LIVE Professional Development Programs

Martha Heineman Pieper, Ph.D. Seminar Series

Intrapsychic Humanism Core Concepts and Clinical Applications Seminars

Each seminar will combine presentations by experienced clinicians with discussion to illustrate and bring to life the core concepts of Intrapsychic Humanism, including use of clinical examples, in one-hour seminars, held over four months.

2023 Spring and Fall Seminars

The Primary Need for Personal Meaning:
Developing Self-Worth through the Caregiving Relationship during the First Year of Life
with Applications to Childrearing and Clinical Practice

Carla Beatrici, Psy.D., and Marian Sharkey, Ph.D.

In our 2023 Spring and Fall Seminars we will explore the unfolding process of developing personal meaning and unconditional self-worth during a child’s first year of life. We will consider how the infant enters the world with a “starter supply” of intrapsychic self-esteem that is nurtured through the relationship pleasure the infant experiences with the primary caregiver(s). We will examine the infant’s earliest experiences of the caregiving relationship(s) and the effects of the relationship(s) on the infant’s developing sense of self-worth. We will discuss the infant’s specific caregetting needs during this stage and how caregivers can understand and respond accurately to these intrapsychic needs. We will explore the significance and personal meaning of key developmental milestones, including the smile response, stranger anxiety, separation anxiety, and eidetic internalization whereby the baby internalizes their first symbolic representation of the caregiver by the end of the Pre-Eidetic Stage. We will consider how each stage of development is prompted by a developmental loss that is mourned within the caregiving relationship and provides the infant with new psychological structure that advances their developing sense of personal agency and self-worth. The seminar series will explore how these developmental concepts can be applied in child rearing, parent counseling, child play therapy and adult psychotherapy to help children and adults acquire inner well-being and stable self-worth.

Program Terms of Use

Spring Seminar (Part I)

Virtual, Wednesdays April 5, May 3, June 7, July 5, 10:30 - 11:30am
4 CEs for Psychologists, Social Workers, and Professional Counselors
Complimentary for 2023 Members and Students
General Admission: $105
Early Career Professionals: $85

Reading
Pieper, M.H., & Pieper, W.J. (1990). Intrapsychic humanism: An introduction to a comprehensive psychology and philosophy of mind. Chicago: Falcon II Press. Chapter 2, pages 37-56. (Kindle version: pages 46-65)

Fall Seminar (Part II)

Virtual, Wednesdays October 4, November 1, December 6, January 3/2024 10:30 - 11:30 am
4 CEs for Psychologists, Social Workers, and Professional Counselors
Complimentary for 2023 Members and Students
General Admission: $105
Early Career Professionals: $85

Reading
Pieper, M.H., & Pieper, W.J. (1990). Intrapsychic humanism: An introduction to a comprehensive psychology and philosophy of mind. Chicago: Falcon II Press. Chapter 2, pages 57-68. (Kindle version: pages 65-79)

Spring Seminar Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of the program participates will be able to:

Describe the intrapsychic personal meaning signified when the baby first smiles at their caregivers.
Describe the theory’s conceptualization of primary stranger anxiety and how the infant’s dysphoria at the sight of a stranger’s face represents a loss of primary intrapsychic motive gratification.
Describe the developmental advances that occur when the caregiver responds accurately to the child’s anxiety during the stranger anxiety and separation anxiety stages.
Describe what eidetic internalization means and how it helps the child developmentally.
Describe the negative effects of adultomorphizing and how an understanding of the child’s intrapsychic development can help caregivers respond accurately to their child’s developmental needs.

Spring Seminar Syllabus

April 5, 2023
An Overview of the Pre-Eidetic Stage (pages 37-41)
In this seminar, we will present an introduction to and overview of the Pre-Eidetic Stage, which occurs from birth to 12-14 months. We will consider how the infant’s need for the personal meaning of self-worth, which develops through the caregiving relationship, manifests during this stage. Concepts to be covered include eidetic internalization, veridical and illusional gratification phases of development, and the distinction between two types of caregiver experiences/percepts - veridical and nonveridical. The relevance of these concepts to child rearing and to clinical practice will be discussed.

May 3, 2023
Birth to Eight Months: The Veridical Gratification Phase (pages 42-47)
In this seminar, we will explore the Veridical Gratification Phase of the Pre-Eidetic Stage, which begins at birth and ends 5-8 months later with the onset of stranger anxiety. We will consider the theory’s conceptualization of the smile response as an expression of the infant’s pleasure of the caregiving relationship and acquiring the meaning of effective agency by causing the caregiver to love and care for them. We will discuss the effects of traumatic and inaccurate or uninformed caregiving on the child’s intrapsychic development during this stage and consider caregiving opportunities that will enhance the child’s innately determined motive for genuine, relationship-oriented pleasure and inner well-being. Clinical examples will be used to illuminate how these concepts can be applied in psychotherapy to help clients achieve genuine effective agency.

