Abstract

Dr Knafo will review Freud’s theory of castration, as well as critiques of the

theory. She will then offer her own elaboration of castration theory, proposing

that castration fantasies are universal and refer to a sense of incompleteness

about the body as well as psychic attributes—in both males and females.

Such fantasies, she will argue, deal with the gap between what one is and

what one would like to be and are frequently expressed in envy toward

perceived privileges belonging to persons of the opposite sex, same sex, and

different generation. Furthermore, these fantasies are intimately tied to

object relations. A case of a transgender male who desired literal castration is

presented to illustrate this expanded theory and its usefulness.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Discuss variations in psychoanalytic castration theory.

2. Recognize and address castration themes when they arise in treatment.

Biography

Danielle Knafo, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, professor

and author. She is currently faculty and supervisor at the NYU Postdoctoral

Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis and Adelphi’s Postgraduate

Program. Danielle is a popular lecturer and a prolific writer. She has written ten books and dozens of articles in addition to art catalogue essays and art criticism. Her areas of expertise are: art and creativity; trauma and psychosis; sex, gender and perversion; and technology and A.I. Just a few titles demonstrate the range of her scholarship: Egon Schiele: The Creation of a Self; In Her own Image: Women’s Self-Representation in Twentieth-Century Art; Living with Terror: Working with Trauma; Dancing with the Unconscious: The Art of Psychoanalysis and the Psychoanalysis of Art; The Age of Perversion: Desire and Technology in Art and Psychoanalysis; The New Sexual Landscape and

Contemporary Psychoanalysis; and From Breakdown to Breakthrough:

Psychoanalytic Treatment of Psychosis. Dr. Knafo maintains a private practice

in Manhattan and Great Neck, NY.

References

Knafo, D., & Bosco, R.L. (2023). Natural-born deviants: The existential

escapades of sex tech. American Imago, 80(4), 663-692.

Knafo, D., & Bosco, R.L. (In press). Breaking limits: A psychoanalytic

exploration of the intersection of sex, gender, and technology. In P. Gherovici & M. Steinkoler (Eds.), International Handbook of Psychoanalysis and Gender. Routledge.

Leeb, C. (2021). Castration anxiety, COVID-19 and the extremist right. Global

Discourse, 11(3), 387-404.

Abstract

Building on my previous work (Carveth, 2013; 2015; 2016; 2023), which distinguishes persecutory from reparative guilt and the superego from the conscience, this paper explores how these distinctions can be applied in clinical practice. I argue that while we must avoid becoming “superegoish” with our patients, we are nonetheless tasked with carrying the conscience within the treatment until patients are able to internalize it themselves. Similarly, although the hostile superego cannot be simply “demolished,” it can be disempowered through ethical critique. This paper considers how that process

unfolds in the clinical encounter.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Explain the difference between persecutory and reparative guilt.

2. Distinguish the superego from the conscience.

3. Explain why we need a judge to judge the judge, and how in the clinical situation we help patients to stand up to the bully superego.

Biography

Donald Carveth is an emeritus professor of sociology and social and political thought at York University in Toronto. He is also a training and supervising analyst with the Canadian Institute of Psychoanalysis, a former Director of the Toronto Institute of Psychoanalysis, and past Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Psychoanalysis. Dr. Carveth is the author of several influential books, including The Still Small Voice: Psychoanalytic Reflections on Guilt and Conscience (Karnac, 2013), Psychoanalytic Thinking: A Dialectical Critique of Contemporary Theory and Practice (Routledge, 2018), and Guilt: A Contemporary Introduction (Routledge, 2023). Many of his publications can be found on his York University webpage and his personal website. His video lectures are available on his YouTube channel. Dr. Carveth maintains a private psychoanalytic practice in Toronto.

Reference

Carveth, D. L. (2013). The still small voice: Psychoanalytic reflections on guilt and conscience. Karnac.

Carveth, D. L. (2015). Toward a post-Kleinian theory of the superego. Psychoanalytic Review, 102(2), 147–169.

Carveth, D. L. (2016). The superego, sadism, and despair: Toward a contemporary understanding of the superego. American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 76(2), 162–182.

Carveth, D. L. (2023). Disempowering the superego: Guilt, shame and the function of the conscience. Canadian Journal of Psychoanalysis, 31(1), 72–93.

Carveth, D. L. (2024). A psychoanalyst's confrontation with illness, aging, and

death. The Psychoanalytic Review, 111(1), 47-50.

Carveth, D. (2025). The superego: Our inner authoritarian. In D. Burston & K. Jacobson (Eds.), Authoritarianism in all its guises: Perspectives on right, left, and center (pp. 24–31.  Routledge.

Abstract

Modern Kleinian Therapy views the working through of internal and interpersonal problems as a 3-stage model in which we help the patient notice and name something they previously could not see in themselves. Then, we help them claim and emotionally own the conflict they are now facing. The goal for the patient, with our help, is to begin to challenge, master, grieve, accept, and tame this now known element or aspect of self. Clinical reports are presented to show one way of interpreting or translating new meaning to the patient and to illustrate their reaction to it.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Explain the Modern Kleinian Therapy model of therapeutic working through.

2. Discuss how containment and interpretation of core internal phantasy conflicts can promote movement from the paranoid-schizoid to the depressive position.

3. Evaluate their own interpretive techniques and integrate Modern Kleinian concepts into clinical practice.

Biography

Robert Waska, MFT, LPCC, PhD, is a psychoanalyst and psychotherapist with a private practice in Marin County, California, where he has worked with individuals and couples for over thirty years. A graduate of the Institute for Psychoanalytic Studies in San Francisco and a former full analytic member of the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis, Dr. Waska also teaches, consults, and presents internationally on Modern Kleinian psychoanalysis. Dr. Waska is the author of sixteen books and more than one hundred professional articles examining projective identification, loss, borderline and psychotic states, and the therapeutic use of transference and countertransference. In addition, he has contributed to multiple edited volumes, serves on the review committees of several journals and publishers, and provides consultation for clinicians seeking to deepen their understanding of Kleinian theory and technique.

References

Waska, R. (2022). Projective identification: A contemporary introduction. Routledge.

Waska, R. (2023). Growth and change: A modern Kleinian approach. The Therapist, 35(4), 10–14.

Waska, R. (2024). Interpreting with a modern Kleinian view: Clinical examples of talk therapy and what is said. International Forum of Psychoanalysis, 33(4), 232–240.

Waska, R. (2025). Growth in the midst of guilt, demand, and uncertainty: Interpretation in the clinical setting. Scandinavian Psychoanalytic Review. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/01062301.2025.2482321

Waska, R. (2025). Surrounded by expectations and the loss within achievement. Canadian Journal of Psychoanalysis, 33(1), 129–141.

Waska, R. (in press). Name it, claim it, tame it: Modern Kleinian therapy and the

challenge of change. American Journal of Psychoanalysis.

More information to come.