Countertransference: The Total Situation in Child Analysis - Alan Sugarman, PhD (Free)

Welcome Colleagues, Friends and Family!

We are delighted to invite you to a morning dedicated to celebrating the remarkable career and enduring contributions of Dr. Alan Sugarman, a beloved colleague, gifted clinician, and intellectual cornerstone of the San Diego Psychoanalytic Center. This tribute will honor Dr. Sugarman's decades of pioneering work in child and adolescent psychoanalysis, bringing together colleagues and friends to reflect on his scholarly legacy and hear his latest thinking firsthand. 

The morning will open with Jesus Gonzalez will offer a draft of the book outline of the Selected Papers of Child Analysis: The Works of Alan Sugarman; soon to be published. Dr. Sugarman will then follow to present his most recent paper. 

In recognition of Dr. Sugarman’s extraordinary generosity and lasting contributions, this event will be offered with complimentary admission, honoring all he has done to ensure that SDPC remains a place of psychoanalytic exploration for generations to come.

This event is open to all.  Registration is required.

There is no fee for this program. Please consider making a gift at whatever level you can afford to support SDPC’s ongoing work.

Please click here to give.

*If you are interested in attending the tribute dinner for Dr. Sugarman, please contact events@sdpsychoanalytic.org

Countertransference:
The Total Situation in Child Analysis

Complimentary Admission

🗓 PROGRAM AGENDA

SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2026 | San Diego Psychoanalytic Center
*A light breakfast will be served

• 9:30 AM — Light Breakfast
• 10:00 AM — Welcome by SDPC President, Dr. Tim Rayner
• 10:15 AM — Dr. Gonzalez Presents
• 11:00 AM — Break
• 11:15 AM — Dr. Sugarman Presents
• 12:00 PM — Discussion and Q&A
• 12:30 PM — End of Program

EVENT DESCRIPTION
Using vivid clinical material, broad theoretical references, and decades of experience as an analyst, Dr. Sugarman will explore the total situation in child analysis — and why it tends to elicit particularly intense countertransference responses and enactments. He defines transference and countertransference as the interpersonalization of mental structures, examining them not only in response to child patients and their caregivers, but also teachers, drivers, and other seemingly peripheral figures. His approach is nuanced, clear, and clinically grounded.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Articulate the differences between a narrow and a broad definition and understanding of countertransference in child psychoanalysis. 
2. Define indirect countertransference in child psychoanalysis. 
3. Understand and apply the distinction between providing a corrective emotional experience and serving as a developmental object when analyzing children and adolescents.
   

ABOUT DR. SUGARMAN
Alan Sugarman, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist practicing in Solana Beach, CA. He is a Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst and a Supervising Child and Adolescent Psychoanalyst at the San Diego Psychoanalytic Center. Dr. Sugarman is the former and inaugural Head of APsA's Department of Psychoanalytic Education and the current and inaugural Head of its Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Department. He chaired the APsA Subcommittee on an Integrated Child/Adolescent/Adult Curriculum and served on the IPA Integrated Training Committee. A prolific author, Dr. Sugarman has published widely, applying developmental thinking to issues of technique and psychopathology. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association and serves on the editorial boards of the Psychoanalytic Quarterly and Psychoanalytic Psychology.

VIRTUAL OPTION
This event will also be offered on Zoom. You will be sent a link by 6 pm the day before the event, once your registration is complete. Please email: events@sdpsychoanalytic.org if you have not received your link.

CME/CE CREDIT

CMEs are available for this event.

CME/CE: 2.5
Non-Members - $35

REGISTRATION/ATTENDANCE PROCESS 
This is a hybrid event, available both in person and online and preregistration is required.  By registering for this event, all participants agree to abide by SDPC’s online meeting policies, including confidentiality, ethical conduct, and respectful participation. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in removal from the event and may be subject to disciplinary and/or legal action.

Please note: This event will be recorded for educational purposes. Participants are requested to have their cameras on for CME credit. If you do not wish to be recorded, please be aware that your image and voice may be captured as part of the event.

• Register by clicking the registration button. You will receive a confirmation by email with details about the event.
• We will have a list of registrants and will check you off.  Preregistration is preferred.
• If attending online, participants must list their full names under their video images to allow the Continuing Education Manager to confirm their attendance.
• Participants must have their cameras on at the beginning and the end of the event to receive credit. Note: partial attendance at a CE/CME activity will not be awarded CE/CME credit.

ACCOMODATIONS & GRIEVENCES

• If you need special accommodations to attend this event, please contact the Event Coordinator.
• For any grievances or issues, please contact the Continuing Education Manager.

Please Note: This event may be recorded for educational purposes. Participants seeking CME credit are asked to keep their cameras on. If you do not wish to appear on camera, you must notify the SDPC Continuing Education Manager (cme@sdpsychoanalytic.org) in writing in advance. SDPC will make every effort to exclude your image, but your voice may still be captured during the event.

Continuing Professional Education Accreditation

The San Diego Psychoanalytic Center (SDPC), is proud to offer CME credit to Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Psychologists and Social Workers. These CME credits will usually satisfy requirements for Social Worker and Psychologist CEUs. However, clinicians should consult their state licensing boards for final approval. Please see the CE/CME credits page for more information.

Continuing Education certificates of attendance will be awarded electronically in exchange for a completed evaluation form. For refund policies or cancellations, please visit our policies page. Any other questions, contact the SDPC Continuing Education Manager.

CMA Accreditation Statement: The San Diego Psychoanalytic Center is accredited by the California Medical Association (CMA, provider #4001214) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

AMA Credit Designation Statement: The San Diego Psychoanalytic Center designates this Continuing Education activity for a maximum of 2.5 hours AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™️. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

CAMFT Accreditation: The San Diego Psychoanalytic Center (SDPC) is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) as a continuing education provider, (#050121), to offer Category 1 credit for LMFT’S, LCSW’S, LPCC’S and LEP’S. SDPC as required by the California Board of Behavior Sciences. SDPC maintains responsibility for this course program and all of its content.

Psychologists: SDPC is also approved as a Continuing Education Provider by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, Provider number PCE#794, to offer Category 1 credit for LCSWs, MFTs, and Registered Nurses, Provider Numbers CEP#4940. The California Board of Psychology accepts the Category 1 CE credits from the CMA. Psychologists are responsible for reporting their individual attendance to the Board of Psychology. All attendees are responsible for keeping their certificate of attendance for personal records.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION FOR ALL LEARNERS: None of the planners and presenters of this CME program has any relevant financial relationships to disclose.

The San Diego Psychoanalytic Center (SDPC) CME Committee has reviewed the materials for accredited continuing education and has determined that none of the planners and presenters for this activity have relevant financial relationship(s)* to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. This activity is not related to the product line of ineligible companies and therefore, the activity meets the exception outlined in Standard 3: ACCME's identification, mitigation, and disclosure of relevant financial relationships. This activity does not have any known commercial support.

*Financial relationships are relevant if the educational content that an individual can control is related to the business lines or products of the ineligible company.

Statement of Commitment: San Diego Psychoanalytic Center does not discriminate in employment and in its educational programs and activities, including admission or access thereto, on the basis of race, national origin, color, creed, religion, sex, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

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The San Diego Psychoanalytic Center is affiliated with the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsA), the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA), and the organization of Southern California Psychoanalytic Institutes and Societies.

The San Diego Psychoanalytic Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.