture – Lecture by Neil Altman, PhD
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This podcast was originally presented as a Lecture of the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute, by Neil Altman, PhD.
This lecture considers the way the social categories of race, social class, and culture can be understood from a psychoanalytic point of view, with special consideration is given to the way “whiteness” is constructed in U.S. society, along with the implications for the racial and social class status of various ethnic groups in this country.
On Topic
When Children are Fearful – A Conversation with Dr. Lourdes Henares
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Child psychotherapist and Institute Faculty Member Lourdes Henares-Levy, MD, offers down-to-earth advice to parents, teachers, counselors, and all who work with young children on how to best deal with a child’s fears and worries in these uncertain and sometimes frightening times. To view the video of this lecture on our YouTube Channel, click HERE.
Cuando Los Niños Tienen Miedo: Una Conversación con la Dra. Lourdes Henares
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La Doctora Henares es una psicoterapeuta y psiquiatra especializado en niños y adolescentes, es miembro facultativo de el Instituto Psicoanalítico de St. Louis, MO. En este video, la Dra. Henares ofrece consejos prácticos a padres de familia, maestros, educadores y personas que trabajan con problemas de salud mental, acerca de como ayudar a niños que sufren de miedo y angustia en tiempos como el presente en donde incertidumbre de el futuro es estresante. Mira AQUI
Psychoanalytic Perspectives
Empathy with William Kelly, MD
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Empathy: In all twenty-three volumes of Freud’s works the term only appears fourteen times. However he regarded it as basic to the process and the practice of psychoanalysis. He referred to empathy as a “mechanism by means of which we are able to take up any attitude at all towards another’s mental life.
Intergenerational Conflict in Family Business with William Kelly, MD
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Intergenerational conflict is a heavy sounding concept. History is replete with examples from Abraham and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, Cain and Abel, Hamlet, etc. One of the more compelling stories from a psychoanalytic perspective is that of Oedipus Rex, a tale by Sophocles believed to have some basis in fact.
Family business is often like a kingdom where there are rights of succession, betrayal, even seduction, etc. Is this, however, a healthy resolution and transition of power and/or leadership? There are many forces at work in every human family and probably the greatest of these is the desire to grow up, to fully become a person in one’s own right.
Self Psychology with William Kelly, MD
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Self psychology is a relatively new theory within the field of psychoanalysis. The name was chosen because of gradual recognition that the difficulties some people experience have to do with self-esteem regulation and maintenance of a solid sense of self in time and space, often referred to as self cohesion. Previously, these were considered to be narcissistic problems and usually not amenable to psychoanalysis.
Like all psychoanalytic theories, self psychology attempts to explain human motivation. Over a thirty-year period, Heinz Kohut and other self psychologists evolved a new perception, a new understanding, of what patients were trying to tell us.
Arts & Analysis
Cinema – Grab the DVD, or stream online, then listen to the in-depth commentary for this incredible variety of film offerings. We guarantee you’ll have at least one “aha” moment.
The Crying Game – A Film Analysis with Bernard Feinberg, MD
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Commentary on the movie by Bernard Feinberg, MD. Originally produced for the Celluloid Couch series of the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute.
This is certainly a one-of-a-kind film. A man desires an alluring and mysterious woman. The woman is sphinx-like in that she knows some vital truth about the situation which the man has to discover for himself. The paradox lies in the fact that the truth, which the man eventually discovers, is the very thing which stands in the way of their union.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – A Film Analysis with Jacqueline Langley, PhD
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Rather than to accept the reality of life in its own terms, we often shape our perceptions according to what we wish to see, and in time these perceptions often reinforce these wishes.
A quirky and poignant film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind dares to spend 90% of its time travelling through the recesses of memories and dreams of our protagonist’s mind, creating a film embedded in the human psyche.
Harry and Tonto – A Film Analysis with Nathan M. Simon, MD
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A wonderful and wondrous film, rich in emotional, psychological, developmental issues. Themes ranging from Gilgamesh and Enkidu to mortality and mourning to the relationships between men and women are all interwoven through the story.
The Hedgehog – A Film Analysis with Bernard Feinberg, MD
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In a posh Paris apartment, an eleven-year-old girl uses her father’s old camcorder to intrusively document the lives of her parents and sister. Unable to bear the idea of a future life as inauthentic as theirs appear to her, she dramatically rehearses how she will kill herself on her twelfth birthday.
