Dr. Patricia Hugenberger, Psya.D., Cert. Psya., M.A., M.S.W.

Director of Continuing Education

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Personal Statement

My interest in psychoanalysis began to take shape many years ago when I read a psychological evaluation of a three year old boy who was in a day care center where I worked as social worker. This boy had serious behavioral problems and the report addressed possible unconscious motivations. I remember thinking that I wanted to better understand the power of the unconscious and how to work with this little boy. This led me to pursue an MSW at Simmons, which at the time had a psychoanalytic clinical tract. After Simmons a friend steered me to BGSP where the intense and therapeutic study of the unconscious have provided me with a rich professional and personal experience. Modern psychoanalysis has helped me understand and work with patients in community mental health centers where I worked for twenty years, in school systems, and in private practice.

Psychoanalysis has also offered me enhanced pleasure with its application to understanding the world in general, both in politics and the arts, especially music, movies and television. My dissertation research draws on this appreciation of a deeper, more complicated view of human behavior, especially as it manifests itself in everyday life.

Dr. Sara Hueso, Ph.D., Cert. Psya.

Title IX Coordinator

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Personal Statement

I came to the US after completing a masters in clinical psychology in Venezuela. I had accepted a job as a psychotherapist in Boston, at a mental health agency and upon arrival experienced intense culture shock. The emphasis on symptom alleviation, behavior and external causes felt overbearing and an impediment to understanding patients intra-psychically. I joined BGSP in hopes of finding a different language for understanding my patients. I thought I would take one or two courses to balance the pressure of the job, but I found much more than what I was looking for- I found a place that fosters becoming one’s true self, and in addition, teaches how to help others do the same. It became an irresistible process. BGSP became a very compelling family to belong to, and a place to grow in.

As I have progressed in my clinical work and in my personal journey, I have developed special interest in the application of modern analytic theory and technique to the parenting process. I continue to be amazed by the profound impact parents are able to bring to their families when they apply some of these tools.

Ms. Christina Healy, BSN, Cert.Psya.

Faculty Fellow

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Personal Statement

As a therapist, I am rewarded by my client’s progress in making positive changes. Through an understanding of the client’s personal history that may include tragedy, suffering and difficult day-to-day problems, new growth can occur.

After many years as a clinical psychiatric nurse, I began my psychoanalytic training in 1989. My career includes supervising and training staff in institutional settings; developing and implementing medical psychiatric programs; in addition to working with all age groups in my private practice, I specialize in working with the elderly and their families. And I work with members of the immigrant and LGBT communities.

I have presented a variety of topics including “Addictions Within Families,” “An Overview of Psychiatric Illnesses,” “Treatment of Alzheimer’s Patients and Their Caregivers,” and “Burnout for Providers in Education and Healthcare.”

Dr. Eugene Goldwater, M.D., Cert. Psya.

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Personal Statement

My undergraduate education was at Harvard College (A.B., 1966) and my medical degree (M.D., 1970) is from Columbia University. I served in the U.S. Army from 1972 to 1974. I directed three alcoholism rehabilitation programs, the first during my military service and two more after completion of my psychiatric training at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (Board Certified, 1977). I also worked for 17 years in an inner-city community mental health center in Holyoke, Massachusetts. My psychoanalytic studies started at the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies in New York and continued at the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis, from whose certificate program I graduated in 1987. (I have actually been teaching at BGSP since 1979.)

My personal life includes a marriage of over 40 years, two children, and many avocational interests. I am a dancer, musician and singer, and have been the leader of the international folk dance band Panharmonium since 1992. I also created the large mobile “Mother and Child” that hangs (most of the time) in the front hall of BGSP.

I have taught, lectured and written about a wide variety of subjects, including fantasy and creativity, childhood and maturation, men and women, and sex and violence. Here is a list of my published papers, with brief descriptions:

Dr. Joan White, Psya.D., MSW, Cert.Psya.

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Personal Statement

I started working with underprivileged youth in NYC at a children’s theater and as a camp director which eventually led to my becoming a social worker. I soon realized that while my creativity and intuitive responses to children were helpful, they were not strong enough tools to manage the emotional demands required of me. I was introduced to modern psychoanalysis and found the concepts of transference, countertransference and resistance to be pragmatic and supportive personally and professionally. I was fortunate that when I moved to Boston so did modern psychoanalysis.

As an educator, I have been committed to introducing modern theory and technique to teachers through the school based program and developing collaborative conferences for educators.

Dr. Mara Sanadi Wagner, Psy.D., Cert.Psya.

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Personal Statement

My interest in theoretical depth and clinical mastery brought me from psychology to psychoanalysis. I am interested in how the truth can set us free, and in the many areas of life in which this can take place: psychoanalysis, literature, art, music, film…

My mixed cultural background draws my eye to overarching ways to understand human experience that partake of many traditions. I enjoy the kind of learning that can take place within and between people with opening minds.

Dr. Leah Alexander, Psya.D.

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Personal Statement

I realized that I wanted to be a therapist around the age of 12. My experience of life included having what felt like a thousand thoughts and feelings a minute, and that experience taught me that it helps to talk. I wondered if others around me were experiencing the same things. It felt like no one was talking about it. Why not? Were we having a different experience? What were they thinking? How could we learn about ourselves and each other? I decided that the best opportunity to sort out my own experience and learn about the experiences of others was to choose work that would bring people together in a structured, intimate setting where talking was the primary tool.

My undergraduate studies in human development and family structures set the stage for the study of psychoanalysis, which appealed to me in it’s search for deep meaning. Through my studies at BGSP, the skills I’ve developed around exploration, communication, and communication analysis have proven to be crucial not only in my professional life, but in support of the development of the pleasures I take outside of work in literature, cooking, friends and family. My continued interest in my own motivations and the motivations of others has affected every sphere of my life in a positive way.

In addition to my role on the faculty, I serve as the Assistant Director of the Therapy Center at BGSP, and run a private practice in Topsfield, MA. Work with children and their families is a particular interest of mine – I strive to therapeutically support people in this overworked, overburdened, overstimulated world we live in.

Dr. Frances Bigda-Peyton, Ph.D., Cert.Psya.

Personal Statement

Dr. Bigda-Peyton’s current interests include modern psychoanalysis as it applies to marriage, emotional education, climate change communication, sustainability promotion, and community/economic development. An emerging research interest in the intersection of psychoanalytic thought and Buddhist psychology.

Dr. Bigda-Peyton is on the BGSP faculty and is a member of the research committee. Previously she has served as fieldwork coordinator for the Psychoanalysis & Culture program. She maintains a private analytic practice in Bedford, Mass. Dr. Bigda-Peyton founded Transition Town Bedford and Common Purpose, the largest batter treatment program in Massachusetts.