December 21, 2013

Dear Colleagues,

Happy winter solstice, Merry Christmas, and a happy upcoming New Year. Marshall Bush and I have launched an ambitious project to outline existing CMT research and plan new studies to address empirical holes in the theory. We hope to offer a guide for suggested research topics to prospective dissertation students who are looking to make a contribution to the field and to CMT in particular. We had our first New Directions in CMT Research class last week where we started to brainstorm research questions that need to be addressed. Our plan will be to meet on the third Saturday of every month from 9 am to 12 noon at the 9 Funston Conference Room. We have a small group of enthusiastic participants. All of you are welcome to attend. As one of the participants said, "How can you say 'no' to free Continuing Education Credits?"

One of my personal goals is to make Control Mastery Theory a subject known to psychology students everywhere, in colleges and graduate programs, as familiar as Attachment Theory or Self-Psychology. Our Swiss colleague, Reto Volkart, asked me several years ago, "why is CMT not more visible?" A colleague from Arizona asked me that same question this year, "CMT is such a great theory. Why is it not more well known in Arizona, for example?"

It is a difficult question to answer. Perhaps it takes time. Joe and Hal had the dialogue about what CMT has to offer with the psychoanalytic community in San Francisco and now we are trying to expand the dialogue with others in the field such as David Wallin in Attachment Theory or Anthony Bateman in Mentalization Based Therapies.

I think Control Mastery Theory is a terrific clinical approach. Maybe there needs to be some time for these ideas to marinate and disseminate slowly. It takes time for clinicians, particularly new students and new clinicians, to grapple with what different psychological theories are saying and where CMT fits in. What does CMT offer that overlaps with these other models but in what ways it is unique?

In the mean time, I think our goal is to keep engaging in the dialogue. That is why we are planning new conferences for the next year or two where we will have a dialogue with Victoria Beckner on the treatment of anxiety disorders from a CMT as well as a CBT perspective. We are also planning a conference with Dan Wile on his views on treating couples and how that relates to CMT strategies.

As many of you know, we have made a concerted effort to expand the teaching of CMT outside the Bay Area. We have been hoping to offer a conference in Southern California for quite some time and that is coming to pass this coming February, when Buddy Mendez and I are giving an introductory course on CMT and plan formulation at Concordia University in Irvine.

Another area we have tried to develop recently is Portland, Oregon. Last April, I presented with Susan Evans at the Oregon Psychoanalytic Center to an enthusiastic group of clinicians. John Curtis then went to Portland to present on the Plan Formulation Method to a group at Lewis and Clark College. His presentation was very well received and he plans to return again in the next year. We hope to have a new group of students and clinicians from Portland to come study with us and exchange ideas at the 27th annual International Conference on CMT this coming March.

For a long time I have wanted to go to Bergen to connect with our colleagues there who have done so much to further CMT all over the world. This June, Peter Schumacher and I are planning to go to Norway to see the midnight sun, visit some polar bears, and give a talk in Bergen. It turns out George Silberschatz is also scheduled to speak to an audience at the University of Bergen in June. We are looking forward to reconnecting with many old friends, Hans-Peter Broch, Tor Sletten, Kari Lossius, Dag Ouli, Per-Einar Binder, Helge Holgersen, and Bernt Larsen. They have come many times to the March Workshops since 1990 and have sent so many of their students to learn at the March Workshops as well as to serve as interns at the SFPRG Clinic. Hans-Peter, Tor, and Kari have invited many of our group to speak about Control Mastery Theory at their international conferences in Spain, Cuba, South Africa, and South America. We have appreciated a long and warm collaborative relationship with our Norwegian colleagues that have done so much to further the teaching of Control Mastery Theory.

Another important component to developing and disseminating CMT is to encourage our members to publish more. One of the goals of our monthly Saturday meetings will be to encourage those in the group to write articles, to do research, and to publish books. Our group will brainstorm ideas, give moral support, and encourage writing projects. We will report on our progress in the newsletter.

Have a wonderful New Year. See you next year.
Steve Foreman

Season's Greetings Community. I hope you are all finding some rest during this busy season. Reflecting on this past year, I am pleased at the way the Education Committee has pursued our mission to increase the recognition of CMT. During the spring we had the Trauma conference, looking at issues of safety and exposure. We had the March Workshop that included five workshops comparing CMT to other theoretical models and we had a discussion on how the theory could be expanded. This discussion led to this fall's three-part seminar on New Developments in CMT, Theory and Research chaired by Steve Foreman and Marshall Bush. In the fall we also had the Addiction conference with Terry Gorski. These were just the formal events we sponsored; there were also numerous talks and trainings that were given by our members such as Steve Foreman teaching in Portland, Oregon and George Silberschatz teaching in Australia. And let's not forget our on-going Case Conferences. There are so many ways for people to learn about the theory.

We are anticipating another great training year in 2014. Steve and Victoria Beckner are going to put on a workshop that expands on the concepts of safety that were discussed at the Trauma conference. Denny Zeitlin will be giving a training on the treatment of couples from a CMT perspective and we are in conversation with Dan Wile about a fall conference comparing his ideas on couples work with our own. Speaking of couples work, one of our old interns, Jay Seiff-Haron, will be giving a training at the March Workshop comparing Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and CMT. We are also thinking of expanding this topic with a full day training in the near future.

As always, we are interested in what topics you would like to see presented. If you have ideas please send them to me at drsusanlandes@earthlink.net.

The SFPRG Board of Directors is now seeking nominees to fill board vacancies. The following board positions are available: Chair of the Membership Committee, Chair of the Fundraising Committee, and 2 Members-At-Large. Come June 1, we will need a new Chair of the Education Committee and a new Treasurer.

If you would like to serve a 3-year term on our Board, you can recommend yourself to the Nominations Committee. You can also refer a colleague whom you think would be a good candidate. Contact Rob at sfprg@sfprg.org for more information.

Our weekly case conferences resume in January and February. See the website for more details.

Understanding Control Mastery Theory: a Case Conference II
Peter Schumacher, MFT
February 3 - May 12, 2014, Mondays, 10:30 - 12:00 noon (19 CE hours)


The Case Conference on Long Term Psychotherapy
Norman Sohn, Ph.D., LCSW, & Alan Rappoport, Ph.D
January 22 to May 21, 2014, Wednesdays, 9:00 - 10:00 am (17 CE hours)


The Therapeutic Process II
Steven Foreman, M.D
February 5 - June 11, 2014, Wednesdays, 2:30-4:00 pm (27 CE hours)


How Control Mastery Theory Works II (East Bay)
Michael Lowenstein, M.D.
February 7 - May 30, 2014, Fridays, 9:30 - 11:00 am (24 CE hours)
Dr. Lowenstein's Office in Orinda- Call (925) 258-9302 for details

Susan Landes and the Education Committee have been working on the annual conference. The day-long Introduction to Control Mastery Theory will be on March 1, 2014 at the JCCSF. The week-long annual conference will be at our Funston Ave. offices starting Monday, March 3, 2014.
Information is here.

SFPRG has an office for rent. Now is your chance if you ever wanted to have an office in a beautiful national park! We signed a 5 year lease renewal with The Presidio. Contact Rob in the office if you are interested. 415-561-6771 or sfprg@sfprg.org

Please help SFPRG continue to provide needed low-fee therapy and help us spread Control Mastery Theory. SFPRG is a 501 c 3 and your donation may be tax deductible. Please make an end of the year donation by clicking here.