Registration has begun for APsA’s 2025 National Meeting in San Francisco (Feb. 4-9). Please peruse the Preliminary Program’s array of fascinating selections, including small discussion groups, large symposia and unique social events, some of which are specifically focused on psychotherapy. 

Furthermore, you may or may not be aware that psychoanalytic therapists are eligible for Psychotherapist Clinical Membership in APsA. Following a recent Bylaw change, APsA membership now includes, psychotherapy trainees and graduates of Institute Psychotherapy Training Programs like ours, previous APsA Psychotherapist Associates and other qualified psychoanalytic therapists. These more inclusive membership categories enable analysts and therapists to have equal status and benefits in APsA (except matters regarding psychoanalysts’ training and education) – benefits include:

• Reduced meeting registration fees with continuing education credits

• Participation and Voting in APsA elections

• Engagement on committees and elected or appointed leadership positions

• Cost-effective professional liability insurance plus Opportunities for Referrals

APsA’s Psychotherapist Committee Co-Chairs (Kathryn Fleming-Ivesand Cynthia Lucas) have provided the following links for exciting opportunities at APsA’s Meeting:

• Click here for a list of programs relevant to Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

• Click here for info on the Psychotherapy Dine Around event

• Click here for info on the Psychotherapy Networking Reception

• Click hereto access the Psychotherapy Track page

All psychotherapist registrants are welcome to the social events and programs, but space may be limited; be sure to register soon to ensure attendance! Advance registration ends January 6^th.

I strongly encourage you to attend the 2025 National Meeting and consider joining APsA.

• Trainees - click here to join as a Psychotherapist-In-Training Clinical Member. 

• Therapist Graduates – click here to join as a Psychotherapist Clinical Member. 

You won’t be disappointed! 

Please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions. You may also reach out to APsA’s Psychotherapist Committee Co-Chairs, Kathryn Fleming-Ives (kflemingives@gmail.com) or Cynthia Lucas (cindylucaslcsw@gmail.com) for further information.  

MPSI Psychotherapy Center Newsletter Fall 2024.pdf

Analytic Candidate Sees Changes Afoot in Psychoanalysis

Himanshu Agrawal, M.D. is a shining light and his story about his training experience at MPI exemplifies the possibilities for a good training experience when Institutes are focused on the candidate experience, progressive and flexible.

Read article here

Article by Mark Moran at:

Submitted by Julian Ernst, MSW, LICSW

On the evening of Friday, June 9th, we gathered in downtown Minneapolis near the banks of the Mississippi to recognize the achievements of several distinguished members of the MPSI community and honor the recently departed Laurie Curtis, MSW, LICSW and David Stagner, MD. As shared by our gracious emcee for the evening, Michelle Meehan, “Dr. David Stagner was a prized and sought-after provider, mentor, supervisor and guidepost for many students, fellows, and colleagues over the years. And Laurie Curtis was a graduate of the Institute’s first class in 1999 as well as part of the first Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program.”

During the evening, we also honored the grace, guidance, and patience of our Executive Director, Heidi Holste, whose leadership strengthens the structural integrity and operations of MPSI as a nonprofit organization. Nick Flier, our President, also received recognition for his tireless work of ushering the organization through further stages of growth by developing new policies and encouraging collaboration among the Society, Institute, and Psychotherapy Center. 

We recognized the involvement and dedication of the volunteers that make up the MPI Education Committee: Bev Caruso (Secretary), Kim Rorie (Treasurer), and Helen Anthony (Progression Chair); and its Members at Large: Hal Steiger, Deb Boughton, Jeanne Bailey, Peter Grant, and Joan Lentz. We also recognized the work of the PPTP Committee: Rafael Cohen, Victoria Kohl, Michelle Meehan, Corbin Quinn, and Allison Ward. 

