Gwendolyne Tuttle, MSW, LCSW has been selected to present at the APA Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology’s 42nd Annual Meeting; Our Beautiful Struggle: Destruction, Creation, and Psychoanalysis. The conference will be held in New York City this month.

Her presentation will explore how language can be used as a means for therapists to distance themselves from their patients. Particularly if there is strong transference/countertransference at play. This theme addresses both the hierarchy in the therapeutic relationship, but also the disparities in power and access to resources that occur for populations with lower literacy. The presentation also serves as a critique of modern psychoanalytic practice, naming an urgency to explore this dynamic, and understand how this can create challenges in the therapeutic process.

Psychoanalysis is often misunderstood and has come a long way since the days of Freud. Modern critiques of psychoanalysis have supported its transformation to include considerations of macro-level concepts including racism, sexism, and complex trauma. Gwendolyne would like to explore psychoanalysis through the lens of the community oriented spirit and ethos of clinical social work.

Gwendolyne was inspired to pursue doctoral study through her own challenges as a clinician trying to understand how to address social issues through individual psychodynamic . She is currently completing her residency in the Doctor of Social Work Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Gwendolyne is a certified Mentalization Based Therapy Practitioner, trained through McLean Hospital and the Anna Freud Centre. She serves as Clinical Coordinator for Cornerstones of Maine, providing individual, group and family clinical services, and supervision for developing therapists.