Sisyphus On The Couch: Is There Meaning In Suffering?
Instructor: Valerie von Raffay
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If you have signed up via Zoom, you will receive a link the week of the event. If you purchased an in-person ticket, you will check in at the front desk upon arrival.
Course Description
The myth of Sisyphus will be used as a lens to explore familiar clinical manifestations such as: repetition compulsion, perfectionism, omnipotence, narcissism, moral masochism, and depression.
Punished by the gods for his hubris and denial of mortality, Sisyphus is condemned to a life of unceasing and futile labor. Albert Camus transforms our understanding of this myth with his reflection that, “one must imagine Sisyphus as happy,” because he accepts his fate and the struggle is enough to fill his heart.
In our work as clinicians we are often confronted with patients who remain stuck in their lives because they are fixated on the illusion that ‘someday’ their struggles will come to an end. The goal of treatment can be seen as a Sisyphean transformation: the struggle and challenges of life become imbued with meaning, opening the possibility for acceptance and true happiness rather than denial of suffering and the absence of pain through pursuit of numbness.
Educational Objectives
Upon completion of this activity participants should be able to:
Discuss what contributes to the development of the capacity to bear suffering (physical and psychological)
Explain how Camus views the character of Sisyphus as someone who finds meaning in his struggle
Give 2 clinical examples of how the theme of Sisyphus is manifest in current psychological disorders.
Licensed Professional — $50
Pre Licensed/Student — $402 CEs offered
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
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. CE Credit is offered for licensed psychologists, social workers, and marriage and family therapists.
CE Credit Information
Important Disclosure: All planners, faculty, staff and others involved with this activity have reported no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
This activity has not received commercial support.
Accreditation Statements
Board of Behavioral Sciences: The California Board of Behavioral Sciences accepts courses approved by the APA for Continuing Education for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC and LEP licenses.
To Earn Credit: Participants must complete an online evaluation within two weeks of completing each session of this CE activity in order to receive credit.
Attention Psychologists: Psychologists can earn a maximum of 2 CE credits for this program. Partial credit may not be awarded, based on APA guidelines
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.
Instructor Bio
Valérie Rubinstein von Raffay, Ph.D., Psy.D. is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst in private practice in West Los Angeles. She is a faculty member and psychoanalyst at the Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies (LAISPS). Her training and work in research and as a clinician in Germany and the United States has provided her with a broad range of experience in inpatient settings and in private practice. Dr. von Raffay has given presentations on perspectives on dreams and dreaming process, intergenerational transmission of trauma, the meaning of suffering, the dialectic of shame and guilt, the love for power, and the contribution of literature to psychoanalysis.