Conference on
Reflective Function

Reflecting on the Future of Psychoanalysis: Mentalization, internalization, and representation

September 16-17, 2005 City College, NYC

The psychoanalytic world is changing. One of the most exciting new developments has been the introduction of the terms “mentalization” and “reflective functioning” by Peter Fonagy, Mary Target, and their colleagues. The purpose of the conference is to consider the degree to which these new terms have changed the way psychoanalysts think about internalization, representation, and other central contemporary psychoanalytic ideas. How are the concepts of mentalization and reflective functioning related to psychoanalytic constructs? How are they distinct? What do these constructs add to questions of theory and technique? How do they change the way we work with patients? Have these constructs changed the landscape of psychoanalysis in meaningful ways?

Presenters
Anthony Bateman, Sidney Blatt, Philip M. Bromberg, Susan Coates, Diana Diamond, Peter Fonagy, Glen Gabbard, Gyorgy Gergely, Karen Gilmore, Elliot Jurist, Otto Kernberg, Kimberlyn Leary, Linda Mayes, Stephen Seligman, Arietta Slade, Miriam Steele, Donnel Stern, Mary Target, Steve Tuber, Paul Wachtel, Lissa Weinstein & Zsolt Unoka

Conference web site: http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/mir/