Playing & Reality, Resistance & Compliance: Book & Practice Discussion Group
Consultant: Mike Langlois, LICSW
Tuesday, 3:30-5:00 p.m. ET June 3 – July 1, 2025
Winnicott has a lot to say about the dangers of compliance in the development of the true self. So does poet, essayist and activist June Jordan. This June, that June and Winnicott meet up in a glorious mashup of psychoanalysis, essay and poetry for five weeks!
This unabashedly psychodynamic, social and political group will focus on reading & discussing portions of Winnicott’s “Playing & Reality” & a selection of political essays from June Jordan’s “On Call.” The group is open to licensed clinicians. Each week we’ll discuss readings, have brief a intro by consultant, and group members will take turns presenting cases and getting input from each other & group consultant. We’ll discuss the inherently rebellious nature of play, the serious playfulness of longterm political resistance, how playing and resistance are by necessity precarious and bodily experiences, and how to engage in a psychodynamic therapy practice that calls out for freedom and liberation in a time of constraint and fascism.
This group is open to practitioners working with children, adolescents or adults. Group size will be limited 10, 2 of which are scholarships, & will meet for an hour and a half, via Zoom. Fee for the group is $500. Please email mike@mikelanglois.com questions & enrollment.
Consultant Bio: Mike Langlois received his BA from Connecticut College in 1991, and his MSW from Smith College School for Social Work in 1994. He has over 30 years of experience counseling children, adolescents & adults. He is currently a teaching associate in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Mike is licensed in CA, DC, MA, ME, NY & VT
Paying It Forward
Candidates, trainees, & early career please contact directly for reduced rate options. If you have significant financial privilege, & you want to support early career therapists from a variety of racial & class backgrounds, you are welcome to fund a full or partial scholarship.
Consultant:
Mike Langlois, LICSW is currently a Teaching Associate in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, where he supervises interns and clinicians. He has served on the Massachusetts Commission for LGBTQ Youth. Mike serves as a resource on digital literacy & social justice issues such as dismantling racism, LGBTQIA awareness & safety, disability awareness, and non-traditional families. He has served in an advisory capacity to NASW on youth suicide prevention. Mike is a member of APsaA and APA’s Division 39 as well as the Board of Psychoanalysis for Social Responsibility.