Let’s Talk Psychoanalysis

Let’s Talk Psychoanalysis An online educational platform for all who’re interested in psychoanalytic ideas . Founded by Aisha Abbasi, M.D. , Psychoanalyst/ Educator/ Public Speaker.

04/29/2026

If fantasy is woven into everyday life, what distinguishes it from memory, desire, or thought?

On May 3, We All Fantasize, Every Day opens a space to consider fantasy not as an occasional escape, but as a continuous psychic activity—shaping perception, organizing experience, and quietly structuring clinical encounters.

What do we hear when a patient speaks from fantasy?
And what might we miss if we treat it as secondary to “reality”?

This seminar invites clinicians into a deeper engagement with the role of fantasy in analytic work—where interpretation is rarely straightforward, and meaning unfolds over time.

At Let’s Talk Psychoanalysis, these questions are not resolved in a single sitting. They develop through sustained dialogue, ongoing study, and shared clinical reflection. CME (APsA) becomes part of that longer arc of professional engagement.

If this line of inquiry feels essential to your work, you can continue it here:
https://www.letstalkpsychoanalysis.com/join

04/29/2026

What does it mean when a patient won’t advocate for themselves—especially when the stakes are concrete?

In this clip, Dr. Aisha Abbasi reflects on a seemingly practical issue: encouraging patients to be assertive with insurance companies. After all, it’s their money.

But the hesitation to act—despite clear self-interest—often points elsewhere.

Reluctance, avoidance, deference… these are not just behavioral patterns to “correct.” They can signal something about how a person relates to authority, conflict, entitlement, or even their own needs.

The question becomes less “Why won’t they make the call?” and more “What makes that call difficult to make?”

These moments invite a different kind of clinical attention—one that resists quick solutions in favor of deeper understanding.

At Let’s Talk Psychoanalysis, this kind of inquiry unfolds through ongoing dialogue and shared clinical reflection. Under Dr. Aisha Abbasi’s leadership, the work remains grounded in both theory and practice.

If you’re interested in continuing this conversation in a sustained way:
https://www.letstalkpsychoanalysis.com/join

04/28/2026

What happens when a clinician, despite years of rigorous training, quietly fears they might be… a fraud?

In this clip, Dr. Aisha Abbasi recounts a story about a “quack doctor” in someone’s hometown—and the unsettling moment when that image becomes unconsciously linked to one’s own identity as an analyst. Not as a joke, but as a felt equivalence.

It raises a difficult question: how do we metabolize doubt that doesn’t respond to reassurance, credentials, or experience?

Moments like these point to something more complex than imposter syndrome. They speak to the unconscious formations that shape how clinicians experience their authority, their legitimacy, and even their capacity to help.

This is the kind of tension that doesn’t resolve quickly—and likely shouldn’t. It requires ongoing reflection, dialogue, and a space where such thoughts can be taken seriously rather than dismissed.

At Let’s Talk Psychoanalysis, these conversations continue over time, in a setting shaped by sustained clinical and theoretical engagement. Under the leadership of Dr. Aisha Abbasi, the work remains grounded, rigorous, and open-ended.

If this question resonates, you may find value in continuing the conversation here:
https://www.letstalkpsychoanalysis.com/join

04/27/2026

Why is fee so hard to talk about?

In this clip from our latest seminar, "Money, S*x, and Politics in Psychology and Psychoanalysis," Chelsea names a familiar tension: it’s not just about stating a number—it’s about finding language that can hold value, boundaries, and the relationship itself.

Fee lives inside the analytic frame. Avoid it, and something goes unspoken. Rush it, and something gets flattened.

This is where clinical thinking deepens—over time, in dialogue, and in relation to others doing the work.

Let’s Talk Psychoanalysis holds space for that ongoing conversation.

If this feels familiar, you’re already in it. Continue here:
https://www.letstalkpsychoanalysis.com/join

04/26/2026

💫 Fantasies—both conscious and unconscious—shape how people think, feel, and behave every day. Treating them as normal components of mental life reduces shame, and opens curiosity: when clinicians recognize the fantasies people carry, hidden motives behind fears, desires, and performances become clearer. This awareness enriches clinical listening and deepens our understanding of our patients’ inner world.

♦️Understanding fantasies helps explain surprising links—like performance anxiety tied to erotic imagery—or why people idealize celebrities, surrender agency in consent dynamics, or rehearse power and vulnerability in imagination. Exploring these inner narratives gives professionals the language and curiosity to engage with patients’ secret feelings rather than dismissing them.

📣 On Sunday the 3rd of May, Dr. Joshua Ehrlich ( Psychoanalyst, Michigan) will discuss his ideas about the role of fantasies, with our Founder, Dr. Aisha Abbasi, and all the attendees.

📍 He will cover a broad range of topics —sexual fantasies, celebrity/fandom idealization, fantasies around consent and power, and the ordinary imaginative scenes that organize daily life.

💥 Join to expand your conceptual and clinical understanding about fantasies and their role in mental life.

🔷Register for the seminar ( $65.00) by going to the Linktree in our bio!

