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A psychoanalytic reading of the Heracles myth — maternal ambivalence, splitting, and the patient's unfolding "story" — presented by Dr. William Greenstadt
Sunday, September 27, 2026. 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM PT (1:30 PM – 3:00 PM ET). 1.5 CME credits. $65.
In this seminar, Dr. William Greenstadt explores how the Heracles/Hercules myth can serve as a psychoanalytic paradigm for understanding clinical material. Drawing on the myth's structure, he traces how ambivalent early maternal relationships, narcissistic instability, submission, violence, and splitting may appear within the therapeutic relationship — with particular attention to the patient's unfolding "story," including oedipal and pre-oedipal dynamics, transference, and therapist responsiveness.
The practice gap this session addresses
Clinicians may overlook the value of literature, mythology, and folklore in illuminating patients' unconscious conflicts. This seminar uses the Heracles/Hercules myth to make that value concrete, showing how attending to a patient's "story" can sharpen recognition of oedipal and pre-oedipal dynamics and strengthen interpretive interventions.
What this session covers
How literature, mythology, and folklore can illuminate oedipal and pre-oedipal dynamics in psychoanalytic treatment
How ambivalent early maternal relationships, narcissistic instability, submission, violence, and splitting may emerge in the transference
How attention to a patient's unfolding "story" can strengthen therapist responsiveness and interpretive effectiveness
About Dr. William Greenstadt
William M. Greenstadt, PhD, is a Portland-based psychoanalyst, teacher, and scholar. A former president of the Contemporary Freudian Society, Dr. Greenstadt's work brings psychoanalytic theory into conversation with mythology, literature, and classical thought. He has written extensively on Heracles as a psychoanalytic figure and has led interdisciplinary study on mythology and psychoanalysis. His work explores how mythic narratives can illuminate unconscious conflict, development, transference, and the dramatic structure of clinical life.
A psychoanalytic reading of the Heracles myth — maternal ambivalence, splitting, and the patient's unfolding "story" — presented by Dr. William Greenstadt
Sunday, September 27, 2026. 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM PT (1:30 PM – 3:00 PM ET). 1.5 CME credits. $65.
In this seminar, Dr. William Greenstadt explores how the Heracles/Hercules myth can serve as a psychoanalytic paradigm for understanding clinical material. Drawing on the myth's structure, he traces how ambivalent early maternal relationships, narcissistic instability, submission, violence, and splitting may appear within the therapeutic relationship — with particular attention to the patient's unfolding "story," including oedipal and pre-oedipal dynamics, transference, and therapist responsiveness.
The practice gap this session addresses
Clinicians may overlook the value of literature, mythology, and folklore in illuminating patients' unconscious conflicts. This seminar uses the Heracles/Hercules myth to make that value concrete, showing how attending to a patient's "story" can sharpen recognition of oedipal and pre-oedipal dynamics and strengthen interpretive interventions.
What this session covers
How literature, mythology, and folklore can illuminate oedipal and pre-oedipal dynamics in psychoanalytic treatment
How ambivalent early maternal relationships, narcissistic instability, submission, violence, and splitting may emerge in the transference
How attention to a patient's unfolding "story" can strengthen therapist responsiveness and interpretive effectiveness
About Dr. William Greenstadt
William M. Greenstadt, PhD, is a Portland-based psychoanalyst, teacher, and scholar. A former president of the Contemporary Freudian Society, Dr. Greenstadt's work brings psychoanalytic theory into conversation with mythology, literature, and classical thought. He has written extensively on Heracles as a psychoanalytic figure and has led interdisciplinary study on mythology and psychoanalysis. His work explores how mythic narratives can illuminate unconscious conflict, development, transference, and the dramatic structure of clinical life.