From Feeding to the Counterfactual (M)other

 

This event has been cancelled.

 

Please note – this event is not hosted
by the Neuropsychoanalysis Association – for any questions
regarding registration please contact Dr John Hook at Johnjlh52@gmail.com

Prof. Aikaterina Fotopoulou
Dr Susan Mizen
Dr John Hook

November 13, 2021
9.45 a.m. – 4 p.m. (UK)

A Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust workshop, in collaboration with the Bloomsbury Neuroscience Group, and in association with the London Neuropsychoanalysis Group and the Psychotherapy Faculty of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

This one-day workshop will present recent developments in relational neuroscience which are of relevance to all psychiatrists and psychotherapists. We will describe three critical stages in the development of the self-other distinction. These stages mark a progression from a primary stage of homeostatic union between mothers and infants through an exploratory stage towards the development of what, in neuroscientific terms, is called the ‘counterfactual other’ – equivalent, in psychodynamic terms, to ‘object constancy’. We will go on to talk about the consequences of disruptions in this developmental progression and how these disruptions can lead to a range of mental health problems in later life. We will also touch on possibilities for developing interventions specific to interoception and its mentalisation in social relations. We will present a case of psychotherapeutic and psychiatric work to illustrate some of these ideas and discuss implications for clinical practice.