THE CHILD ANALYTIC TRADITION OF THE SOCIETY OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY – BIRTH, DEATH AND BEYOND MELISSA JANE MIDGEN A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of East London for the degree of Professional Doctorate in Child Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy December 2016 i Abstract This thesis seeks to chart the creation, development and eventual demise of the child analytic training of The Society of Analytical Psychology (SAP), the foremost Jungian Society in the UK. The brainchild of the Society’s founding director, Michael Fordham, the creation of the child training drew on the talents and persistence of many committed individuals. Through oral history interviews and archival research I weave together a narrative that will serve as testament to this achievement and offer first hand recollections for posterity. Through these sources the narrative also explores the difficulties that the training faced and which ultimately led to its eventual demise. Additionally I interrogate the current status of this tradition of child analysis and ask the question whether or not the tradition continues to exist and if so in what ways; I conclude that currently the tradition can only be said to exist in an attenuated form and that the future is bleak. In the course of the thesis I locate the SAP training within the development more generally of child analytic provision within the UK, the relationship of that to the child guidance movement and to the psychoanalytic diaspora, which made it possible. I describe the current obstacles faced by the child psychotherapy discipline as well as psychoanalytic psychotherapy in the NHS. Key words: Society of Analytical Psychology; Michael Fordham; Child Psychotherapy; Psychoanalysis. ii Contents Chapter One: Introduction ......................................................................1 Rationale .................................................................................................1 Methodology...........................................................................................2 From the strictures of linguistic analysis to the openness of the life-story........................................................................3 Oral History and Life Writing ................................................................10 The Interviewing Method .......................................................................13 Documents and Archival Research.........................................................15 The interviews and data analysis ............................................................18 Chapter Two: Historical Context and Theoretical Roots........................24 Jung’s Analytical Psychology.................................................................24 Child Analysis and its roots in psychoanalysis.......................................26 Developing Training in Child Psychotherapy ........................................28 A Registering Body ................................................................................31 Michael Fordham....................................................................................33 Chapter Three: The Society of Analytical Society .................................36 The new model........................................................................................41 The emerging theory of primary self and its actions: deintegration and reintegration ...............................................................42 The Foundation of Child Training at The Society of Analytical Psychology....................................................43 The training starts ...................................................................................46 Defences of the Self................................................................................48 Infant Observation ..................................................................................50 Chapter Four: The People .......................................................................54 The Pioneers ...........................................................................................55 Dorothy Davidson...................................................................................57 Mary Coghlan .........................................................................................59 Hugh Gee ................................................................................................62 iii The Consolidating Pioneers / Pioneering Consolidators ........................66 Barry Proner............................................................................................66 James Astor.............................................................................................69 The Outside supporter.............................................................................72 Gianna Williams .....................................................................................72 The Absent Presence...............................................................................75 Jane Bunster............................................................................................75 Those near the beginning / Those near the end ......................................77 Miranda Davies.......................................................................................77 Elizabeth Urban ......................................................................................80 Those gone – a solution ..........................................................................83 Oliver Foster ...........................................................................................83 Those holding the mantle........................................................................86 Alessandra Cavalli ..................................................................................86 Those at the sides – the extractors ..........................................................90 Marica Rytovaara....................................................................................91 Judith Woodhead ....................................................................................94 The People: beyond the SAP ..................................................................96 Chapter five: Rupture, repair, remains....................................................97 The Ending – ‘death’ ..............................................................................101 The Current Picture – ‘beyond’ ..............................................................104 Final thoughts .........................................................................................109 References...............................................................................................113 Appendices..............................................................................................121 iv Acknowledgements Sincere thanks are due to the interviewees who so generously gave of their time and memories: this is really in large part their story and I am grateful to have told a version of it. Dr. Mark Curthoys - tennis partner extraordinaire – deserves a mention for having listened to the slow evolution of this project, endlessly, between forehands. Nina, Barry and Meg for Thursday night discussions. To Matthew, Abigail and Theo I owe everything, always. Lastly, and most significantly, Professor Barbara Harrison has tolerated my procrastination and uncertainty; without her unwavering enthusiasm this project would never have seen the light of day. v Details of Organisations Cited in The Thesis The Anna Freud Centre Now known as the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families (see www.annafreud.org) it was originally founded in 1941 by Anna Freud in the guise of the Hampstead War Nurseries. The Hampstead Child Therapy course started in 1947 and in 1951 The Hampstead Clinic opened at 12, Maresfield Gardens from where the centre still operates. The Clinic changed it name in 1982 after Anna Freud’s death. It is now an international centre of excellence for both mental health provision and research having developed strong links with University College London (see below). The Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP) The Association of Child Psychotherapists is the main professional body accrediting the trainings of psychoanalytic child and adolescents in the UK (see: www.childpsychotherapy.org.uk). It was founded in 1949 in recognition of the need to establish an umbrella organisation to oversee professional standard of the developing profession of child psychotherapy. It continues with this remit today representing a register of over 900 members, but in addition works hard to represent the profession within the NHS and the external political environment. British Psychotherapy Foundation (BPF) The British Psychotherapy Foundation is a psychoanalytic and Jungian organisation formed in 2013 through an amalgamation of three pre-existing psychotherapy organisations: The British Association of Psychotherapists, The London Centre for Psychotherapy and the Lincoln Centre (see: britishpsychotherapyfoundation.org). The British Association of Psychotherapists, which was founded in 1951, began its own child psychotherapy training in 1982. This now exists under its new name of The Independent Psychoanalytic Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Association (IPCAPA). IPCAPA is introduced below. vi Institute of Child Psychotherapy The Institute of Child Psychotherapy, founded in 1929 by Dr Margaret Lowenfeld, was the third founding member