In the last year, the Society welcomed a new Treasurer, MJ Mignogna, and several new members of the Programming Committee, including Simon Benarroch (Chair), Julian Ernst, Nadia Kolesski, and Danielle Kasprzak. We also recognized the essential efforts of the Center Advisory Committee, including Bridget Bender, Patricia Holdahl, Kate McRaith, and Corbin Quinn.

To continue reading, click here

May 2021

Dear MPS Community: 

We are proud to announce that our organization has decided to follow the lead of many other reputable organizations (view partner page here: https://psian.org/partners) and join the Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN) as a Strategic Partner. The Psychotherapy Action Network stands up for therapy, when forces such as insurance companies, pharmaceutical advertising, cost-cutting budgetary policies, and low-cost apps are pushing people in other directions.  

PsiAN is a global community of mental health professionals and stakeholders dedicated to promoting psychotherapies of insight, depth and relationship and restoring these therapies to their fundamental place in the mental health landscape through education and advocacy.   

In order to make the most of our decision and build the strongest and most vibrant community possible through supporting this important work, we request that you each consider joining PsiAN as an individual.  Membership is free, and you can join here.  

Please also consider introducing PsiAN to your networks -- colleagues, institutes, organizations.  There is a lot of work to do to overcome the marginalization of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy, and we all need to work together. 

We wish to introduce you all to Marc Beitz, whom we have selected to serve as our liaison to the PsiANsteering committee. Marc received his BA in Philosophy from Williams College and is completing his MSW at the University of St Thomas. He has experience working as a crisis phone counselor and is currently a Clinical Fellow at the Minnesota Psychoanalytic Society and Institute's Psychotherapy Center. Psychoanalytic thought and therapies of depth, insight, and relationship make sense to him and appeal to his need to integrate theory, history, physical experience, and emotion. In addition to representing MPSI on the PsiAN steering committee, Marc serves as a Volunteer Coordinator on their Membership Committee.  

Please join us in thanking Marc for his willingness to serve our community in this capacity and welcoming the PsiANcommunity to ours.

Warmly, 

Bridget Bender

President

Minnesota Psychoanalytic Society

Marc Beitz received his BA in Philosophy from Williams College and is completing his MSW at the University of St Thomas. He has experience working as a crisis phone counselor and is currently a Clinical Fellow at the Minnesota Psychoanalytic Society and Institute's Psychotherapy Center. Psychoanalytic thought and therapies of depth, insight, and relationship make sense to him and appeal to his need to integrate theory, history, physical experience, and emotion. Marc is currently acting as a Volunteer Coordinator on PsiAN's Membership Committee.

Read the full announcement here PsiAN Announcement.docx

MPSI Statement on the Derek Chauvin Verdict

by MPSI Board of Directors

As an organization dedicated to individual and societal well-being, we are relieved that a step toward accountability and justice has been demonstrated through the verdict of Derek Chauvin. At the same time, the grieving and mourning process continues, as our community and our nation continues to witness violence stemming from hatred, racism, and abuse of power.  No single set of words or verdicts can take away the pain and trauma which results from more than 400 years of oppression and abuse. We recognize that the roots of systemic and cultural racism run deep and wide. We affirm that it is our individual and collective responsibility to listen, learn, and grow so that we can not only be allies, but also agents of change.

Resources for Support and Actionable Steps:

• MDH Resources in the Wake of Community Trauma and Beyond
• Crisis Text Line
• The Healing Justice Foundation & Tru Ruts
• Find your legislators
• The King Center
• Racial Equity Resource Guide

From Hal Steiger and Bridget Bender:

Olympic Diving Champions are scored on a number of criteria including degree of difficulty and entry - no splash. These two criteria - degree of difficulty and no splash -came to mind as I reflected on Kim Rorie's tenure as our first Executive Director.

The story begins when our Administrator resigned. Suddenly we were in an organizational crisis with a high degree of difficulty.  Absent an Administrator, MPSI was a ship without a rudder. We had bills to pay, programs to run, and a stunning amount of detail to attend to. I could go on, but you get the idea.

