This semester, we are pleased to provide a range of online courses tailored for clinicians and psychoanalytic students. The sessions will take place on Zoom, with instructions delivered in Farsi and all reading materials provided in English. We trust you will discover a course that captivates your interest!
To register for any course, contact the course Instructor directly.
Spring 2025
An Invitation to Psychoanalysis
Dr. Sardashti
Wednesdays at 15:00 -16:20 Tehran time, beginning February 26 (8 Esfand) and then every other week, March 12 (Norouz Holidays), April 9, April 23, May 7, May 21, June 4, and June 18, 2025. For registration in this course, please email Dr. sara sardashti sarasardashti@gmail.com
Course Description: This eight-week course offers an engaging introduction to the foundational concepts of psychoanalysis for those unfamiliar with the basic psychoanalytic language and ideas. While exploring how these ideas have evolved, we will explore key notions such as the unconscious, transference, countertransference, resistance, and negative therapeutic reactions, understanding their origins and contemporary relevance. The course combines theoretical discussions with illustrative examples to highlight the dynamic nature of psychoanalytic thought and its application in understanding the complexities of the human mind. This course provides both a solid foundation and an invitation to further exploration.
Fundamentals of Psychoanalytic Therapeutic Techniques
Mr. Pouralibaba
Thursdays at 10:00-11:20 Tehran time, beginning March 6 (16 Esfand), and then every other week (Norouz Holidays), April 3, April 17, May 1, May 15, May 29, June 12, and June 26, 2025.
For registration in this course, please email Mr. Pouralibaba: b.pouralibaba@gmail.com
Course Description: Through a study of Freud’s classic papers on technique, and some later papers, we will understand the origins of the psychoanalytic theory of psychotherapeutic technique, a basic technique which was the first talking cure, and the basis, at least in some of its elements, for all later forms of psychotherapy. We will look at the origins of these ideas, and at later, modern, discussions of them. Throughout the course, we will focus on orienting patients to the therapist’s practice and establishing and maintaining the core conditions necessary for effective therapy. This includes building rapport with the patient, respecting their autonomy, and clearly explaining therapeutic tools (such as free association and interpretation) in a way that resonates with the patient. We will emphasize the importance of analytic listening and evenly hovering attention to understand the patient’s communications, which requires careful and unbiased observation of both the patient and the therapist’s own responses. Additionally, we will discuss the importance of maintaining appropriate boundaries with the patient and managing their expectations regarding abstinence and neutrality.
Continuous Clinical Case Seminar in Psychoanalysis
Dr. Movahedi
Wednesdays at 18:30 -19:50 Tehran time, beginning February 26 (8 Esfand) and then every other week March 13 (Norouz Holidays), April 9, April 23, May 7, May 21, June 4, and June 18, 2025.
For registration in this course, please email Dr. Movahedi: siamak.movahedi@umb.edu
Course Description: This course is the continuation of the Clinical Case Seminars from previous semesters is for practicing therapists. Like earlier semesters, our primary focus is enhancing your clinical psychoanalytic skills through ongoing case presentations supported by process notes. Drawing upon the knowledge acquired from readings, analyses, and clinical experience, you are encouraged to discuss unfolding clinical situations actively. The focus is on understanding diverse perspectives rather than critiquing the therapist’s performance or suggesting improvements. It is common for therapists to experience tunnel vision or to focus too intently on one aspect of a patient’s case. Sharing insights with other therapists, each with their own unique backgrounds and experiences, can broaden and deepen the understanding of a case. This collaboration allows for fresh insights and ideas, helping to identify factors that may have been overlooked and potential barriers to treatment.
To facilitate our clinical discussions, I have prepared a reading list. While we may touch upon the reading at the beginning of every class, we do not want the reading to be a “resistance” to getting into the case material. The reading is a guide, hoping to expose you to some material that can help further facilitate thinking and reflecting on the clinical material and our discussions.
Unconscious Fantasy (Phantasy)
Dr. Movahedi
Wednesdays at 18:30 -19:50 Tehran time, beginning March 5 (15 Esfand) and then every other week, March 19 (Norouz Holidays), April 2, April 16, April 30, May 14, May 28, June 11, 2025. For registration in this course, please email Dr. Movahedi: Siamak.movahedi@umb.edu
Course Description: The concept of unconscious fantasy is one of the most important theoretical and clinical concepts of psychoanalysis, with profound theoretical and clinical implications for understanding the workings of the mind and the therapeutic process. Freud, Klein, Lacan, and many contemporary analysts of different theoretical orientations refer to unconscious fantasy in their writings. Yet, despite general agreement about its clinical importance, the term unconscious fantasy remains ambiguous and unclear. Our goal in this seminar is to examine the concept of unconscious fantasy from various historical and contemporary points of view, with particular attention given to recent controversies about its clinical utility in the interactive matrix of the analytic situation.
Psychoanalytic Understanding of Psychic Trauma
Dr. Eftekhar
Wednesdays at 14:00 -15:20 Tehran time, beginning February 26 (8 Esfand) and then every other week, March 12 (Norouz Holidays), April 9, April 23, May 7, May 21, June 4, and June 18, 2025.
