PSCO40410

This module is offered over the final 3 years of the Professional Masters and aims to provide trainees with a systematic understanding of psychoanalytic theory, group analytic theory, psychopathology and the social unconscious.
This includes the study of psychoanalytic theorists, including Freud, Klein, Bion, Bowlby and Winnicott, key psychoanalytic concepts and the impact of same on the mental health on the individual and the group. Trainees will also be provided with an introduction to and understanding of the psychiatric model and the mental health services for adults in Ireland.
Group Analytic Theory in this module will examine some of the socio-historic and intellectual contexts that have contributed to the emergence of Group Analysis. This will include the social theory of Norbert Elias and Foulkes; the social unconscious as posited by Hopper and Weinberg; the influence of race and culture including the concept of difference and the construction of gender Dalal, Scholz, Nitsun, and Nitzgen.
A focus on communication in groups will also extend the trainees’ understanding and awareness of group phenomena and communication levels in small, median and large groups. The work of Foulkes, Kreeger, de Maré and others will be used introduced and supported experientially by a large group experience on the course.
Core to group analytic practice are Foulkes’ main precepts concerning the group setting, dynamic administration, the matrix, resonance, mirroring, location, condensation, exchange and the role of the conductor. Each of these will be examined of contemporary literature showing application of these concepts in practice. Further to this the therapeutic role of group members and group conductor will be will be explored through the theory including ‘holding’, ‘containment’ and ‘working through’.
This module aims to foster knowledge and competence in the ethical practice of psychotherapy including current mental health policy developments. The module will inform the trainee of the implications of ethics in clinical practice and will address professional liaison and referral to other mental health providers, including report writing and letter writing.
Finally, the module will draw on and group analytic research and enable trainees to review and examine current research and to conduct a literature review as part of the clinical inquiry.