Program of Studies 2024

THEORETICAL SEMINARS

Psychoanalytic theories of Object Relations

This one-year course offers an overview of the development of object relations theories. Starting with Freud’s seminal paper “Mourning and Melancholia” we will move on to read a number of creative thinkers whose work we are still processing today. They include Sandor Ferenczi, Melanie Klein, Ronald Fairbairn, the Kleinians and post Kleinians – Herbert Rosenfeld, Wilfred Bion, Hanna Segal, Betty Joseph and others – and finally Donald Winnicott. Through reading these key theorists alongside discussion of their work, participants will gain a working understanding of object relations theories and their link with contemporary psychoanalytic thinking and practice.

There are 4 terms over the year and each term runs for 8 weeks.

Terms generally fall within school terms.

All seminars will be conducted on Zoom.

Term 1: Ferenczi

Freud in “Mourning and Melancholia” develops for the first time, in a systematic way, a line of thought that would later be termed “object-relations theory”. For this reason, it will be the starting point for this year’s readings on object relations. The remainder of the term will concentrate on the work of Ferenczi. Ferenczi (1873-1933) was a very different clinician and theorist from Freud. He investigated the impact of abuse on children and how it affected their subsequent way of relating to others. His best-known paper is “Confusion of Tongues”. We will read this paper and how it has informed contemporary models of trauma. Other works will also be included e.g. Identification with the Aggressor, his work with traumatised soldiers from WWI and his attempts at mutual analysis.

Time: Monday 6.30pm – 8.00pm
Dates: 29 January to 18 March 2024
Fees: $500 per term

For enrolment and further information contact the coordinators:

Dr Thea van Hees   dvanhees@bigpond.net.au or call 0418 871 936

Sigrid O’Callaghan  sigridoc@aapt.net.au

 

Term 2: W.R. Fairbairn and Melanie Klein

This term explores the beginnings of Object Relations theory through an introduction to the work of Melanie Klein and W.R. Fairbairn. We will review Klein’s fundamental postulates about early emotional life, including the role of the dyadic mother-child relationship, unconscious fantasy, the mental positions that characterise the infant inner world, and some counterpoints from Fairbairn’s ideas about the constitution of the ego, the understanding of impulses, and the centrality of the relationship with the object for the constitution of early psychological life.

Time: Monday 6.30pm – 8.00pm
Dates: 15 April – 10 June 2024 (not 6 May)
Fees: $500 per term

For enrolment and further information contact the seminar leader:

Dr Jaime Yasky   jaimeyasky@gmail.com or call 0468 571 140

Term 3: Kleinians and Post Kleinians

Melanie Klein’s ideas were explored and developed further by her immediate circle and by successive generations of psychoanalysts. This term, we will be looking at some of the ways in which Klein’s concepts of projective identification and splitting were taken up by Herbert Rosenfeld, Wilfred Bion, Hanna Segal, Betty Joseph and others to inform developments in psychoanalytic theory and technique. Papers studied this term cover a range of related themes including: theories of thinking, working with psychotic patients, the deepening role of transference and counter-transference, technical difficulties and impasse in treatment. Most of the papers for this term will be taken from the volumes Melanie Klein Today (Volumes 1 & 2) edited by Elizabeth Bott Spillius and Impasse and Interpretation by Herbert Rosenfeld.

Time: Monday 6.30pm – 8.00pm
Dates: 22 July to 9 September 2024
Fees: $500 per term

For enrolment and further information contact the seminar leader:

Dr Jaime Yasky  jaimeyasky@gmail.com or call 0468 571 140

Mary O’Brien mobrien3@bigpond.net.au or call 0418 734 746

Bernadette Rosbrook  b.rosbrook@gmail.com or call 0410 219 675

Term 4: The Independents and Donald Winnicott

In this term we will explore the work of the British Independent tradition including the work of Winnicott, Kohon, Symington and Casement. This tradition represents a creative thread in psychoanalysis, that continues to influence and inspire new thoughts in theory and practice.

Time: Monday 6.30pm – 8.00pm
Dates: (not 7 October) 14 October to 2 December 2024
Fees: $500 per term

For enrolment and further information contact the coordinator:

Margot Lynch margoth@bigpond.com  or call 0407 137 105

Sally Young yngs@bigpond.com or call 0407162674

*Please note in 2024, all seminars will be virtual, using Zoom.

CLINICAL SEMINARS - THEORY IN PRACTICE*

Term 4: Working with difficult presentations in Adolescence

This is a course of 8 weekly seminars that will reference contemporary authors to examine the psychoanalytic understanding of adolescent developmental challenges and their link to severe clinical presentations during this period of life such as anorexia, gender dysphoria, deliberate self-harm and suicide attempts. The aim is to provide relevant conceptual tools to think through clinical and work-related material.

Time: Mondays 6.30pm to 8.00pm
Fee: $500 per term

For enrolment and further information contact:

Dr Jaime Yasky  jaimeyasky@gmail.com or call 0468 571 140

*Please note in 2024, all seminars will be virtual, using Zoom.

OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES*

Infant Observation

This is a one or two year course of weekly seminars where participants bring detailed accounts of their weekly observations of an infant in his or her home environment from birth onwards.  The course aims to develop observational skills and an understanding of the infant’s emerging relationships.  This course is one of the best ways of learning about the observer’s own involvement in clinical situations.

This is an ongoing weekly seminar of 11/4 hours. Participants are expected to enrol for at least one year. There is no prerequisite for this course. There will be a maximum of 4 participants in this seminar.

Fee: $50 per seminar
Time and dates to be arranged with the seminar leader

For enrolment and further information contact the seminar leaders:

Margot Lynch  margoth@bigpond.com  or call 0407 137 105

*Please note in 2024, all seminars will be virtual, using Zoom.