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MDCS40430

Academic Year 2024/2025

Child Psychoanalysis: Theory and Application (MDCS40430)

Subject:
Medicine Clinical Science
College:
Health & Agricultural Sciences
School:
Medicine
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Barry O'Donnell
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

Freud's contribution to the question of the application of psychoanalysis to children is represented in this module by his seminal account of the negotiation of anxiety and the castration complex in ' Analysis of a phobia in a five-year-old boy' [aka the case of Little Hans]. Elucidating this case history will be reading from Jacques Lacan's 'Seminar, Book IV, 1956 - 1957. The object relation'. The following influential Kleinian concepts are also studied: the paranoid/schizoid and depressive positions; projective/introjective identification; unconscious phantasy and object relations, as well as the principles of her 'play technique' with children. Donald Winnicott's concept of transitional object will be the focus of the consideration of his contribution.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module students should be able to:1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the psychoanalytic perspective on what a child is; 2. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the case history of Little Hans and why the castration complex is central to it; 3. Demonstrate a critical understanding of different perspectives on the concept of the object in psychoanalysis; 4. Demonstrate knowledge of Kleinian theory and practice; 5. Demonstrate understanding of Winnicott's contribution to the psychoanalysis of children

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

15
Autonomous Student Learning

63
Lectures

32
Total

110

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
peer and group work; lectures; critical writing; reflective learning; in-class discussion; case-based learning; student presentations

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Requirements:

a knowledge of psychoanalysis acquired either at postgraduate level or as informed by professional clinical experience (including personal analysis) and/or other prior learning


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Non-graded in-class presentation with submission of written report; essay. Please check Brightspace and timetable for schedule and deadlines. Week 15 Graded No

100

 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Students are invited to contact the Programme Leader following receipt of grades to learn from their work

Name Role
Dr Grainne Donohue Tutor
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