Neurodiversity and psychoanalysis

With Darian Leader

This seminar will focus on the history and theory of psychoanalytic approaches to neurodivergence, with a particular focus on autism. Freud worked in paediatric neurology for over a decade, and his publications on child neurology allude at times to some of the questions that would become central to later debates. These focused first of all on the expression of emotion and how atypical forms of expression could be misread by adults, creating cycles of misunderstanding and confusion.

Although Freud did not devote his later work to this question, clinicians began discussing autism from the 1930s onwards, and it became more widely recognised following Kanner’s work in the early 1940s. Analysts were active in formulating models of autism and approaches to supporting autistic children, some aspects of which continue to be discussed today. They initially used Freudian ideas to inform their work but would later follow different directions. The emphasis was less on interpretation and more on creating attunement and a safe space in which the child could follow and develop their individual interests.

What, if anything, can contemporary clinicians learn from these early theories and approaches? As well as offering perspectives on clinical practice, they bring into focus themes that may be relevant to the experiences of some autistic people: presence and absence, containment, registering difference, bodily and psychological boundaries, sensory processing, and the use of distance to feel safe.

These experiences can be misread. What may be interpreted as withdrawal or pathology could instead be a way of managing safety, distance or connection. Well-intentioned efforts to offer help may sometimes feel intrusive and generate protective responses, while differences in sensory processing are also important to acknowledge. Engaging with these issues may help to foster more sensitive and neuroaffirming clinical approaches.

This seminar will include clinical examples and references to the work of autistic people, alongside commentary on current debates around changing rates of autism diagnosis, including questions of underdiagnosis and possible overdiagnosis.

For full details, including CPD credits information and booking, visit TR Together