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Positioning in groups: A new development in systemic consultation
No full textThis article describes a new approach, employing a combination of Positioning Theory and Semantic Polarities, that educational psychologists can use to develop and facilitate change in organisations and groups. Resistance to change can be seen as reflecting a lack of the language that the members of an organisation need to participate effectively in the new discourses that are associated with change. Positioning Theory can be used to develop this new language of participation, which can then be used by all in the organisation or group to agree how development can happen and what their contribution to this would be
Seventy years on: Some clinical consequences of the controversial discussions
No full textSeventy years ago with much of the world engaged in a battle for survival in the Second World War, the British Psychoanalytical Society organized a series of scientific meetings to discuss the new theories of Melanie Klein. The paper starts with a historical background to the Controversial Discussions and moves on to discuss some of the main points of the debate. It revisits the concept of unconscious phantasy along with the debates on primary narcissism and the death instinct, also exploring its use and relevance in current clinical practice. Following Bion's idea that psychic change is felt as catastrophic, I attempt to link some of the anxieties and processes that were present during the Controversial Discussions with similar processes present in the psychoanalytic world today
Live work: The impact of direct encounters in statutory child and family social work
No full textThe aim of this research project was to examine the impact of direct work on
practitioners in the field of statutory child protection. The author’s premise was
that this work was anything but straightforward and that surprisingly, given the
intense scrutiny on Children’s Services following a child death, there was little
research into the day-to-day practice of front line staff.
The aim was to explore whether psychoanalytic theory could be useful in
understanding and making sense of the social work task. Data was collected
through observation and semi-structured interviews in one Local Authority
Child in Need team over a period of six months. The findings indicated that
practitioners experienced direct work with some individuals and families as
profoundly disturbing and that this affected them physiologically as well as
psychologically. These effects persisted over time and appeared very difficult
for the workers to process or articulate. This could be expressed through
embodied or non-verbal communication in the interview. Practitioners
appeared to be ‘inhabited’ by particular clients, suggesting phenomena such
as projective identification were in operation. The intensity and persistence of
the impact on the practitioners appears to be directly related to the quality,
nature and intensity of the psychic defences functioning for the particular
client. Significantly, the research indicated that when practitioners were
dealing with the negative and disturbing projections from the (adult) clients it
seemed from the data that the focus on the child would slip so that the child
appeared to recede from view.
Symptoms experienced by the practitioners were akin to trauma and research
and theory on primary and secondary trauma were considered. Other issues
raised included shame, which affects the clients, practitioners and the
organisation and the meaning and implications of this are explored. Links
between neuroscience and projective identification are addressed as well as
the role of the organisation, particularly as a container for these toxic and
disturbing encounters
Clinical psychology
No full textTwo essential elements of clinical psychological practice are, first, the identification that something in a person’s psychological well-being or behaviour is causing distress and then, second, delivering an intervention to ameliorate that distress. Within clinical psychology, societal understandings of gender and sexuality have been both reflected in and influenced by the professional positioning of the discipline, changing over time, with the defining gaze of distress moving from the imposition of a largely restrictive and medically orientated set of beliefs to more individual, self-defining representations of pluralistic identities. This chapter will chart this journey, making reference to the changing nature of the profession arising from the changes in the frameworks of understanding (ontology) in which psychology has been contextualised and, with it, the shifting offerings in terms of therapeutic intervention
How does having a child with a profound or multiple disabilities affect the home / school relationship?
No full textThis study explored how having a child with a profound or multiple disability affects the home / school relationship in a multi-cultural Special School for Primary aged children. Research has highlighted the impact upon the family of having a disabled child in terms of coping strategies and how families with good and poor coping strategies differ. The purpose of the study was to consider how a model of systemic thinking called the Family illness systems model (Rolland 1994) might be used to understand the context in which a family might be operating, informing how the school might appropriately foster the home/school relationship. The study took a phenomenological approach using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore the impact of having a disabled child upon the family; how this affects coping strategies of the parent, family functioning, and how this feeds into the expectations and experiences with school. 5 mothers were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Interview data was analysed using IPA and three emerging superordinate themes emerged: ‘making sense of life changing events’, ‘impact on family dynamics’, ‘impact of a child needing a special school’. These findings were discussed in relation to relevant literature and the initial research questions. Strengths and limitations of the research were acknowledged. Finally the findings of the study were considered in relation to educational psychology practice and for further areas of research
Reflections from practice: Supervision, knowledge and the elusive quality of credibility
No full texthis paper offers a reflection on the practice concerns brought into supervision and case discussion by local authority social workers and social work managers in the early twenty-first century in England. An emergent theme is ‘credibility’, which presents itself in questions such as: How trustworthy is my thinking, how does it stand up to scrutiny, and how can I justify the actions that I take or don’t take? We suggest that to be credible is to manage and account for both the creativity and the constraint of working with uncertainty and that these tensions produce system-wide dynamics which can be surfaced and worked through in supervision. Bringing experience and examples from our supervisory practices, we consider the nature of uncertainty to explore how knowledge is generated in relation to social work with children and families where neglect is prevalent. In the light of diminishing availability of resources, we explore the challenge of bringing a robust and creative approach to this work. We suggest that social work supervision requires surfacing and exploring anxieties for both supervisor and supervisee in the context of what meanings they have for the work under discussion. This then has the potential to generate resources for an imaginative and constructive practice
Interview with Joanne Stubley: Consultant Psychiatrist at the Tavistock Clinic
No full textJoanne Stubley leads the Adult Section of Tavistock Trauma Service, and has considerable experience of working with individuals, groups and organisations which have experienced trauma. She is actively involved in teaching and training in this field, with a particular interest in complex trauma. Dr Stubley is a member of the British Psychoanalytic Society (BPS) and member of UK Trauma Group
Migration, trauma and resilience
No full textIn these days of globalisation, there is massive movement of people across the globe. Migration across the world has always been present, but perhaps the speed of migration has changed rapidly in the previous hundred years. Migration can be due to any number of reasons – from economic betterment to educational opportunities which may act as attraction and pull factors. On the other hand, political changes, disasters and strife may act as push factors where people may have to leave. Recent tragedies in the waters of Italy have raised specific issues about the processes of asylum seeking and refugees. The trafficking of women and children adds another dimension to the whole process. These examples illustrate that migrants as well as the process of migration are not homogenous, so clinicians must remain aware of individual experiences. The stages of migration can be roughly divided into three: pre-migration, actual process of migration and settlement post-migration, which may take several years. Pre-migration may be a few days or a few years. In the former case, the migrant may not have any or limited opportunities to prepare for the process. When migration is planned, for example, for those who may choose to study abroad, preparing for admission may itself take years. The framework for migration and its sequelae will vary