Foundations of British Object Relations

Overview

NOTICE: This course is full for the 2022 – 2023 year.

This course will span the academic year–18 sessions– and will explore the context and development of the basic but complex object relations concepts arising from Freud and expanded upon by Klein and later theorists and clinicians. We will also consider necessary conditions for growing a mind, and the clinical implications when that process is affected by neglect or trauma.

Fall Quarter will outline Klein’s expansion of Freud’s idea of psychic reality, and the concepts that Klein (and others) developed from this. As such, we will look at the British Object Relations constructs of mental processes such as unconscious phantasy, internal objects, and the depressive and paranoid-schizoid positions.

Instructors: Chris Moseman, MA LMHC & Joanne della Penta, ATR LMHC FIPA

Winter Quarter introduces the question: How does a mind grow? This quarter attempts to work with some of the central concepts and processes that are useful in considering the complexities of how a mind grows. The concepts of projective identification and container/contained will be introduced as well as the processes of transference and countertransference.

Instructors: Jeff Grant, PhD & Hanna Denmark, MA LMHC

Spring Quarter investigates psychopathology from the Object Relations viewpoint. In this quarter we will think about major areas of psychological problems, including narcissism and narcissistic character structure, psychic retreats and pathological organizations, and trauma. We will read key papers but mostly use our clinical experience to think about these important issues.

Instructors: Daniel Brown, PhD LMHC & Collin McFadden, PhD LMFT

Course Details

Important Note: The day of the week this course meets will change between the fall and winter quarters. During the fall, this course meets on Wednesdays. During the winter and spring, this course meets on Mondays.

General Details

NOTICE: This course is full for the 2022 – 2023 year.

Category	Details
Location	Hybrid: Simultaneously Online via Zoom and at the COR Office (2915 E Madison St, Suite 300)
Fee	COR Members: $900; Non-members: $1200 – Price will increase after August 21, 2022
Class Size	Minimum 5 and maximum of 12 participants
CEUs	1.5 for each attended class; 27.0 hours total

Fall Quarter

Category	Details
Time	Wednesdays at 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Dates	September 21, October 5, October 19, November 2, November 16, November 30 (2022)

Winter Quarter

Category	Details
Time	Mondays at 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Dates	January 9, January 23, February 6, February 20, March 6, March 20 (2023)

Spring Quarter

Category	Details
Time	Mondays at 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Dates	April 10, April 24, May 8, May 22, June 5, June 19 (2023)

Scholarships Are Available

For many years, thanks to a generous donor, COR has been able to offer scholarships to those who need financial assistance. Please complete the Scholarship Request Form if you need a scholarship.

Scholarship Request Form

Instructors

Chris MosemanMA, LMHC

Chris Moseman, MA LMHC, is a psychotherapist in private practice in Tacoma and Seattle. He practices mainly from a psychoanalytically-informed perspective in work with adults and children. His prior background has included work within psychiatric hospitals, as a practicum facilitator at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, and work within a wilderness therapy setting. He is currently the Chair of the Technology Committee with COR, and a COR board member.

Joanne della PentaATR, LMHC, FIPA

Joanne della Penta, ATR LMHC FIPA, is a recent graduate of analytic training at SPSI. She began private practice in 2005, moving to full time in 2014. Her practice is in Madison Park, where she sees adolescents and adults. She began as an art therapist at Fairfax Hospital in 1998. She has a certificate in British Object Relations from COR (from when COR gave certificates), and is a practicing artist and dog lover.

Jeff GrantPhD, LMHC

Jeff Grant, PhD LMHC, received his M.A. in existential psychology from Seattle University and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. His dissertation was entitled “A Psychoanalytic Exploration of Father Death and its Impact on the Adolescent Ego-Ideal.” He is currently a board member at COR and maintains a private practice with adults and adolescents in Madison Park.

Hanna DenmarkMA, LMHC

Hanna Denmark, MA LMHC, attended the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology back when it was still called Mars Hill Graduate School. She has a small practice in Fremont, working with adults, and works in inpatient psychiatry at Harborview Medical Center. She has lived in Seattle since 2003 and is still in love with the clouds.

Daniel BrownPhD, LMHC

Daniel Brown, PhD LMHC, is a psychotherapist in Seattle’s Eastlake neighborhood working with children, adolescents, and adults. Daniel received a MA in Counseling Psychology from The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Current areas of research include W.R. Bion’s model of the mind, contemporary techniques for integrating dreams into psychotherapy, and psychotherapy outcomes research.

Collin McFaddenPhD, LMFT

Collin McFadden, PhD LMFT, is a psychotherapist in private practice in Seattle, WA. He completed his undergraduate degree in Existential-Phenomenological Psychology at Seattle University. He completed a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, CA, and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. He has served as President of the Center for Object Relations, based in Seattle, WA. He worked in research in Psychiatry at Harborview Medical Center prior to becoming a psychotherapist, and he completed his doctoral clinical internship at Fairfax Behavioral Health in Kirkland, WA. His main areas of interest are creativity, myth and story, religion and spirituality, and psychosis.

Course Readings

Course Readings

NOTICE: This course is full for the 2022 – 2023 year.

As the course progresses, the digital version of the course readings will be added to this page. You must be logged in to your account to download the files.

***The Readings page is under construction***

Please contact the admin or instructors if you need access to any readings.

CEU Tests

Course CEU Tests and Evaluation

As as a part of Washington State requirements, each student who is wanting to claim class credits toward their license CEUs is required to complete a quiz, with a passing grade of 70%. You can take the quiz as many times as needed. Once the class is completed the final quiz will also have a course evaluation, which is also required, but can be completed anonymously.