Please note this is a 2-day event
May 16 & 30, from 10am - 12pm
In-Person only, limited to only 10 participants
On Dreaming Your Countertransference
Led by Valérie von Raffay, Ph.D.
This course provides experiences in transforming challenging transference-countertransference dynamics into opportunities for deeper understanding through shared dreaming processes. Reveries, dreams, and active imagination can be essential for gaining insight into these complex dynamics. Drawing upon Jung's concepts of active imagination and shamanic practices, this course will explore the interplay between conscious and unconscious processes by facilitating dream-like experiences that will illuminate therapeutic impasses. Bion's conceptualization of the capacity for thinking/dreaming lived emotional experiences will be emphasized. Clinicians will briefly present a case focusing on a challenging countertransference dynamic. Subsequently, the instructor will facilitate a dream-like group experience about the case, followed by class discussion.
Experiential Learning Through Group Dreaming: Focus will be on direct engagement with clinical material through a group dreaming process that allows participants to explore unconscious responses and gain deeper understanding of therapeutic dynamics.
To maximize the learning experience class size will be limited to in-person attendance capped at 10 participants.
Early enrollment is advised to ensure a place. Enrollment closes Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
Questions?
Please contact Martha Murillo at martha@laisps.org or 310-440-0333
CE Credit Information
No CE credits will be offered. Psychologists licensed in California can count the course as 4 hours toward CPD Learning Activities #1 - Peer Consultation.
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 workshop.
About the Instructor
Valérie 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.