Complex Dilemmas in Psychoanalytic Ethics

The NY Ethics Committee Presents a Workshop for CFS Members and Candidates

Sunday, November 1, 2026
10:00 am – 1:00 pm via Zoom
3 Ethics CEUs available

The tendency to avoid issues around professional ethics in psychoanalysis is common and multi-determined.  Codes of ethics are uniquely boring and hard to remember. Unconsciously, most of us carry shame about clinical situations in which we know we may have crossed a boundary, prioritized our own needs above the patient’s or fallen short of our high standards of professional practice.  We have all faced dilemmas in which there is no clear path and the risk of an ethical breach feels inevitable.

Analytic institutes embody a unique set of ethical challenges given the multiple overlapping roles, asymmetric obligations around privacy and confidentiality and competing demands of educating trainees and promoting the best interests of patients.  Institutes, sometimes traumatized by a history of serious violations, may struggle to address issues of professional practice in an open, curious and empathic manner.

For this workshop, the presenters from our previous ethics programs will return to discuss new, experience-near fictional vignettes which depict complex ethical dilemmas. These vignettes have been developed to help participants address issues which are rarely discussed. The goal is to create a safe environment to allow participants to grapple with questions about conduct which arise in institute life and in clinical practice, from the egregious to the commonplace.

Presenters:

Stephanie Schechter, PsyD is an analyst on the faculty of the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute.  She is a contributing author of Psychoanalyst Assistance Casebook published by the American Psychoanalytic Association.  At BPSI, she is a member of the Ethics Education Committee and has run numerous workshops at BPSI, APsaA Winter and Spring meetings, and other institutes on the topic of Ethical Dilemmas in Psychoanalytic Institutes.

Susan Kattlove, MD is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in private practice in Cambridge. She is on the faculty of the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute.  She co-leads with Dr. Schechter the discussion group at the APsaA meetings on Ethical Dilemmas in Psychoanalytic Institutes.

Program Fee:  Members $70 / Candidates – Free

References:

Molofsky, M. (2014) Teaching Professional Ethics in Psychoanalytic Institutes: Engaging the Inner Ethicist. Psychoanalytic Review 101:197-217

Seelig, B. (2017). Altruism and Boundary Violation. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 37(7), 474-486.

Kite, J. (2023) In Dreams Begin Responsibilities: Facing Ethical Fragility in Psychoanalysis, J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn., 71, 489-508.

Schechter, S. (2024). Ethics Education in Psychoanalytic Institutes, Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 44 (2), 178-193

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this seminar, participants will be able to:
1. Identify conscious and unconscious determinants which lead to avoidance regarding issues of professional ethics.
2. Assess situations in which multiple ethical demands are at play and demonstrate a heightened awareness of their own individual values which guide their decision-making.
3. Describe clinical situations in which a patient’s confidentiality may be potentially compromised and identify various ways privacy may be unintentionally jeopardized.

Continuing Education Credits:

NY Social Workers: The PTI-CFS is recognized by the NYS Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #0087

NY Psychoanalysts: The PTI-CFS is recognized by the NYS Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychoanalysts #P-0021.

NY Licensed Psychologists: The PTI-CFS is recognized by the NYS Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provide of continuing education for Licensed Psychologists #PSY-0017.

Psychologists: The Contemporary Freudian Society is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.  The CFS maintains responsibility for this program and its content.  (DC, MD and VA Psychologist licensing boards accept CE credits provided by an APA approved Sponsor.  All other psychologists should check with their licensing boards.)

DC, MD and VA Social Workers: The Social Work Boards of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia will grant continuing education credits to social workers attending a program offered by an APA authorized sponsor.

CE credits will only be granted to participants with documented attendance of the entire program and completed online evaluation form. No partial credit will be offered. It is the responsibility of the participants seeking CE credits to comply with these requirements.  Upon completion of this program and online evaluation form, participants will be granted CE credits.

Important Disclosure Information: None of the planners and presenters of this program have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.