Alexithymia and Somatization in the time of Remote Work: Revisiting Freud’s Concept of Actual Neurosis

TIMH Continuing Education Lecture
Saturday, October 17th
1:00 - 4:00 PM
Via Zoom

3 CEUs Offered for NYS Social Workers

We may be remote, but the Continuing Education Department is delighted to begin the academic year with this topical discussion!

This lecture will introduce participants to Freud’s underemphasized concept of actual neurosis. The discussion will focus on patients who express bodily complaints, which will form the foundation for a critical discussion of the place of actual neurosis in contemporary psychoanalytic theorizations and treatment of somatization. The lecture will also consider the vexed problem of alexithymia, a condition that entails difficulties understanding and symbolizing intense affective experiences. These difficulties sometimes manifest in overwhelming somatic states, such as those that accompany the onset of a panic attack. We will consider the ways in which the concept of actual neurosis helps to illuminate these clinical conundrums. The lecture will draw on the influential work of Belgian clinical psychologists and psychoanalysts, particularly the way Paul Verhaeghe utilizes Freud’s concept of actual neurosis to develop what he calls the actualpathological position as well as the work of these Belgian researchers on a model and framework for the psychoanalytic treatment of alexithymia.

About the presenter:
David M. Castro, Ph.D., LCSW is a psychotherapist in private practice on the Upper East Side of New York City. He completed his MSW at New York University and earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the Derner School of Psychology, Adelphi University. He has advanced training in psychoanalysis and over fifteen years of clinical experience. Dr. Castro is a faculty member in the school psychology graduate program at the Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University, a faculty member of undergraduate and graduate studies at City College (City University of New York), and a faculty member at the Training Institute for Mental Health.

TIMH students and interns may attend for free. Please RSVP at tifmh@earthlink.net