Jack Drescher, MD, PC

12/27/2025

Salman Akhtar, MD will be returning to the IPA Journal Club which will meet online on January 16, 2026.

Dr. Akhtar will discuss his recent paper:
Akhtar, S. (2025). Deadness: Psychoanalytic Reflections. American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 85:213-235

You can register for this event at this link
https://shorturl.at/S1f1A

You can read the paper at this link
https://shorturl.at/zLv9l

You can see Dr. Akhtar’s previous Journal Club appearance on YouTube at this link:
https://youtu.be/s_MOjvlF92Y

12/21/2025

This is the December 19 recording of the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA) Journal Club featuring Ann D'Ercole PhD discussing her paper regarding the relationship between Sandor Ferenczi and his patient Clara Thompson and their famous "kiss."

D’Ercole, A. (2025). The lost story of Clara Thompson: Love, “the kiss” and repair. Contemporary Psychoanalysis.

The IPA Journal Club (JC) is a project of the IPA Communications Committee. It meets 6 times per academic year (September-June) on Fridays at 4 PM (16:00-17:...

12/14/2025

Registration for this episode of the International Psychoanalytical Association's Journal Club is here

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/RY3E65c_RZqoTdn8ORuKTg #/registration

Abstract

An important aspect of Clara Thompson’s pioneering work in psychoanalysis stems from her personal analysis with Sandor Ferenczi. Her contributions, deeply rooted in her own experiences of emotional trauma and psychic pain, led to an innovative clinical perspective that emphasized empathy and mutuality. This approach challenged traditional Freudian methods and laid the groundwork for the interpersonal/relational turn in psychoanalytic practice. Thompson’s legacy continues to shape contemporary psychoanalytic thought, underscoring the significance of empathic connections and the influence of the analyst’s personality in therapy.

The chapter can be downloaded here:
https://ipaworld-my.sharepoint.com/personal/webinars_ipa_world/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fwebinars%5Fipa%5Fworld%2FDocuments%2FAttachments%2FD%27ErcoleClaraThompsinLostStory2025%2Epdf&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Fwebinars%5Fipa%5Fworld%2FDocuments%2FAttachments&ga=1

12/06/2025

This is the latest blog post from the Committee on Work and Organizations of the Group for Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP)

Medicaid cuts threaten children’s mental health and the future workforce. Early psychiatric care improves education, emotional intelligence, and long-term resilience.

11/27/2025

The Committee on Arts and Humanities in Psychiatry of the Group for Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP) has just completed their final video on Psychiatry in the 17th and 18th centuries. All six (6) of their videos can be viewed at this YouTube link.

Full playlist of the History of Psychiatry Series Produced by the Committee on the Arts and Humanities Committee Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry Edit...

11/18/2025

This is the latest Doctors in Dialogue on Substack from the Group for Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP).

In "The Public Face of Psychiatry," Gail Saltz and I reflect on three decades of bringing mental health conversations to mainstream audiences — and why it’s more important than ever.

Dr. Jack Drescher and Dr. Gail Saltz reflect on three decades of bringing mental health conversations to mainstream audiences — and why it’s more important than ever.

11/11/2025

I was recently interviewed by Rosario Coco, President of Gaynet, as part of a training course for Italian journalists entitled, “The Language of Trans Childhood and Adolescence within the New WHO Framework.”

The course was sponsored by Gaynet—an Italian organization that provides journalists with accurate information on LGBTQ issues—in collaboration with the Order of Journalists of Lazio (Ordine dei Giornalisti del Lazio), a government-mandated professional body for journalists in the Lazio region of Italy.

The interview, in Q&A form, was videotaped in Italian and is intended to assist journalists covering issues related to treating individuals with gender incongruence. A transcript of the English translation is in this Substack post.

https://jdrescher.substack.com/p/talking-trans-to-the-media

10/29/2025

My latest substack post is about the Neopolitan Femminielli; worth a read

The Neopolitan Third Gender

10/23/2025

The next International Psychoanalytical Association Journal Club featuring Ann D'Ercole, PhD will be on December 19.

The registration link is
https://tinyurl.com/2sh2umvm

The lost story of Clara Thompson: Love, “the kiss” and repair. Contemporary Psychoanalysis

Abstract
An important aspect of Clara Thompson’s pioneering work in psychoanalysis stems from her personal analysis with Sandor Ferenczi.

Her contributions, deeply rooted in her own experiences of emotional trauma and psychic pain, led to an innovative clinical perspective that emphasized empathy and mutuality.

This approach challenged traditional Freudian methods and laid the groundwork for the interpersonal/relational turn in psychoanalytic practice.

Thompson’s legacy continues to shape contemporary psychoanalytic thought, underscoring the significance of empathic connections and the influence of the analyst’s personality in therapy.

About the IPA JC
Registration, which is free of charge, is open to IPA members and candidates, other interested mental health professionals, scholars and academics. A downloadable copy of the paper is available to registrants.

The registration link is
https://tinyurl.com/2sh2umvm

After registering, a link to download the paper will be provided.

10/01/2025

“The Psychological Pull of Authoritarianism and Autocracy” is the latest blog post from the psychiatric think tank, Group for Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP). Worth a read.

Why do so many find comfort in authoritarian leaders? The psychology behind the pull, and how resilience can help us resist.

09/29/2025

This is my most recent post on Substack. Have a look and please subscribe

A Low Quality of Evidence Does Not Mean “Do Not Treat”

09/28/2025

The September 26, 2025, IPA Journal Club featuring Dionne Powell, MD, is now available for online viewing.

Reading:
Powell, D.R. (2018). Race, African Americans, and psychoanalysis: Collective silence in the therapeutic conversation. J. American Psychoanalytic Association, 66(6):1021-1049.

We are grateful to JAPA and SAGE publications for giving the IPA Journal Club permission to distribute a copy of the paper to our registrants.

Abstract
Both historically and currently, assaults on the black body and mind have been ubiquitous in American society, posing a counterargument to America as a postracial, color-blind society. Yet the collective silence of psychoanalysts on this societal reality limits our ability to explore, teach, and treat the effects, both interpersonal and intrapsychic, of race, racism, racialized trauma, and implicit bias and privilege. This silence, which challenges our relevance as a profession, must be explored in the context of America’s racialized identity as an outgrowth of slavery and institutional racism. Racial identifications that maintain whiteness as a construct privileged over otherness are an obstacle to conducting analytic work. Examples of work with racial tensions and biases illustrate its therapeutic potential. The challenge for us as clinicians is to acknowledge and explore our racial bias, ignorance, blind spots, and privilege, along with identifications with the oppressed and the oppressor, as contributors to our silence.

The paper can be downloaded at this link:
https://www.ipa.world/IPA/IPA_DOCS/PDFDocuments/powell-2019-race-african-americans-and-psychoanalysis-collective-silence-in-the-therapeutic-situation.pdf

The IPA Journal Club (JC) is a project of the IPA Communications Committee. It meets 6 times per academic year (September-June) on Fridays at 4 PM (16:00-17:...