Counter-transference, projective identification and the superego

Online seminar module delivered over 10 weekly sessions.

Paul Terry has been offering workshops on Projective Identification at WPF Therapy for many years. This is a difficult concept to grasp and his workshops have been sell-outs every time. Paul is able to make this complex concept accessible and help participants to work clinically with more confidence. 

In 2021 Paul is going to be offering his expertise through a weekly one-hour seminar over 10 weeks. This model of delivery will allow time for participants to work with the ideas in their clinical practice and deepen their understanding across the 10 weeks.   

• Is it counter-transference or projective identification?
• Would you like to understand more about emotional experiences with clients particularly feelings which arise during a therapeutic encounter and whether such feelings indicate counter-transference and/or projective identification? 
• Are these feelings an unconscious communication from the client?
• How do you frame interpretations about them that will be helpful for the client?  
• How does the client’s superego or one’s own superego obstruct or interfere with understanding and processing counter-transference and projective identification?  

The aims of the webinars are to enable participants to gain an understanding of: 

• Countertransference, projective identification and the superego, and the relationships between these concepts as they are manifest in therapeutic practice.
• The different forms of projective identification whether attributive, evocative or acquisitive; its various motives, whether to communicate, evacuate, possess, control, deny separateness or overcome loss; and its relationship to introjective identification.
• How projective identification relates to counter-transference.
• How the superego drives projective identification and is reflected in what is projected.  
• Working through to enable the retrieval of projective identifications and therapeutic technique in the framing and timing of interpretations.

Outline:

This course will be delivered through 10-weekly Zoom webinars of one-hour duration each. The webinars will be a mix of theory and illustrations from the clinical practice of the webinar leader and wherever possible will draw upon experiences offered by the webinar members. Initially, the webinars will concentrate on developing a consistent and clear theoretical and practical understanding of the three central concepts.

The webinars will then explore these concepts in practice, and especially the working through and retrieval of projective identifications by studying the moment by moment interaction between therapist and a client suffering from life long depression from a case study of short term psychodynamic therapy.

The discussion will be conducted in the webinar group which will be limited to a maximum of ten participants. There will also be the opportunity to discuss in smaller breakout groups if this seems helpful. 

Target audience:

This workshop is suitable for qualified and training psychotherapists and counsellors. The primary theoretical focus of the workshop will be psychodynamic, but practitioners of other modalities are welcome to attend. It is important that webinar members bring examples from their own practice. 

Cost:

• Qualified practitioners £150
• Counselling/Psychotherapy trainees £130
• WPF Therapy trainees/Staff £110

Past participant comments

"Very well structured and presented session - excellent value and highly informative - very clear."
"An extremely important workshop for all therapists at whatever stage of their career."
"Paul is a skilful lecturer who makes a complicated subject very accessible."
"Excellent presenter who managed to deliver a serious subject in a friendly accessible ambience."
"A very knowledgeable training that one can take and use in all aspects of life."

Seminar leader

Paul Terry is a consultant clinical psychologist. He has worked in child, adolescent, and adult mental health, and forensic settings, and most recently in specialist mental health service for older people in the National Health Services. For many years, in tandem with clinical practice, Paul was Lecturer in Counselling at Birkbeck College, University of London.

Paul has written extensively about his clinical work and the application of psychoanalytical ideas to social and political themes. In 2004, Paul won the Annual Essay Prize of the Association of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in the NHS for his article 'Dangerous Liaisons: Psychosis and Violence - Working in a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit'. In 2008 he published a revised second edition of his book Counselling and Psychotherapy with Older People: A Psychodynamic Approach (London: Palgrave Macmillan).

Paul has a particular interest in projective identification because it has become a central concept in his teaching and publications. He finds it especially helping in illuminating clinical practice and various social and political issues. For the last several years he has led workshops on projective identification at WPF Therapy in London.

Applications must be received by Thursday, 4th February 2021. Booking will be final after receipt of payment.

Before booking please read our Terms and Conditions for CPD events: https://wpf.org.uk/cpd-events-terms-and-conditions-2020-2021/

If you experience any problems during the application process, then please contact us at events@wpf.org.uk.