OR

🔶Go the the Linktree in our bio, and become a member of the Let’s Talk Psychoanalysis community ( for only $25.00 per month). 🚨 Membership gives you unlimited access to ALL the seminars we offer, as well as all previously taught seminars stored on our website.

🟢YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL TO ATTEND LTP EVENTS OR TO BECOME AN LTP MEMBER. THIS IS A LEARNING COMMUNITY FOR ALL WHO ARE INTERESTED IN PSYCHOANALYTIC IDEAS 💡 !


*xualFantasyPsychology


04/26/2026

💫 Born in Pakistan, and trained as a psychoanalyst in the United States, my journey from Pakistan to Michigan to Oregon has shaped both my practice and my perspective.

💎My office has always been, for me, ( as it is for many therapists) a very meaningful space —rooted in the experience of immigration, cross-cultural understanding, and a commitment to building a therapeutic practice that honors diverse histories and powerful journeys of healing.

🔸A psychoanalyst’s office is more than a room; it’s a carefully designed therapeutic space where safety, trust, and containment allow exploration and transformation. In my new office space in Oregon, natural light, comfortable seating, and privacy have come together naturally to create a place where reflective work, and the slow, steady process of analytic listening that fosters insight and resilience, can take place.

🔴 Small things make a big difference in helping a clinician—and a patient —feel settled: two paintings by close friends -one by a dear friend in Oregon, who visited today, and the other by a dear friend in Michigan- bring warmth, memory, and comfort into this office; books, textiles, and familiar objects ground the space, creating continuity between past and present ✨

04/24/2026

What do we mean when we say we “fantasize every day”?

In clinical work, fantasy often shows up in moments. But what if it’s continuous—shaping perception, desire, and how patients experience reality?

Our next seminar, “We All Fantasize Every Day,” explores how fantasy operates both in treatment and in everyday life—from the consulting room to phenomena like fandom, road rage, and consent.

We’re now limiting seminars to 15 participants to preserve space for real discussion.

Registration is open:
[INSERT LINK]

Learn more about ongoing membership:
https://www.letstalkpsychoanalysis.com/join

04/24/2026

✨ LTP Founder Dr. Aisha Abbasi on a visit to Ecuador 🇪🇨 several years ago .

Today, she shares with us one of her favorite poems “Invictus,” by William Ernest Henley. and some information about the poet and his life .

⭐️ Invictus ⭐️
“Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.”
-William Ernest Henley-

🌟 ON RESILIENCE AND POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH:

Behind every powerful narrative of survival and psychological growth, is a human spirit that refuses to be broken.

William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) knew this intimately.

Battling tuberculosis of the bone from childhood, enduring multiple surgeries, and facing potential amputation, Henley transformed his pain into poetry.

“Invictus” isn’t just a poem—it’s a manifesto of mental strength:
• Overcoming adversity
• Self-determination
• Psychological resilience and growth after profound trauma
• Emotional courage

**Key Insights for all Mental Health Professionals and our patients:
✔ Trauma doesn’t define you
✔ Inner strength transcends external circumstances
✔ Personal narrative is a powerful healing tool

“I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul” - A powerful reminder about healing, growth, and empowerment.


Where does fantasy end—and “reality” begin in clinical work?Often, it doesn’t. Fantasy isn’t separate from experience; i...
04/23/2026

Where does fantasy end—and “reality” begin in clinical work?

Often, it doesn’t. Fantasy isn’t separate from experience; it organizes it—shaping desire, conflict, and how patients understand themselves and others.

Most clinicians recognize this intuitively. But there’s a quieter challenge: finding language that captures these dynamics without flattening them.

In this seminar with Dr. Joshua Ehrlich, that tension takes center stage. Not to simplify it—but to work toward ways of speaking about fantasy that remain clinically precise and usable.

Under Dr. Aisha Abbasi’s direction, Let’s Talk Psychoanalysis is building an ongoing space for exactly this kind of dialogue—where ideas develop over time, not in isolation.

If you’re looking to stay in that conversation:

https://www.letstalkpsychoanalysis.com/join

04/22/2026

Where do you go when your clinical questions don’t have quick answers?

Not everything can be resolved in supervision, and not everything can be learned passively. Some questions require space—time to speak, to hesitate, to hear how other clinicians are thinking.

In this video, Dr. Susan Snow reflects on what it means to build a community where that kind of exchange is possible.

At Let’s Talk Psychoanalysis, seminars are intentionally small and conversational. You’re not just listening—you’re part of an ongoing dialogue with other clinicians, one that carries directly into your work.

Under the leadership of Dr. Aisha Abbasi, this has become a space where clinical thinking develops through sustained engagement. CME (APsA) is available as part of that continued participation.

Membership is less about access to material, and more about access to a room where the work can actually happen.

Continue the conversation:
https://www.letstalkpsychoanalysis.com/join

Address

Portland, OR
97204

Opening Hours

Monday 7:30am - 7:30pm
Tuesday 7:30am - 7:30pm
Wednesday 7:30am - 7:30pm
Thursday 7:30am - 7:30pm
Friday 7:30am - 7:30pm
Saturday 11am - 1pm

Telephone

+12489100315

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