"Zones of Concern: Global and Domestic Horizons in Psychoanalysis" with Celia Brickman Ph.D.

Part of BGSP's Spring 2026 Speaker Series: Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Race, Racism, and Culture
Virtual event via Zoom

This discussion will examine facets of the model of the human that psychoanalysis, as a therapeutic modality, provides us with as we face encroaching state violence and dislocations at home and abroad. We have inherited two differing versions of the human from Freud: the implicitly white, western person and the primitive, non-white person. What happens when we move beyond a white “zone of concern” to include all humans within the analytic field? This discussion will demonstrate how the meanings of some key analytic concepts evince unexpected ideological resonances when considered in the context of non-western and/or non-white communities and nations; and will end with an exploration of Freud’s conception of the (universal) bedrock of the psyche. 

Presenter

Celia Brickman Ph.D. is a faculty member at the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis and maintains a full-time clinical practice in Chicago. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago's Divinity School. She has been a faculty member at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis, the Institute for Clinical Social Work, and the Center for Religion & Psychotherapy of Chicago, where she was the director of education for many years. In addition to journal articles and book reviews, she is the author of Race in Psychoanalysis: Aboriginal Populations in the Mind (Routledge, 2018), whose first edition was nominated for the Gradiva Award for Historical, Cultural and Literary Analysis in Psychoanalysis.

Recent Publications:

2015: "Jungian Studies: Time for some new wine in some new bottles." Pastoral Psychology, Volume 64, Issue 6, pp. 883–898.  

2014: “Shared Histories, Emerging Horizons: Reflections on David Wallin’s Attachment in Psychotherapy.” In The Skillful Soul of the Psychotherapist: The Link Between Spirituality and Clinical Excellence. Ed. George Stravros & Steven Sandage (Lanham, Md: Rowland & Little). 

2011: Encyclopedia entry on Freud in the Encyclopedia of Global Religion and Society, ed. Mark Juergensmeyer and Wade. Clark Roof (Sage Publications):  

2010: “Psychoanalysis and Judaism in Context.” In Answering a Question with a Question: Contemporary Psychoanalysis and Jewish Thought, ed. Lewis Aron and Libby Henik (Academic Studies Press) 

Discussant

The Discussant for this event is TBA.

OBJECTIVES

The participant will be able to:  

1. Discuss the ideological implications of certain purported scientific terms in psychoanalysis.
2. Identify the latent significance of terms such as empathy, object relations, primitivity, and resistance when considered in a global context.
3. Discuss and assess the contradictions embedded in Freud’s conception of the “bedrock of the psyche.”

2 CE Units / Clock Hours

BGSP is authorized to provide CEs for: Psychologists (all levels), Social Workers, Counselors

Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. BGSP maintains responsibility for this program and its content. 

Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 5676. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. 

Application for social work continuing education credits is being submitted. Please contact us at continuinged@bgsp.edu for the status of social work CE accreditation. 

For information on continuing education credits for nurses, social workers, or marriage and family counseling, call (617) 277-3915. 

Direct inquiries may be made regarding the accreditation status by NECHE to the administrative staff of the institution. Individuals may also contact: New England Commission on Higher Education, 3 Burlington Woods Drive, Ste 100, Burlington, MA 01803-4514, at (781) 425-7785 or email: info@neche.org

The Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis is accredited by the New England Commission on Higher Education.  

Direct inquiries may be made regarding the accreditation status by NECHE to the administrative staff of the institution. Individuals may also contact: New England Commission on Higher Education, 3 Burlington Woods Drive, Ste 100, Burlington, MA 01803-4514, at (781) 425-7785 or email: info@neche.org