At that time Kim was a member of the Administration Committee that was conducting the job search for a new Administrator. When no viable candidate emerged, Kim offered to take the position on an interim basis. Later, and to our great relief, Kim decided to stay on becoming MPSI's first Executive Director with a whole new set of responsibilities on top of what she was already doing as Administrator. As our new Executive Director and with her characteristic calm professionalism, Kim went on to play a central role keeping MPSI organized and moving forward.

Now, after years of putting things in order, Kim leaves her position with a much improved MPSI.  As a community we have benefited from Kim's exceptional organizational and leadership skills and her uncanny ability to bring out the best in others, all without drama, turbulence or splash. 

Although Kim has stepped down as MPSI's Executive Director, she will continue to play an important role as Chair of our two-year Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program (PPTP) which is having its best year ever. And don't be surprised to see her name come up as a MPSI contributor in other ways.  Oh, and due to Kim's habit of splashless entry you may not be aware that she is currently in a graduate program out of Chicago earning a PhD in Social Work and simultaneously receiving analytic training. 

In honoring Kim, we are grateful for her boundless energy, her passion for psychoanalysis and her dedication to the communities that make up MPSI. These qualities have been especially conspicuous over the course of the last few months, where she has worked hard to ensure another splashless entry.

When we hired Heidi Holste as our new Administrator, we knew she was overqualified for the position. We hoped that she would be interested in eventually stepping into the role of Executive Director that Kim planned to vacate. We saw in Heidi a hard-working, energetic, ambitious leader and hoped that in time, she could learn our organization and ease into the role. None of us anticipated how quickly Heidi would prove herself ready to lead us into the future as our new Executive Director. She has exceeded our expectations in a fraction of the time we had planned and offers so much to MPSI. Heidi brings with her a variety of professional experiences that well-qualify her for this position, serving as Executive Director for two other organizations and working for over 20 years on public policy in local, state, and federal government relations. Her personal characteristics also make it clear she will be an exceptional leader for MPSI. Like Kim, Heidi is a hard-working, dedicated team player with enviable organizational skills. And although she has an eye for detail, Heidi is also able to think big and plan strategically. She offers unique perspective and is quickly learning the MPSI culture. She is easy to work with and enjoys being part of a team. Heidi lives in Rosemount with her husband, their three daughters, and two dogs. She enjoys staying active in her kids’ lives and watching them play sports, gardening, reading, learning new things, meeting new people, and traveling when possible. She is really looking forward to meeting all of you- in person!

Please join us in thanking Kim and wishing her luck in her endeavors and welcoming Heidi to our organization. We feel so fortunate for both of these amazing women.

Warmly,

Hal Steiger and Bridget Bender

MPSI Psychotherapy Center Fall 2020 Newsletter  - October 2021

We are living in a truly unprecedented time in the Twin Cities. In the last two weeks, the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers and the subsequent protest activity have utterly rocked our community. The Minnesota Psychoanalytic Society and Institute publicly denounces the police brutality that led to the death of George Floyd and abhors the underlying racism and devaluation of black life.

In this sad time, we offer condolences to the family, friends, and community of George Floyd.

In addition, we share the anger felt by so many in our community who have seen racial disparities play out again and again. Racial bias and racist attitudes, both conscious and unconscious, are persistent in our culture and in our institutions. It is long past time for all of us to grapple with these widespread injustices and work for meaningful change.

As an organization that aims to educate, provide resources, and support to the MPSI community and to the public, we wish to do our part to bring about change. It is imperative for us to find the tools and demonstrate the willingness and the endurance to tackle the sickness that continues to infect our culture, our society, and our institutions.

To do this, we must start by looking at ourselves. We must look inward, and we must also participate in dialogue around why racist beliefs go unnoticed or unchanged. In addition, we strive to support the rebuilding effort in our local communities.