A Humane Approach to Aggression: Introduction to the Work of Anna Freud and its Application in Clinical Practice

with Marianne Parsons

Course information

Aggressive clients of any age can cause us great anxiety. How can we help them when they are angry and destructive? And how can we maintain a capacity to think without becoming too anxious and fearful or wanting to retaliate in some way?

Understanding more about the development of aggression and the roots of destructiveness can help us to feel more confident and to be more therapeutically effective. Anna Freud had some very helpful ideas about aggression, and the aim of this workshop is to explore her humane developmental approach to working with both children and adults and so feel better equipped to deal with aggression in clinical practice.

The day will begin with a general introduction to the life and work of Anna Freud. We will then focus more specifically on aggression, looking at the normative development of aggression and how and why this can veer off track and lead to destructive aggression. We will look at Anna Freud’s understanding of the many types and meanings of aggression, both healthy and pathological, how and why aggression can arise in therapy and its impact on the clinician.

There will be an opportunity to discuss your individual cases and to reflect on ways of thinking about, containing and dealing with aggression in your clinical practice. Participants will get more out of the day if they can bring examples of their work that are relevant to the topic.

Speaker

Marianne Parsons is a child and adult psychoanalyst, and a child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapist. She trained first at the Hampstead Clinic (later called the Anna Freud Centre), then at the British Society of Psycho-Analysis.  Formerly Head of Clinical Training at the Anna Freud Centre and Editor of the Journal of Child Psychotherapy, she worked for many years in the NHS at the Portman Clinic where she developed a special interest in aggression and violence.

Marianne was a member of the Violence Research Group led by Mervin Glasser and ran the Portman Clinic Diploma in Forensic Psychotherapeutic Studies. Currently, she chairs the Training Analysis Committee for the Independent Psychoanalytic Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Association (IPCAPA). Now working only in private practice, she also teaches and supervises on many psychoanalytic trainings, both in the UK and abroad, and has contributed several papers to books and journals. 

What previous participants have said about this course

This is a new course.

Course programme

Saturday, 19 September 2020

Course venue

Radisson Blu Hotel, Argyll Street, Glasgow

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