Il Postino (The Postman) – A Film Analysis with Gerald Izenberg, PhD and Oren Izenberg, PhD
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The Postman is about a simple man named Mario who discovers through his meeting with an extraordinary man, the poet Neruda, that he too is extraordinary. In its affectionate telling, The Postman comes as close as any film to uncovering the working heart of poetry, how it need not be arcane, and how it can be a conspirator in getting one a little sex.
Intimate Strangers – A Film Analysis with Bernard Feinberg, MD
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Intimate Strangers is a gem. In a world in which, as ones of the characters says, “People have lost the art of listening,” this film is about the power of listening. It is a psychological mystery and a dry satire of psychoanalysis.
The Kids are All Right – A Film Analysis with Lenita Newberg, MSW, LCSW
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Nic and Jules have been raising their teenage kids with many typical bumps, bruises, and achievements But when the kids decide to meet their sperm donor, new issues get raised for the family. Commitments, love, desire and conflicts are old issues in families, but the twists can change over time. This touching comedy takes a look at how family is defined and at the changing nature of relationships.
Last Tango in Paris – A Film Analysis with Gerald Izenberg, PhD
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A man and a woman — complete strangers– meet and try to encounter one another without all the accumulated baggage of their past identities.
Margot at the Wedding – A Film Analysis with Michael Deal, MA, LPC
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This movie is about real people who struggle with genuine conflicts with themselves and in their relationships. Seeing characters struggle in this way is not often easy or even pleasant to watch. The scenes crash into each other and it’s usually not clear where the film is going or will ultimately end up. All of these characters are complex as are the relationships — as in real life. They all have their own personal agendas that often collide with the agendas of the other characters.
Night on Earth – A Film Analysis with Bernard Feinberg, MD
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This film features five conversations that take place between a passenger and a cab driver. Although we see them in sequence, they take place across five time zones at the same time. We begin in L.A. at dusk, and wind up at dawn in Helsinki.
Pan’s Labyrinth – A Film Analysis with Jacqueline Langley, PhD
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Winner of three Oscars, with another 63 international wins & 57 nominations, Pan’s Labyrinth is described by one critic as “an epic, poetic vision in which the grim realities of war are matched and mirrored by a descent into an underworld populated by fearsomely beautiful monsters.”
Pulp Fiction – A Film Analysis with Andrew Chirchirillo, PhD
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Pulp Fiction is a movie about lowlifes.
It presents us with three of the oldest chestnuts in the world: Two hitmen out on a job; a boxer who is supposed to throw a fight; a guy who’s supposed to take out the boss’s lady. The characters in these three stories are linked by their connection to a crime boss, Marsellus, and framed by the story of a young couple in the midst of robbing a diner.
Revolutionary Road – A Film Analysis with Phoebe Cirio, MSW, LCSW
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Revolutionary Road is the story of Frank and April Wheeler, a couple living uncomfortably in the suburbs. The story is set in 1955. World War II, and the memory of service in the European theater, looms in the background for the men. Frank and April believe themselves to be superior to their friends and neighbors. Frank has contempt for his job, and most of his co-workers. April felt she was destined for better things. The life they have today was not planned, it just happened, and both regard it as temporary.
Shirley Valentine – A Film Analysis with K. Lynne Moritz, MD
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Shirley Valentine — a funny film, a bittersweet film an all-too-true-to-life film…
This film compellingly captures an actual moment in the life cycle — the love cycle — of many women. Some might call it a midlife crisis and there are indeed lots of midlife issues here: the children have left, Shirley is noticing the first effects of gravity, she is realizing she is on the downward slope of life, only a little time left, only one life to live. Is this little life all there will be for her?
Shortbus – A Film Analysis with Gary Hirshberg, MSW, LCSW
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John Cameron Mitchell, the director of the explosive transgender rock musical, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” broadens his investigation into sexuality with Shortbus (2007). Shortbus is an exploration into the lives of several characters living in present-day New York as they navigate the humorous and tragic intersections between love and sex.
Vertigo – A Film Analysis with Volney Gay, PhD
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A Hitchcock classic, an intricate psychological thriller, this movie is all about dreams. Dreams are the stuff that psychoanalysts can’t stop thinking about. Freud began the whole science with his Reflections on Dreams. The dream is a puzzle, a rebus – we don’t know exactly how to solve it, neither does the hero in the film.
Shakespeare
The Many Faces of Eros: Commentary on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Jacqueline Langley, PhD
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream — when seen and heard during the first act– depicts love as manageable, sane and harmonizing with societal rules. Yet, when further acts are revealed,the meaning of love and its role in our lives transforms yet again.
