Small Group Seminars and Consultation (SGSC)

The Sydney Institute for Psychoanalysis offers a series of consultations and small group seminars, both in the room and remotely by video-conference to participants in other states, and overseas. SGSC seminars complement the existing short courses (including PPC) run by the Sydney Institute.

SGSC sessions are self-contained professional development activities, and a supportive opportunity for clinicians to ‘learn from experience.’ Assistance is available for clinicians who want to follow a pathway of seminars to develop specific clinical interests, and consultation groups can be tailored to requests.

These groups explore the use of psychodynamic thinking in diverse areas, including clinical work with many types of patients (mother-infant, child, adolescent, couple, and adult work); clinical reading groups and pathways to training in short term psychodynamic psychotherapy; observational study groups and different types of small groups (inter-vision, and supervision) to facilitate the development of different perspectives.

Groups of 2-10 clinicians meet in person or by video-conference with a member of Sydney or Melbourne Institute for Psychoanalysis.

Ongoing Seminars

These ongoing seminars explore the work of a particular analyst and their theories on psychoanalysis. You can attend in person, or participate online by video-conference.

Mother-Infant, Child, Adolescent and Couples Work ↓

These seminars explore psychodynamic work with specific patient groups.

Adolescents - Self Harm and Suicide
Louise Hird, Wednesday fortnightly, 2:00pm - 3:00pm, Pymble and via video conference.

These seminars will help clinicians working in hospital-based services, community health and/or private practice apply useful dynamic ideas in their day to day challenges of working with adolescents. This term the group will use chapters from the book Relating to Self Harm and Suicide - Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Practice, Theory and Prevention Ed by Stephen Briggs, Alessandra Lemma and William Crouch, as the basis for discussions. The seminars will focus on adolescence and adolescent states of mind. Group participants will be encouraged to bring their clinical work and experiences.

Specialised Clinical Groups ↓

These seminars aim to assist newcomers to psychodynamic ideas and recently qualified practitioners to apply psychodynamic ideas in their work.

Fallout from Trauma - in the consulting room and in the body politic

Mark Howard, Thursday fortnightly 1.40 - 3.00pm, video-conference.

Trauma creates many types of ‘fallout’ that we encounter in our clinical work with patients, and that we can also observe in the behaviour of large groups, like nations. Moving between the ‘micro-personal’ and ‘macro-national’ levels, this group explores how trauma is embedded in the body and how it gets acted out, personally and politically. The group will develop the use of our experience to bring different types of ‘trauma fallout’ into conversation. A range of papers engage with the clinical situation, and the writings of Volkan, a psychoanalyst nominated for the Nobel Peace prize for his work in international diplomacy, will help us think about trauma and the body of international politics.

Observational Studies ↓

These seminars assist practitioners to develop observational skills that are very useful in all types of clinical work.


Infant Observation

Pam Shein, Tuesday, weekly, 10 - 11.30am, Edgecliff

Infant Observation is an experience for those who would like to deepen their understanding of how the infant grows over the first year of life. In the observation the participant learns to observe the infant in the home and discover how the inner world of the infant develops as well as observe relationship patterns begin to form between the infant and its mother or significant carer. The seminars are held in Edgecliff or via Zoom( if you do not reside in Sydney) are will be held on a weekly basis.

Psychoanalytic Thinkers ↓

These seminars explore the work of a particular psychoanalytic thinker and its application to clinical practice.

Introduction to the works of Donald Winnicott

Co-seminar leaders Dr Matthew McArdle, psychiatrist, and Kathryn Bays, clinical psychologist, are members of the Melbourne branch of the Australian Psychoanalytic Society; 12 seminars held on Thursday evenings 7 - 8.30 pm: October 13th, 20th & 27th (2 week break) November 17th, 24th and December 1st 2022 and February 2nd, 9th, & 16th (2 week break) March 9th, 16th & 23rd 2023 Venue: online.

In the seminars we will read Teri Quatman's book: Assessing the clinical genius of Winnicott: A careful rendering of Winnicott's twelve most influential papers. Each week the group will discuss, in a free flowing manner, the concepts from a chapter of the book with a focus on how the ideas relate to clinical experience and examples brought by the group members.

Participants will be required to purchase their own copy of the book.

Extracts from the book's Introduction: "Donald Winnicott.. is viewed by many as the 'other genius' in the history of psychodynamic theory and practice, along with Freud...He recast Freudian- and Kleinian-influenced thinking in the direction of the more relational schools of psychotherapy.... Teri Quatman provides explanations and insight, in an interlocution with Winnicott's most significant papers, exploring both his language and concepts.. Engaging and accessible, this book will be of great use to anyone encountering Winnicott for the first time"

Please note for those participants who might be interested there is the option of the group continuing as an ongoing clinical supervision group.

The practice of Contemporary Psychoanalysis : Reclaiming of “unlived lives”

Karyn Todes, Fridays fortnightly 9.45am- 11.00 am via videoconference.