June 7, 2023
Consequences of Adultomorphizing and the Power of Responding to the Child’s Intrapsychic Motive for Caregetting Pleasure (pages 47-52)
In this seminar, we will discuss adultomorphizing, the misunderstanding of child development that results from viewing the child as a mini adult, creating a limited understanding of the child’s mind that focuses on manifest behavior rather than on the child’s sense of agency that comes from being the cause of their caregiver’s love. We will discuss the importance of the caregiver accurately discerning the infant’s intrapsychic motives and purpose, and understanding the infant’s behavior as their search for positive caregetting pleasure. We will discuss applications for child rearing, parent counseling and psychotherapy.

July 5, 2023
Primary Stranger Anxiety: The Developmental Advancement of Loss and Mourning within the Caregiving Relationship (pages 52-56)
In this seminar, we will discuss the theory’s unique understanding of the developmental milestone called stranger anxiety and how the accurate mourning of this developmental loss advances the child’s experience of regulatory agency. We will discuss the developmental advancement that occurs when a caregiver accurately helps the infant mourn and grieve the loss of a stranger’s face within the context of the pleasure of the caregiving relationship. We will discuss how the concept of mourning losses can be applied to helping both parents and clinicians.

Spring Seminar Required Reading

April 5th Seminar: An Overview of the Pre-Eidetic Stage
Pieper, M.H., & Pieper, W.J. (1990). Intrapsychic humanism: An introduction to a comprehensive psychology and philosophy of mind. Chicago: Falcon II Press. Chapter 2, pages 37-41. (Kindle version: pages 46-50) Books - Intrapsychic Humanism

May 3rd Seminar: Birth to Eight Months: The Veridical Gratification Phase
Pieper, M.H., & Pieper, W.J. (1990). Intrapsychic humanism: An introduction to a comprehensive psychology and philosophy of mind. Chicago: Falcon II Press. Chapter 2, pages 42-47. (Kindle version: pages 50-56) Books - Intrapsychic Humanism

June 7th Seminar: Consequences of Adultomorphizing and the Power of Responding to the Child’s Intrapsychic Motive for Caregetting Pleasure
Pieper, M.H., & Pieper, W.J. (1990). Intrapsychic humanism: An introduction to a comprehensive psychology and philosophy of mind. Chicago: Falcon II Press. Chapter 2, pages 47-52 (Kindle version: pages 56-61) Books - Intrapsychic Humanism

July 5th Seminar: Primary Stranger Anxiety: The Developmental Advancement of Loss and Mourning within the Caregiving Relationship
Pieper, M.H., & Pieper, W.J. (1990). Intrapsychic humanism: An introduction to a comprehensive psychology and philosophy of mind. Chicago: Falcon II Press. Chapter 2, pages 52-56 (Kindle version: pages 61-65) Books - Intrapsychic Humanism

Seminar Leaders

Carla M. Beatrici, Psy.D.

Dr. Carla Beatrici is a Clinical Psychologist with over 25 years of clinical experience providing psychotherapy to individuals of all ages and with a specialization in child and adolescent mental health. She has been on the faculty at Loyola Medical Center for over 20 years where she serves as an adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor teaching Developmental Theories, including Intrapsychic Humanism, to psychiatry residents. Dr. Beatrici is also the Director of Clinical Services of a not-for- profit organization Smart Love Family Services located in Oak Park and Chicago. The clinic provides a range of services including counseling for all ages, testing services, and parent education seminars. Dr. Beatrici runs the counseling program where she provides clinical supervision in the theory and application of Intrapsychic Humanism. She has also developed and implemented training programs using Intrapsychic Humanism and Smart Love principles for healthcare professionals in many settings, including Easter Seals, Early Head Start, the American Medical Association, and Children’s Memorial Hospital (now Lurie’s Children’s Hospital). These trainings focus on helping caregivers understand children’s social emotional development and create positive caring relationships with children as a way to build stable internal self-esteem.

Marian Sharkey, Ph.D., L.C.S.W.

Dr. Sharkey is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice with over 25 years experience working with adults, children and families in a variety of inpatient and outpatient community mental health and hospital settings. Dr. Sharkey received her M.S.W. and Ph.D. from the School of Social Work at Loyola University Chicago where she was the founding editor-in-chief of the school's journal, Praxis: Where Reflection & Practice Meet. She is an adjunct faculty member in the School of Social Work at Loyola University and has also taught at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. Dr. Sharkey provides clinical supervision at Smart Love Family Services and is on the Board of Directors of the Intrapsychic Humanism Society. Dr. Sharkey has presented at local and national conferences on the topics of the reflective use of theory in clinical practice, trauma-informed treatment, and the theoretical principles and practice of Inner Humanism.