01/09/2026
Guilt: A Contemporary Introduction – Donald L. Carveth PhD., RP, FIPA
Course Leader: Donald L. Carveth PhD., RP, FIPA
Course Coordinator: Elena Reshetnikova, BA, BCL, LLB
Thursday, 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm: January 15, 22, 29, February 5, 2026 (4 sessions)
Fees: $280
Preregistration is required. Please register online: https://torontopsychoanalysis.com/extension-program/course-eight-guilt-a-contemporary-introduction/
** DISTANCE PARTICIPATION ONLY – This course will be conducted online.
This insightful and innovative book sheds light on the complexity of the concept of guilt, while exploring aspects of guilt that have previously been overlooked in psychoanalytic theory and discourse.
Offering original insights on the topic, Donald Carveth looks at Freud’s failure to distinguish persecutory guilt from reparative guilt, and the superego from the conscience. The significance of these distinctions for both psychosocial theory and clinical practice is explored throughout the volume. Carveth distinguishes varieties of punitive guilt, such as justified, unjustified, “borrowed” or induced, existential and collective. He expertly describes patterns of self-punishment and self-sabotage, while also addressing the widespread use of persecutory guilt and self-punishment as a defence against and evasion of reparative guilt, contrition, and reparation. Throughout the volume, Carveth critically reviews a range of recent contributions to psychoanalytic literature to support his theories. Participants should obtain a copy of the book.
Original insights on the topic, looking at Freud's failure to distinguish persecutory guilt from reparative guilt, and the superego from the conscience.