This seminar discusses contemporary psychoanalytic approaches to working with patients in private practice and institutions, whether the work is short or long term. Papers addressing the thinking of Wilfred Bion, Thomas Ogden, and Paul Williams will be introduced to illustrate how an analytic attitude, and an understanding of the unconscious, creates an opportunity for emotional growth and development from within the therapeutic relationship. Reading material will illuminate how contemporary psychoanalysts create conditions for psychic change in their consulting rooms. Reading material will also anchor discussion and deepen exploration of central psychoanalytic theoretical constructs that inform clinical work with different patient populations. Bion, Ogden & Williams are creative psychoanalysts who listen and respond to their patients’s unconscious communications with humanity, directness and sensitivity, drawing attention to a range of psychic phenomena that obstruct growth in our patients. This seminar will invite the practitioner to expand his or her capacity to think more about unconscious processes within the immediacy of any session.
The group will be kept small, and will be of interest to psychotherapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers or mental health professionals with an interest in psychoanalysis. People with all levels of experience are welcome.

Anne Alvarez’s “Live Company”: ways of reaching difficult patients in clinical practice
Karyn Todes, Friday fortnightly 11.30 - 12.45pm, via videoconference.

Anne Alvarez is a vibrant and interesting clinician whose theory is relevant to work with adults and children. Her papers offer fascinating, clinical vignettes that demonstrate examples of how she engages her patients in a tactful yet seemingly ordinary way. In this seminar we will read Anne’s “live company” and we will discuss the manner in which she manages to address difficult clinical encounters with her patient. We will explore how she goes about working as she does, and use our own clinical examples to discover how Alvarez’s ideas come to life in the participants consulting room.

Donald Winnicott : Emotional Development and the “good enough” Environment
Karyn Todes, Friday fortnightly 11.30am - 12.45pm, via videoconference.

While bombs were still dropping on London during WWII a group of extraordinary psychoanalysts were pioneering innovations in psychoanalytic theory and technique, that continue bearing fruit to this day. Drawing off his long experience as a Paediatrician, Winnicott & others focused attention on early childhood relations to primary care givers and the life-long impact of these on human development, mental health, mental illness and psychoanalytic treatment. Among the most creative and influential of this British Independent school of psychoanalysts, was D.W. Winnicott. His concepts of the “holding environment’’, “true and false self” and “transitional objects”, “the good enough” therapist are examples of his contributions to the psychoanalytic lexicon. In this seminar we will read a sequence of seminal papers that outline some of Winnicott’s most important contributions in so far as they help us to think about the infant in the adult or child as well as the relationship between mother and baby, therapist and patient. We will examine the interpersonal context in which psychoanalytic thinking takes place, enabling the practitioner to observe his or her work with patients or clients through a different therapeutic lens. Anyone with an interest in early object relations, baby and mother, and working with these difficulties as they present in the “here and now” of practice, will be eligible to join this group.

Work Discussion and Balint groups ↓

These seminars offer different types of group discussion to explore and expand on the meaning of difficulties in clinical and work settings.

The Thinking Heart - using Anne Alvarez's ideas in clinical work
Mark Howard, Friday fortnightly 3.40 - 5.00pm, via videoconference.

Anne Alvarez provides a different perspective on how the mind develops to think and feel, with clear examples of how this pathway may fail to develop or be deflected. Each term a chapter of the book will be discussed and, as far as possible, this chapter will then be used as the lens through which the clinical presentations over the term are viewed.

Supervision group for mental health professionals interested in and newer to psychoanalysis
Karyn Todes, Friday, fortnightly, 9.45- 10.45 am Dover Heights, and via videoconference.

This group is for any mental health professional wishing to discover how to listen to patients using a “psychoanalytic ear”. Level of experience is not a criteria for involvement. It is a suitable group for someone who is open to thinking in a new way about their work, and interested in learning more about the unconscious and its value in the consulting room.

Balint Group

Leonie Sullivan, open to expressions of interest for an in person group, and or a Zoom group, with day/time to be decided by group.

Balint groups can provide a setting, in which clinicians can explore the multiple layers of transference and countertransference, that unfold from point of first contact and assessment through to termination. Their use in both hospital and mental health settings is well documented.

The approach can be particularly useful for exploration of the dynamics of cases, where there may be dilemmas pertaining to boundary issues, ethical dilemmas or where there is something about a particular case that makes it difficult to think with this particular patient. They can assist in understanding “blind spots” in our work.

A Balint Group’s purpose is for the group to do the work of understanding the case, it is therefore important for the group to form around an agreement to take on this work and stick to its task of focusing on the relationship between the patient and helping professional. It is often only when the group takes on the work of the case, that what needs further thought /understanding becomes clear.

By paying careful attention to the setting of the frame for the group around the task of focusing the discussion on the relationship between patient and clinician, there is also an implied agreement that, just as with psychoanalysis a solution is not the primary aim of the work but may arise as the depth of understanding the material develops even after the group has ceased to meet.

A new ongoing group is in the process of forming, and expressions of interest are being sought. The time will be fixed around the expressions of interest. An all in person or all by zoom (video conferencing group) are both available. Please indicate your preferred mode for meeting and availability to attend a one off initial information session on a Saturday morning.

Please download and save the application form on your computer before completing and returning it by email to ppc-at-sip@iinet.net.au