Sacha Bollas, PsyD
Fee
All Attendees — $25
Re-anchoring the Mind: A Case of Trauma, Spirituality, and the Search for Meaning
With Sacha Bollas, PsyD
This case tells the story of a young woman whose sense of self and place in the world unraveled following a traumatic sorority initiation. What began as a rite of passage became a moment that shattered her belief in the goodness of others and exposed her to a harsh, cynical reality she feels wholly unprepared for. Spiraling in the wake of this experience, she has turned to compulsive rumination, endlessly revisiting and revising her understanding of the world and her place within it. Her once-unshakable spirituality, rooted in biblical teachings, has become distorted as she compulsively re-reads scripture, searching for a way to make sense of her fractured reality.
At the heart of her struggle is a desperate quest to rebuild a foundation—to rewrite the script of her mind and re-anchor herself in time and space. She longs to reconcile the chaos of her experience with the spiritual truths she once held dear, though these truths now feel fragile and uncertain. Psychoanalysis offers a glimmer of hope: a bridge that might help her find a way back to herself, not by erasing the pain, but by weaving it into a narrative that can hold her suffering and her search for meaning. Through this process, she hopes to reclaim a sense of wholeness and a renewed anchor in a world that feels both profoundly disjointed and impossibly vast.
All Attendees — $25
We want to thank WILA for genoursoly providing the venue for these events.
Program Committee
Thomas P. Helscher, Ph.D., Chair
Lisa B. Crilley, M.F.T., Co-Chair
Committee Members
Scott Shapiro, Psy.D.
Sandra Wilder-Padilla, Ph.D.
Rachel Katz
Keith Bernstein
Simone Kiboudi, LPC
Psychoanalytic Conversations
The Psychoanalytic Conversations Series offers more informal, in-person meetings in which a LAISPS candidate, member, or training and supervising analyst presents a case and leads a focused conversation on important clinical topics.
For Winter-Spring 2025, the Psychoanalytic Conversations will address the “Failure to Launch” phenomenon and the developmental challenges posed to adolescence and young adulthood, particularly in this social media saturated, post-Covid environment that has created unusually stressful conditions for an already fraught transitional period.
Target Audience
This program is on an advanced level and meets the needs of all mental health professionals, including Psychiatrists,Psychologists, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists.
Refunds/Cancellations: Refunds, less a $10 administrative fee, will be made if cancellation notification is phoned or postmarked three (3) business days in advance of this program. There will be no refunds on requests received after the refund deadline. Full refunds are made in the event that LAISPS must cancel this program.
Returned Checks: A $35.00 service charge will be assessed for checks returned by the bank.
Confidentiality: By registering for this educational event, attendees agree to strictly maintain confidentiality of any clinical material shared and will not distribute or convey such confidential material outside of the conference.
About the Presenter
Dr. Sacha Bollas is a clinical psychologist and an advanced candidate in psychoanalytic training with a deep interest in the dynamics of group life, the nature and significance of creativity, and the integration of psychoanalysis with values-driven action. Passionate about exploring the intersection of art and analysis, Dr. Bollas views psychoanalytic work as an art form, where the analyst, like the artist, bridges the subjective and the objective.
Dr. Bollas is rediscovering his love of sculpture and remains deeply engaged with art and design, using these creative practices to inform his analytic perspective. His work emphasizes the transformative potential of creativity in both personal growth and therapeutic practice, blending aesthetic sensitivity with rigorous psychoanalytic inquiry.