A Scientific Meeting presented by Sam Guzzardi, LCSW

Continued Education (CEU/CME): 1.5 credits

Event Price: Event is free. Optional CE fee is $10 members, $25 non-members

In Person and Virtual Options. In Person is limited to 25 attendees. Light reception at 6 p.m. for in person attendees. Masks are required.

In 2017, a popular article circulated in gay communities entitled “The Epidemic of Gay Loneliness.” This presentation will take a look at the idea “gay loneliness” through the lens of self psychology, particularly as a manifestation of developmental deficits in the twinship domain. Through the presentation of an extended case vignette of a patient who describes his childhood as one marked by being “the only fag around,” the presentation will consider the transformational power of a self psychological analysis in addressing the suffering attendant with such profound loneliness. The presentation describes the patient’s escalation when the analyst misattuned to manifestations of twinship longings in the transference, and details the pathway to repair which, in this case, involved a deep descent into the intersubjective. As such, the essential role of the analyst’s self-reflection in the process of rupture and repair is discussed.

Learning Objectives: By the attend of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Identify developmental, relational, and social factors that contribute to "gay loneliness"

2. Compare and contrast notions of "loneliness" and deficits in the twinship domain of the Self

3. Intervene with clients who may be especially dependent on the establishing of a twinship selfobject transference with their analyst

Sam Guzzardi is a psychoanalyst trained at the Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity (IPSS) in New York City. Prior to his analytic training, Sam studied at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College and at the Yale Child Study Center. He maintains a practice in New York City where he focuses on issues of gender, sexuality, identity, trauma and grief. Sam is the winner of the 2019 Ralph Roughton Award of the American Psychoanalytic Association for his paper “The Only Fag Around: Twinship in Gay Childhood,” published in the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association (JAPA) this summer. He is a member of the teaching faculty at the National Institute for the Psychotherapies (NIP) in New York.

 This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of American Psychoanalytic Association and the Association for Child Psychoanalysis. The American Psychoanalytic Association is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The American Psychoanalytic Association designates this Live Activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION FOR ALL LEARNERS: None of the planners and presenters of this CME program have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.