25th April 2014
7.00pm Annual General Meeting
8.00 pm Guest Lecture
Mythology and Early Trauma
“A traumatic complex brings about dissociation of the psyche.”
“...certain complexes arise on account of painful or distressing experiences of an emotional nature that leave lasting psychic wounds ... these experiences occur when something o devastating happens to the individual, that his whole previous attitude to life breaks down.”
““the essential factor in healing a traumatic experience is {not merely) the release of the emotional charge by abreaction as Freud suggested, (but rather) the dissociation of the psyche and consequently the main therapeutic problem is not (the) abreaction, but (rather) how to integrate the dissociation.””
This lecture will look at how mythology can be used to think about the psyche of children who have suffered early trauma and how psychotherapy can help survivors of early attachment trauma move towards healing. The Oedipus and Prometheus Myths will be discussed together with some clinical material to understand how complex defenses can be ameliorated, primitive anxieties diminished, and trust and hope recovered as healing of early trauma takes place.
Dr Sue Oliver
Dr Sue Oliver is a psychiatrist and Jungian analyst. She trained with the Australian and New Zealand Society of Jungian Analysts (ANZSJA) and the Victorian Association of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists (VAPP). She is also a founding member of the International Association of Relational Psychoanalysts and Psychoanalytic psychotherapists (IARPP) and served on the IARPP Inclusivity Committee between 2005 and 2007. She is also a founding member of the Psychoanalytic Studies Association of Australasia. She has a clinical practice in analytic individual and couples therapy in Melbourne Australia.