North East London, Essex & OnlineConsultation
A psychodynamic perspective can shed light on complex problems and help shift networks and systems that are stuck, overwhelmed, confused…
How it works:
A psychodynamic consultation starts by mapping the current situation, whether it be with a child, family, group or organisation. This includes taking account of the emotions felt by all those involved – as these are key indicators of what unconscious processes are occurring. The consultation will also look at previous/past situations and consider whether there are discernible patterns or triggers. In the case of families this will include past losses, the quality of parenting that parents themselves received when they were children etc. In the case of organisations and groups it is important to take account of the nature of their task, the natural anxieties that arise from trying to deliver that task as well as the culture of the working environment.
Psychoanalytic theory, by making conscious the unconscious processes that influence human behaviour, offers deep and revealing insights into the functioning of networks, groups and families – and makes possible deep and significant change and improvement.
My Experience:
I have very extensive consultation experience working with schools, Social Care, the NHS and also residential placements. I have worked for over ten years in Children Looked After (CLA) teams and currently lead an NHS CLA team consisting of twelve colleagues. A regular part of my work within the NHS over the years has been to networks involved with CLA children, including foster carers, Social Care and schoolteachers. This work has required holding in mind the needs and context of the child, whilst negotiating and thinking about the task faced by the adults and services involved in the child's care, not least over issues of risk. Other consultative roles have included meeting keyworkers at residential placements and helping them to understand the links between the child’s trauma and their subsequent challenging behaviour.
I am trained in DDP to Level 2 and have supported Social Workers to implement the PACE model in their work. However, the following article should be of interest to any organisation that faces and manages children's challenging behaviour (it explores the way challenging behaviour and the emotions that it throws up in us adults communicates to us the trauma they have suffered):
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/w2xES4uzfTWBJkeR7Zif/full?target=10.1080/02650533.2019.1572081
The approach described in my article translates children's challenging behaviour to make clear the trauma story it tells. I offer training in this approach as well as consultation.
How I work:
I bring to the task of consultation a particular interest in organisational dynamics, fostered by the Birkbeck training I undertook between 1997-2000. I try to help consultees focus on and understand their task and consider those factors that intrude on or support its delivery. A key factor in this is to take account of the anxieties that the task can give rise to. Experience has taught me that when these anxieties remain unconscious they are often acted out in destructive and unhelpful ways - and cases, workers and teams can become stuck.
I can offer a single, one-off consultation, either face-to-face or via Skype; or a bespoke package comprising an ongoing consultative role tailored to your organisation’s needs.
Contact me in confidence on t: 07877 048 087 or e:
