co-sponsored by: The Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute
Love Lessons: The Power of Metaphors
in Couple Therapy
Presenter: Art Nielsen, MD
Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at 7:00 - 9:00 PM Central time
By Zoom Only
Arthur Nielsen, M.D. is a full-time, practicing psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and couple therapist in Chicago, Illinois. He is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Northwestern ’s Feinberg School of Medicine, a faculty member of the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis, and Associate Director of the Integrative Psychoanalytic Couple Therapy Program sponsored by the (Chicago) Institute for Clinical Social Work.
Professor Nielsen originated and taught the popular Northwestern University undergraduate course, Marriage 101, now in its 25th year, is the author of two textbooks and more than 40 articles on couple therapy and has taught courses and lectured nationally and internationally on couple therapy and intimate relationships.
Description:
Over many years of working with patients, Dr. Art Nielsen has found that certain metaphors—often presented as images or contained in films, stories, jokes, song lyrics, research findings or personal anecdotes—are particularly effective and memorable in clarifying and normalizing diverse experiences of couples in distress. By likening events in therapy to other, more familiar experiences, one can strengthen the therapeutic alliance in a setting that otherwise might seem distressingly foreign and threatening. And, more generally, sharing certain metaphors can improve efficacy when working with couples. In this short talk, Dr. Nielsen will give examples of metaphors that have proved singularly useful both with patients and when teaching students. After doing so, he will discuss the subject more generally, describing the multiple benefits of metaphors and offering some technical suggestions for employing them in therapy.
Approximate breakdown of time:
First Hour: presentation
Second Hour: discussion with audience
Learning Objectives
After attending this session, participants should be able to:
- Describe how metaphors can illuminate concepts from systemic, psychodynamic, and behavioral/psychoeducational approaches to couple therapy.
- Give an example of how to use metaphors in therapy with couples.
Continuing Education Credits are offered exclusively to Society members in all membership categories and those intending to join.
The presenter, Art Nielsen, MD, and the organizer, Lisa Karaitis, PsyD, have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to report.
Participants are asked to be aware of the need for privacy and confidentiality throughout the program.
ACCME Accreditation Statement: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of American Psychoanalytic Association (APsA) and the Chicago Psychoanalytic Society. The American Psychoanalytic Association is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
AMA Credit Designation Statement: The American Psychoanalytic Association designates this live activity for a maximum of 2 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Disclosure Statement: The APsA CE Committee has reviewed the materials for accredited continuing education and has determined that this activity is not related to the product line of ineligible companies and therefore, the activity meets the exception outlined in Standard 3: ACCME's identification, mitigation and disclosure of relevant financial relationship. This activity does not have any known commercial support.
Accreditation Information for Professionals Other Than Physicians. The Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute maintains responsibility for this program and its content, in relation to accreditation for CE credits for non-physicians. CPI is licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to sponsor continuing education credits for (license numbers in parentheses): Social Workers (159.000122), Professional Counselors (197.000202), Marriage and Family Therapy Therapists (168.00204), and Clinical Psychologists (268.000091).
Eligible professionals will receive 2.0 continuing education credits for attending the entire program. To receive these credits an evaluation form must be completed online. Learners must claim the amount of time spent in the educational activity and that will be the amount of credit they will earn.