For registration in this course, please email Dr. Eftekhar: mehrdad.eftekhar@gmail.com
Course Description: This course focuses on the psychoanalytic understanding of trauma. We will discuss what constitutes a psychic traumatic event and the interrelationship between external and internal processes involved in psychic traumatization. Trauma leaves profound imprints on the psyche, often shaping how individuals relate to themselves, others, and the world around them. We will investigate how unresolved trauma manifests in symptoms, relationships, and unconscious processes, drawing on key psychoanalytic theories as well as contemporary perspectives. Through this exploration, we aim to deepen our understanding of the complexity of trauma while also examining the transformative aspects of psychoanalysis.
Psychosexual development and Psychopathology through Psychoanalysis
Dr. Nohesara
Thursdays at 15:30 -16:50 Tehran time beginning February 27 (9 Esfand) and then every other week, March 13 (Norouz Holidays), April 10, April 24, May 8, May 22, June 5, and June 19, 2025. For Registration in this course, please contact Dr. Nohesara at: shnohesara@gmail.com
Course Description: This course focuses on the psychoanalytic exploration of core intrapsychic conflicts, defenses, and the development of psychopathology. The course examines the dynamics underlying various mental disorders, including hysteria, anxiety, depression, and personality disorders such as narcissistic, borderline, and schizoid personalities. By integrating psychoanalytic theories with diagnostic frameworks like the DSM-5, students will develop an understanding of how conflicts and deficits shape emotional and relational functioning.
The course aims to address central questions about psychosexual development and the etiology of psychopathology: How do intrapsychic conflicts and early developmental experiences contribute to psychopathology? What role do defenses and resistance play in shaping symptom formation? Through these concepts, such as Freud’s theory of conflict and Klein’s schizoid mechanisms, while applying these ideas to clinical and theoretical discussions on psychopathology.
Sadism and Masochism
Dr. Zhaf
Mondays at 20:00-21:20 Tehran time beginning February 24 (6 Esfand) and then every week, March 3, March 10, March 17 (Norouz Holidays), April 7, April 14, April 21, and April 28, 2025. For Registration in this course, please contact Dr. Zhaf: mahrouzhaf@gmail.com
Course Description: This course examines the multifaceted dynamics of sadism and masochism through the lens of various psychoanalytic theories, investigating their developmental origins, relational manifestations, and broader cultural implications. Drawing on the foundational works of Freud, Lacan, Klein, Kernberg, and contemporary scholars, the course situates sadism and masochism as intricate defenses that emerge in response to trauma, anxiety, and vulnerability. Students will critically analyze the developmental roots of these tendencies, with a particular focus on early parent-child dynamics, attachment disruptions, and the interplay of aggression, envy, and power in shaping sadistic and masochistic behaviors. The course further investigates the clinical implications of sadomasochistic dynamics, emphasizing their significance in therapeutic contexts, particularly within transference and countertransference.
Analytic Love & Analytic Process: Getting from Here to There
Dr. Ganjavi
Thursdays 9:00-10:20 Tehran time beginning on March13 ( Esfand 23) and then every other week, (Norouz Holidays), April 10, April 24, May 8, May 22, June 5, and June 19, and July 3, 2025. For registration in this course, please email Dr. Ganjavi: anahita.ganjavi@gmail.com
Course Description: Through this course while reading the chapters of Getting from Here to There: Analytic Love, Analytic Process (2006) we listen to late Sheldon Bach and his challenging encounters with the most difficult patients. The severe narcissistic and sadomasochistic ones which Bach patiently and passionately spent many decades working with. As the main focus of the book is entering their “other worlds”, Bach with a holistic and humane vision, that considers the person as a mind-body unity, focuses on a special meeting and mutual living through via attentive presence between the analyst and the patient that could pave the way of the analytic process. The issues of transference and countertransference raised in such intense and at times frustrative work and the ways they may become more bearable are considered in the book as well as Bach’s attention to the love of the patient for the analyst and of the analyst for the patient that grows out of an affective mutuality and the promotion in self-growth that could happen in both. A good amount of experience in working analytically with the patients is necessary for joining the course. Participants are expected to study given chapters of the book prior to the sessions and are invited to share their experiences in the consulting room.
Persepolis Off the Couch
Psychoanalysts Examine Famous Films with Behzad Pouralibaba.
Once a Month on Sundays at 20:00-21:20 Tehran time.. For registration, please email Mr. Pouralibaba: b.pouralibaba@gmail.com
Course Description: Every month, we will select a film for you to watch and discuss and try to examine it from a psychoanalytic perspective. We will try to understand the unconscious of the film’s writer, and director and what they project on fictional characters and subjects. Analyzing the unconscious and desires of the film’s audience is another aim of our monthly webinar. In addition to the course instructor, we often have other faculty members as a part of our critics for our analysis and interpretation of a movie.
Persepolis Psychoanalytic 