Object Relations Theory: An Overview of Fairbairn and Kernberg —with Pablo de Amesti Davanzo, MA, MD

Object relations refers to interpersonal relations. Technically, the term object, first used by Sigmund Freud in a context of early mother-child relations, refers to the significant person that is the object or target of someone’s drives. Ronald Fairbairn and Otto Kernbergare two psychoanalysts who have explored the meaning of object as the inner residue of past relationships that shape a person’s interactions in general and with a clinician in the psychoanalytic setting. The purpose of this talk is to offer an introduction to the theoretical framework of these two authors. 

    Pablo de Amesti Davanzo, MA, MD, is Senate Emeritus of Psychiatry from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Medical Center. He is former co-director of the UCLA Outpatient Child & AdolescentPsychopharmacology clinic, and a fellow at the West LA Veteran’s Hospital. Chilean born, he immigrated to the US after the 1973 military coup. Completing his training, he researched childhood mood disorders and worked at a community clinic in the San Fernando Valley. He is now a consultant at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.

The Shadows of America’s God—with John Dotson

To introduce tonight’s theme, John will recount key elements of his Southern Appalachian ancestry and specifically childhood years at Oak Grove Baptist Church in Mt Carmel, Tennessee.Given that personal context, we will take up the work of Jungian analyst Fanny Brewster in her book Archetypal Grief: Slavery’s Legacy of Intergenerational Child Loss and the work of evangelical historian Mark A. Noll in his book America’s God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln. In our discussion, we will aim for deeper understanding of evangelical Christian perspectives—and the shadows thereof—in today’s politics. 

Wine: a Mindful Approach—with Grégory Brun

Wine is a cultural product anchored in history and deeply impacted by the places where it originates. In a globalized world, it has become central in the local movement, promising to be an “antidote to nowhereness.” Wine is also a vehicle for communion (religious or not). What is at play when we consume wine? Is there something beyond the complex sensory perceptions and the altering effect of alcohol? To apply some Jungian terminology, are some unconscious contents activated and projections at play while the “nectar of the gods” is consumed? This evening, we’ll challenge together the basics of wine tasting in an attempt to establish a renewed intimacy with the product and a dialogue that calls into question the object/subject relationship. Can wine tell us something about ourselves?

    A board director of the Monterey Friends of CG Jung, Grégory is also a French winemaker and photographer.

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