This four-part Saturday morning seminar series, taught by internationally renowned neuropsychologist and psychoanalyst Mark Solms, explores the convergence of neuroscience and psychoanalysis in the clinical setting. Grounded in psychoanalytic tradition and enriched by contemporary neuroscience, each session focuses on a core theme that continues to animate both clinical and theoretical work in the treatment of the mind.

Delivered over four consecutive weeks, the course will include a one-hour lecture followed by an hour of facilitated discussion and Q&A. The format is designed to engage both seasoned clinicians and those new to neuropsychoanalysis, and to bridge theoretical insight with clinical practice.

Session 1: DREAMS

Freudian Dream Theory Today and Neuropsychoanalysis
A revisiting of Freud’s foundational ideas on dreams through the lens of contemporary neuroscience. How has dream theory evolved? What remains vital, and what have we learned from brain science that deepens (or challenges) the Freudian view?

Session 2: DEPRESSION

The Seeking Drive and the Neuropsychoanalytic View of Depression
This session investigates the neuropsychoanalytic understanding of depression, focusing on the seeking and attachment drives. How does this model differ from Freud’s original ideas? What are the implications for clinical technique?

Session 3: THE TALKING CURE

Neuropsychoanalysis in the Clinic: Interpretation and Change
How does neuropsychoanalysis inform the therapeutic action of talk therapy? This seminar explores how neuroscientific findings support and refine psychoanalytic techniques, particularly in relation to interpretation and emotional change.

Session 4: THE HARD PROBLEM

The Hard Problem of Consciousness and Freud’s Scientific Project
This culminating session reflects on Freud’s ambition for a scientific psychology and the enduring question: is psychoanalysis a science of the mind? What does neuropsychoanalysis contribute to our understanding of consciousness?

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Describe how neuropsychoanalysis reinterprets core psychoanalytic concepts such as dreams, depression, and interpretation.
2. Understand the role of seeking and attachment systems in the neurobiological basis of depression and how this informs treatment.
3. Critically assess the therapeutic mechanisms of change from a neuropsychoanalytic perspective.
4. Evaluate the scientific status of psychoanalysis in light of developments in affective neuroscience and the philosophy of mind.
5. Apply neuropsychoanalytic concepts in clinical settings through illustrative case material and theoretical discussion.

Mark Solms, PhD

Mark Solms, PhD, is a South African neuropsychologist and psychoanalyst whose work has been influential in bridging the worlds of brain science and psychoanalysis. He is recognized for his research on the neural basis of dreaming and for founding the field of neuropsychoanalysis, which explores how insights from neuroscience can inform our understanding of the mind. Solms holds a professorship at the University of Cape Town and has written widely on consciousness, emotion, and mental life. His books, including The Brain and the Inner World and The Hidden Spring, have been widely read for their thoughtful exploration of how the brain gives rise to subjective experience. He is the authorised editor of the revised Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud.

Karen Dougherty, MA, RP (CRPO), FIPA

Karen Dougherty, MA, RP (CRPO), FIPA is a Psychoanalyst and Registered Psychotherapist in private practice in Amaranth, Ontario, a documentary filmmaker, and a mental health consultant for film and television. She is a clinical supervisor who teaches at the TIP, ATPPP, and the FPP, and is Chair of the TPS Extension Program. Member TPS&I.

Steven Silver, Filmmaker, TIP Candidate

Steven Silver, Filmmaker, TIP Candidate is a South African-Canadian entrepreneur, media executive, investor and a producer/director of film and television. Steven’s documentaries have won many awards including an International Emmy. Steven runs a private psychoanalytic psychotherapy practice in Toronto.