Pre-Oedipal and Oedipal Development

Integrated Child & Adult Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (ICAPP)
2020-21, 2nd Block — Mondays, 8:00-9:15pm
Kelly Lippman, LMHC

View Whole Syllabus

Introduction

As children move from infancy to latency/pre-adolescence multiple intersecting aspects of development occur—intense emotional experience of transformation in object relating, accommodation to reality (and associated mourning), capacity for ambivalence and greater affect tolerance (love, hate, rivalry), capacity for imaginary play and symbolic thought, mentalization (theory of mind), identification with aspects of both parents and the parental couple, core gender identity, racial/ethnic identity and the formation and consolidation of the superego and ego ideal. The implications of this early period of development truly reverberate throughout the lifespan.

We will explore early and contemporary ideas and theories as well as several papers that focus on clinical vignettes. In our last class we will consider how young children experience immigration, focusing specifically on forced/emergent migration which results in family separation and other forms of complex trauma. Throughout the class, I encourage you to bring in clinical examples from your own work to further our discussion. I welcome your feedback on the course and the readings as we proceed.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

1. assess the developmental experiences of their clients from a variety of perspectives and recognize how patterns of early experience dynamically affect the adult clinical situation.
2. understand early and contemporary theories of pre-oedipal and oedipal development and how to apply these theories in a clinical context, in order to listen more sensitively and respond more accurately to patients, which will enhance treatment persistence and outcomes.
3. recognize the effects of early relational trauma and better empathize with unbearable affect in order to facilitate improvement in patients’ reflective capacity, self-cohesion and affect regulation.

November 16, 2020 — Toddlerhood, Oedipal Development and the beginnings of Triadic Relations

[41 pages]

(I recommend reading Gilmore and Meersand first and then Britton).

Gilmore, K. and Meersand, P. (2015) Ch. 4, “The Oedipal Phase and the Oedipal Complex: Developmental Advances and Theoretical Considerations” in The Little Book of Child and Adolescent Development, pp71-100.

Britton, R. (1992). The Oedipus Situation and the Depressive Position. New Library of Psychoanalysis, 14:34-45.

Optional Reading

Gilmore, K. and Meersand, P. (2015) Ch. 3, “Toddlerhood: Separation-Individuation, Rapprochement, and the Forerunners of Superego Development” in The Little Book of Child and Adolescent Development, pp51-70.

Loewald, H. (1985). Oedipus complex and development of self. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 54:435-443.