The Closet Narcissist Personality: Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine,” Jungian and Object Relations Theory

Presenter: Dr. Susan Kavaler-Adler, PhD., ABPP, D.Litt, NCPsyA, renowned clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Object Relations Institute (ORI). She is a Training Analyst, Senior Supervisor and faculty member at ORI.  Dr. Kavaler-Adler is also a prolific author, having published over 70 articles  and six books, including The Klein-Winnicott Dialectic:  Transformative New Metapsychology and Interactive Clinical Therapy; The Anatomy of Regret: From Death Instinct to Reparation and Symbolization in Vivid Case Studies; Mourning, Spirituality and Psychic  Change: A New Object Relations View of Psychoanalysis; The Creative Mystique: From Red Shoes Frenzy to Love and Creativity; and The Compulsion to Create: Women Writers and Their Demon Lovers.

In this virtual workshop, Dr. Kavaler-Adler presents her paper The Closet Narcissist Personality:  Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine,” Jungian and Object Relations Theory.  (This paper was initially presented at the International Psycho-historical Association Conference in May 2019 and at other venues.) In her paper, Dr. Kavaler-Adler defines and differentiates grandiose and closet narcissists. She draws upon object relations developmental terms, as well as a discussion of Jungian perspectives from the work of Marion Woodman and Linda Schierse Leonard, to help us understand the origins and psychodynamics of the closet narcissist.  In her paper, Dr. Kavaler-Adler provides examples of closet narcissist personalities drawn from film, literature and her clinical practice. Woody Allen’s film “Blue Jasmine” is used to illustrate the psychic devastation befalling a closet narcissist, played by Cate Blanchett, following the death of her idealized grandiose narcissist husband. When discussing her analytic work, Dr. Kavaler-Adler illustrates how treatment can have a transformative effect upon the closet narcissist, resulting in a person capable of mourning object loss, achieving separation-individuation, and developing healthy psychic structure.

Fee:  Free for students and members of IEA; $40 for all others.

Please be advised that no refunds are offered after registration is complete.

CEs: Institute for Expressive Analysis is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers  #SW-0453, as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychoanalysts #P-0028, and as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapists #CAT-0029.

Advanced reservation is required.  There will be 2.5 CEs offered for LPs, LCATs, LMSWs and LCSWs. Proof of attendance is provided for all others.  It is the responsibility of the participant seeking CE credits to comply with requirements. Upon completion, a certificate of attendance will be emailed to all participants. Visit our website to reserve your space online:  WWW.IEANYC.ORG