Psychoanalytic Child Psychotherapy
[This abstract set into this paper by the archivist on 2/2014 – it was saved by CU on 14/9/08 20:37 and saved in a separate file to the body of this piece below]
There are historical, social and cultural variations in how emotional and mental health are thought about and believed to develop and the place of children in society. Historical and cross-cultural comparisons can sharpen thinking about strengths and lacunae of child... more
The paper was read as a talk to students on the Tavistock Psychoanalytic Observation course, probably in 2009 or 2010.
A wide range of interventions and treatments is now available for autistic children. In this workshop we will explore the specific contribution of psychotherapeutic work with autistic children and their families. I hope we will also consider ways in which the phenomenon of autism is interesting to psychoanalytic thinking. Understanding autism can tell us about the early development of social relationships and how these contribute to mental... more
Increasing publicity given to the raised incidence and the nature of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) offers a challenge to child psychotherapists to enter the debate about the phenomenology, aetiologies and appropriate treatments of ASD. Engaging with other theories of autism such as developmental psychology and physiological accounts has been very productive for child psychotherapy. The work of Anne Alvarez and Vivienne Green and their... more
This paper describes an ongoing evaluation of child psychotherapy with seven children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The assessment and evaluation model used involves parents and enhances shared understanding of each child's experience and characteristics, respecting individual strengths and limitations. Treatment aims include understanding the children's phenomenological experience and enhancing emotional regulation, to... more
This paper illustrates a relationship between the containment of anxiety and the capacity to work through and recover from traumatic events as it emerged in the once weekly psychotherapy of an 8-year-old boy, born three months prematurely. At referral his presentation strongly suggested the impact of his parents' separation and subsequent divorce three years previously, and the implications of being unable to express, compre hend... more
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