Development II: 6 to 12 Years

Fourth Year Adult Psychoanalytic Training (APT)
2021-22, 2nd Trimester — Fridays, 1:45-3:15pm
Ashley Harmon, MD

View Whole Syllabus

February 4, 2022 — Attachment and Autonomy:  Self-reflection, Mentalization, and Emotional Regulation

[35 pages]

This class will focus on readings that explore the impact of cumulative trauma and the “working through” process with children as it relates to autonomy, self reflection, mentalization, and emotional regulation.  Displacement as a unique defense and technique is reviewed and demonstrated.   Since the early process of attachment to caregivers can also traumatically impact this process and children frequently present for treatment during middle childhood, we will also consider how early trauma may disrupt the person’s development of a cohesive and mentalizing self.

There is a self-psychological perspective on resilience in adult treatment with a history of cumulative trauma in childhood.  The research of Rona Knight, and her conclusions regarding the “typical” psychological processes of a child separating from their parents in new more delineated ways and how internal conflict unfolds toward psychological growth is also in the optional readings.

Becker, S. (2006) Maxwell’s Mountain. Charlesbridge.

Tavistock Trauma Service, Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, London. U.K. (2020) “The Early Response to Covid 19 – a psychoanalytic and trauma perspective”. 

Sugarman, A. (2008) The Use of Play to Promote Insightfulness in the Analysis of Children Suffering from Cumulative Trauma. Psychoanalytic Quarterly 77:799-833.

Optional Reading

DiAmbrosio, P.E. (2006) Weeble Wobbles: Resilience within the Psychoanalytic Situation. International Journal of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology 1:263-284

Jemerin, J.M. (2004). Latency and the capacity to reflect on mental states. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 59:211-239.

Knight, R. (2005). The Process of Attachment and Autonomy in Latency A Longitudinal Study of Ten Children. PSC, 60:178-210.