Saturday May 10, 2025
The Connecticut Society For Psychoanalytic Psychology
and
The Yale Child Study Center
present
Martha Stark, MD
Center for Psychoanalytic Studies,
William James College
Grieving the Loss of Relentless Hope
and
Evolving to a Place of Serene Acceptance
Presentation 11-1 zoom
Zoom Sign-in begins 10:45am
2 CECs (Division 39)
2 CECs (NASW): Planned for Social Work, LPCs & LMFTs
A Zoom link will be sent to all registrants the day before the event.
"Pretending that it can be when it can't is how people break their hearts." Elvin Semrad
ABSTRACT
Relentless hope is a defense to which the patient clings in order not to feel the pain of her disappointment in the object – the hope a defense ultimately against grieving. The use of optimally stressful, growth-incentivizing “disillusionment statements” – strategically designed to juxtapose what the patient “had hoped” with what the patient “is coming to realize” – will facilitate working through the patient’s grief as she begins to confront the intolerably painful reality of the object’s limitations, separateness, and immutability. If all goes well, realistic hope and serene acceptance will arise in the context of the patient’s survival of her heartbreak and disappointment – the patient sadder perhaps, but wiser too…
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to –
1. explain why relentless hope is a defense
2. summarize what the relentless patient is refusing to confront
3. construct a growth-incentivizing disillusionment statement designed to facilitate grieving
4. discuss the relationship between grieving and adaptive internalization
5. demonstrate the importance of relenting and evolving ultimately to a place of serene acceptance
BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Martha Stark, MD, a graduate of Harvard Medical School and the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute, is a holistic (adult and child) psychiatrist and integrative psychoanalyst in Boston, MA. She is an HMS Lecturer on Psychiatry (part-time) at Cambridge Health Alliance.
Martha is Originator/Developer of THE STARK METHOD of PSYCHODYNAMIC SYNERGY.
Martha is the author of nine books on the integration of psychodynamic theory into clinical practice, including Modes of Therapeutic Action – 1999 recipient of Jason Aronson's prestigious "Book of the Year Award.” Several of her books have become "required reading" for candidates in psychoanalytic training institutes and students in psychodynamic psychotherapy programs in the US and abroad.
RECOMMENDED READINGS
Mitchell S. 1998. Relational Concepts in Psychoanalysis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Searles H. 1979. "The development of mature hope in the patient-therapist relationship," In Countertransference and related subjects: Selected papers. Madison, CT: International Universities Press.
Smedes G. 1984. Forgive and forget: Healing the hurts we don’t deserve. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Stark M. 2017. The Refusal to Grieve (International Psychotherapy Institute eBook). https://www.freepsychotherapybooks.org/ebook/relentless-hope-2/
PARTICIPANTS
The conference is appropriate for professionals interested in the practice of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The instructional level of this conference is all levels: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced.
CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS
This conference has been approved for for 2 continuing education credits by Div. 39. Division 39 maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Pending Approval - 2 CECs from NASW-CT.
If continuing education credit is desired, please mark the appropriate box on the registration page, for our records. In addition,100% attendance and a completed evaluation form is required to receive CEC certificates. The evaluation form will be sent in the form of an online survey to all registrants within a few hours after the event, and if you attend the full conference and return that you will be sent a certificate of attendance.
TO REGISTER AND PAY
Members - remember to log in to for member discount. If you do not log in, you won't be recognized as a member.
All registrations must be made and paid for online with credit card or bank card.
If you are using a phone, you will need to register through the WildApricot app, which is designed for phone use and will allow you all the options. The app Wild Apricot for Members is available in your App Store for free. Just log in with your usual CSPP email and password.
Refunds will be given in full until the Monday before the conference. To receive a refund, cancel your registration online by going to your profile in the upper right corner, select "My Event Registrations" click on the event, then click on "Cancel Reservation." Questions/problems, please contact the registrar, Monique St. Paul.
2025 Scholarship recipients have not yet been awarded: If you are interested in applying, contact William Hartmann, MFT.
Members and Contacts - Need to update your information?
Please login to your profile, then click under your name at View Profile, to make any changes or additions, including changes of email addresses. If you have problems, contact Kelly Butler.
CSPP Membership: Membership is open to all mental health professionals ($85 annual dues); early career (less than 7 years since degree, $50 annual dues); retirees ($30 annual dues); and graduate students ($20 annual dues). For further information on CSPP membership, please click here: CSPP.
Division 39 is committed to accessibility and non-discrimination in its continuing education activities. Participants are asked to be aware of needs for privacy and confidentiality throughout the program. If program content becomes stressful, participants are encouraged to process these feelings during discussion periods. If participants have special needs, we will attempt to accommodate them.
Please address questions and concerns to Ashley Warner, LCSW, BCD.
