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Developing a Stable Internal Home: Implications for Analytic Technique, Adult Development, and Geographic Relocations - Aisha Abbasi, MD (Live)
2024-25 Friday Night Guest Lecture Series
Homesickness is a commonly used term, and a feeling that has been studied with interest, in psychoanalysis. The connection and distinction between homesickness and nostalgia has been noted in many analytic papers. Normal and pathological forms of both have been described. In this paper, Dr. Abbasi discusses the theoretical framework that informs our current understanding of homesickness. She outlines developmental factors that affect the evolution, emergence, and at times, the persistence of this feeling. Using clinical vignettes from her work, she demonstrates how and why the sense of homesickness emerges in therapeutic work at the time when it does, and the challenges and opportunities it presents, both for the patient and the analyst. Dr. Abbasi also shares with us her evolving understanding of her own feelings of homesickness, following two major immigrations in her life: one, when she moved from Pakistan to the USA in 1987; and the other, when she moved from Michigan to Portland, Oregon, in 2023. She delineates the intrapsychic work involved in such a process, and postulates that such work gives rise to the development of a new and more stable internal home within one’s mind. She elaborates on the implications of this idea for analytic technique, especially as patients consider ending their work with the analyst. She also sees this as an important aspect of adult maturation and growth, one that is profoundly helpful during relocations, both local and distant, that many adults go through. Building upon Mahler’s description of the first separation-individuation phase of toddlerhood, Blos’ understanding of adolescence as a second individuation, and Akhtar’s insights about immigration as a third individuation, Dr. Abbasi suggests that the development of a stable internal home in one’s mind, during mid to late adult life, is akin to a fourth individuation process within the self.
Target Audience
____X__ Introductory ____X__ Intermediate ____X__ Advanced
Learning Objectives
- Attendees will be able to demonstrate a psychological understanding of the concept of homesickness and utilize it in therapeutic work.
- Attendees will be able to identify different forms of nostalgia patients present with and be prepared to analyze such nostalgia for the benefit of the patient.
- Attendees will be able to discuss the concept of developing a stable internal home in one’s mind, and its significance for therapeutic technique and adult development.
Aisha Abbasi, MD, is a training and supervising analyst (and a past president) at the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute (MPI), and a supervising analyst at the Florida Psychoanalytic Center. She’s also a member of the Oregon Psychoanalytic Center and the Tampa Bay Psychoanalytic Society.
Dr. Abbasi graduated medical school in Pakistan, completed her psychiatry residency at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI, and studied psychoanalysis at the MPI. She is the author of the book The Rupture of Serenity: External Intrusions and Psychoanalytic Technique (Routledge, 2014) and co-editor of the book Privacy: Developmental, Cultural, and Clinical Realms (Routledge, 2019). She is also the author of a number of book chapters. She is a published poet in her mother tongue, Urdu. Her analytic papers generally focus on the moment by moment, day to day interactions, surprises, and challenges that occur in psychoanalytic treatment. She's a sought-after presenter, teacher, and supervisor. In 2019, she received the Master Teacher Award from the Candidates' Council of the American Psychoanalytic Association.
Dr. Abbasi is the secretary of the Board of Directors of the Psychoanalytic Quarterly, the president of the Group for the Study of the Psychoanalytic Process (GSPP), and co-facilitator of the Group for Analysts of South Asian Origin (ASAO).
Currently, she lives and works in/from Portland, OR, and goes to Michigan a few times a year to see patients in person there as well. She's licensed to practice in OR, CA, WA, MI, and FL.
Austen Riggs Center Inc. adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. All those at Austen Riggs Center involved in the planning of this activity, including the presenter(s) listed above, report they have no relevant financial relationships with an ineligible company*.
The views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily represent the official policy or position of the Austen Riggs Center.
* An ineligible company is any entity whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
In support of improving patient care, The Austen Riggs Center is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team
Available Credit
- 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
ACCME - As a Jointly Accredited Organization, The Austen Riggs Center, Inc. designates this learning activity for a maximum of 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
- 1.50 APA
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, The Austen Riggs Center, Inc. designates this learning activity for 1.50 continuing education credit(s) (CE) for psychology. Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs.
Austen Riggs Center, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0115.
- 1.50 ASWB-ACE
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, The Austen Riggs Center is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organization, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Austen Riggs Center maintains responsibility for this. Social workers completing this Webinar live course will receive 1.50 continuing education credit(s).
- 1.50 Contact Hours/ ParticipationA certificate of attendance for all Learners.