Conversations with Howard Bacal

Focusing on Select Chapters from his New Book  “Discovering Therapeutic Efficacy”

 Guest of Honor:  Howard Bacal, MD

Conversation Partners:
Peter N. Maduro, J.D., Psy.D., Psy.D.
Rebecca Harrington, DSW
William J. Coburn, Ph.D., Psy.D.

 Date & Time:  

Sunday, June 14, 2026

1:00–3:15pm EDT

The IAPSP Education Committee is excited to present "Conversations with Howard Bacal,” a two hour Zoom meeting open to IAPSP members, as well as to all colleagues interested in self psychology. 

In focus will be two chapters from Dr. Bacal’s new book entitled, "Discovering Therapeutic Efficacy: Selected Works of Howard Bacal” (Routledge: London & New York, 2025). Pdfs of these chapters are also attached at the bottom of this invitation, as well as a link to these chapters translated into eight languages (Italian, German, Portuguese, French, Farsi, Turkish, Hebrew, and Mandarin).

These book chapters, and the larger topic of Howard's view of therapeutic efficacy, will be approached by way of conversational inquiry. Specifically, Drs. Peter Maduro, William Coburn, and Rebecca Harrington will each separately, and in sequence, engage Howard in conversation as follows:

First, Howard will speak with Peter Maduro, who will aim to contextualize the early development of Howard’s theory of therapeutic specificity with Howard’s fascinating personal history of training and clinical experiences - with Michael Balint, Wilfred Bion, Marion Milner, Donald Winnicott, Anna Freud, and Heinz Kohut.  Howard and Peter will do so in part by drawing out highlights from the book’s Chapter 1 - "My Psychoanalytic Adventure.”

Second, Howard will converse with Bill Coburn who will inquire into Chapter 6 - "The Psychoanalyst’s Selfobject Needs and Their Frustration: A New View of Countertransference" (written with the late Peter Thomson).  Among other interests pertaining to therapeutic action, Bill will draw forth the focus of this chapter - namely, the ubiquity of therapists’ selfobject needs in relation to their patients, and the potential consequences when therapists’ selfobject needs are frustrated.

Finally, after a short break, Howard will converse with Rebecca Harrington, who will dig into Chapter 12 - "Discovering Optimal Responsiveness Within the Salience of Emergent Process,” a chapter that includes two clinical vignettes which demonstrate a new way that clinicians can discern forms of responsiveness that are finely attuned to the specific therapeutic needs of each patient.  In dialogue with Rebecca, Howard will show how the principles of his Specificity Theory provide the underlying framework for individualized therapeutic responsiveness.

Following these three conversations, Peter Maduro will moderate a final 30+ minute period during which the audience will have an opportunity to pose its own questions, or offer comments, to Howard as well as to Drs. Maduro, Coburn, and Harrington.

To access Howard’s new book for free on Routledge’s Open Access, click on this link: 

Discovering Therapeutic Efficacy | Selected Works of Howard Bacal 

When the book cover appears, scroll down and select “Read online”. Keep scrolling down, and you will see the title of the book in large print.  The book may also be purchased at Amazon.com.

Attendees of this event are urged to read Chapters 6 & 12 in advance.  Again, pdfs of these chapters are attached to this invitation.  IAPSP Members can access translations of these chapters in Italian, German, Portuguese, French, Farsi, Turkish, Hebrew, and Mandarin. For access to the translations please click HERE.

Note that the book chapters that are the focus of this event are but three of 12 chapters which together reproduce articles published by Howard over the past 40 years of his career addressing the topic of therapeutic efficacy from his perspective.  Accordingly, attendees are encouraged to read the entirety of “Discovering Therapeutic Efficacy: Selected Works of Howard Bacal” at their leisure.