Principles of Contemporary Psychoanalytic Thinking and Practice (P02937)

? Credit Points : 10 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : HEA-P-PCPTP

The aim of the course is to explore contemporary psychoanalytic thinking in the context of the psychoanalytic tradition in order to understand these lines of development and radical changes. It aims to link these developmental trajectories to different ways of conceptualising the self in relationship and how this underpins understandings and practices of being with others in personal and professional relationships

The course will explore how contemporary perspectives rework traditional themes in psychoanalytic thought. Classical psychoanalytic ideas such as the unconscious, repression and other defences, infantile sexuality and the Oedipus complex will be critically discussed alongside later attempts to reconfigure them. More recent conceptualisations such as sex and desire, narcissism, self and other, narrative, subjectivity and memory will also be explored. Both traditional and contemporary psychoanalytic thought will be placed in their historical and cultural times.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : This is an optional course for postgraduate students in Counselling Studies, and for students from other subject areas with an interest in psychoanalytic thinking and practice.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Counselling Studies, (School of Health in Social Science, Schedule D)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 6 weeks

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course students should be able to:
?Conceptualise and analyse different strands of twentieth and twenty-first century psychoanalytic thought
?Critically explore how traditional psychoanalytic concepts including the unconscious, infantile sexuality and the Oedipus complex have been reworked
?Critically examine the contours of key contemporary psychoanalytic debates about self and other, sex and desire, subjectivity and narrative
?Formulate a psychoanalytic conceptual framework through which to reflect on their own self experience
?Critically apply psychoanalytic thought to the understanding of personal and professional relationships, both past and present

Assessment Information

A 2,000 ? 2,500 word assignment asking students to write a critical analysis of one or more of the course themes, using personal and professional reflections to illustrate the discussion. The discussion should be placed within an appropriate historical, cultural and personal context.

If taken in conjunction with Supervised Reading in Counselling Studies (10 credits) the same assignment question is completed at double the length. The assignment should therefore be 4,000 ? 5,000 words. The combination with Supervised Reading allows students to explore the assignment topic at greater depth and complexity.