SCIENTIFIC MEETING - The Dark Side of the Moon: Metapsychological Reflections on Drives, Structures and the Unconscious
SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM
Online Meeting
Presenter: Cordelia Schmidt-Hellerau, PhD
Moderator: Klaus Wiedermann, PhD, CPsych
Wednesday, September 30, 2026: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm (No break)
TPS Scientific Meeting: Open to All (*Fee may apply. See below.)
Deadline for RSVP/registration is one week prior to the meeting.
Preregistration is required.
** DISTANCE PARTICIPATION ONLY: Offered via Zoom.
* RSVP/Registration
CPS members, TPS Affiliate/Guests or TIP Candidates – Please RSVP by email to info@torontopsychoanalysis.com.
Please note that there is a $45 fee for participants who are NOT CPS members, TPS Affiliate/Guests or TIP Candidates. Please register online.
Based on the notions of drive and structure, Schmidt-Hellerau expands our idea of the unconscious to be recognized as a necessary underbelly of every representation. Elaborating on the death drive as well as the self- and object-preservative drives, she casts a fresh light on the importance of the different drive energies, libido and lethe, and shows how these concepts are helpful in understanding what the patient wants, struggles with or leans towards and how he tries to keep a balanced state of mind. She draws on Bertram Lewin’s work on the dream screen to illustrate a deepened understanding of the dynamic unconscious. Finally, she reminds us of Styron’s autobiographical tale of his experiences during severe depression in order to “illuminate” what we may adumbrate only in extreme cases, the dark side of the moon.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this presentation participants will be able:
- Relate a new understanding of the function of drives to their clinical work.
- Discuss in detail the complexities of structure formation.
- Make use of an enhanced understanding of the unconscious.
Cordelia Schmidt-Hellerau, PhD
Cordelia Schmidt-Hellerau, PhD, is a Training and Supervising Analyst of the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and the Swiss Psychoanalytic Society. She published papers and books on metapsychology, drive theory, as well as clinical and applied psychoanalysis, most recently an updated edition of her monograph on metapsychology, Life Drive & Death Drive, Libido & Lethe. Her 2018 publication of Driven to Survive was a finalist of the American Board & Academy of Psychoanalysis Book Prize. She also writes and publishes novels, most recently Memory’s Eyes. A New York Oedipus Novel (2020, IPBooks) and Memento, A Novel in Dreams, Thoughts and Images (2023, IPBooks). From 2017 till 2025 she has been the Chair of the IPA in Culture Committee and is now the ING Co-Chair for North America. She works in private practice in Brookline, MA.
This event is eligible for Section 1 CME credits (0.5 credits/hour). This event is an accredited group learning activity (section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certificate Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, approved by the Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA). The specific opinions and content of this event are not necessarily those of the CPA, and are the responsibility of the organizer(s) alone. As per the Royal College standard, each presentation provides a minimum of 25% interactive learning.
Refunds must be requested in writing two weeks prior to the beginning of the event, after which fees cannot be returned. A handling fee of $50 will be retained.
For more information about and for registration in the tps&i Extension Programs, Scientific Meetings, Training Programs, Study and Supervision groups and Special Presentations, please visit our website: torontopsychoanalysis.com or email info@torontopsychoanalysis.com.
