Page - 70 - in Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Puberty and Adolescence - The Inner Worlds of Teenagers and their Parents

70 Psychosexual development in puberty entirely – is improving, and they go to museums together. The father finds it dif- ficult to speak with her on a simple level. The mother, who was massively against Elfi’s analysis, is able to say to me at the end: “It did help, thank you!” Case study: James Frost I will describe this second case study of an adolescent in psychic crisis not from the therapist’s perspective but from his teacher’s, who played an essential role in James’ recovery. This demonstrates how important a psychoanalytically trained teacher can be – as a supplement to therapeutic help – in accompanying the trou- bled adolescent. But first, a digression to explain this concept of the “psychoana- lytically trained” teacher. The teacher H. took a Master’s degree in the “Psychoanalytic Observational Studies” offered at the University of Klagenfurt, which was developed according to the Tavistock model in London. The goal of this course was to acquire a psy- choanalytic attitude and understanding, characterized by an openness in observa- tion, reflection on the interactions between pupils and teachers. Here, emphasis is not on conscious but rather on unconscious motives, wishes and fears of students and teachers. Since unconscious processes are not accessible to direct observation or conscious control, they require special methods to be investigated: the course trains its participants in sensitivity to the detection of unconscious processes in the observer and in other persons in the pedagogical field. The goal is to understand which feelings from earlier relationships a child unconsciously projects onto his teacher (“transference”) or other persons, and which feelings are evoked in the teacher (“countertransference”). I will now briefly describe these methods, which are discussed in more detail in Bick (1964), Bion (1962), Miller et al. (1989) and Diem -Wille and Turner (2012). This course of studies is based in three modes of teaching experience -oriented learning (Bion 1962): the method of psychoanalytic observation (in three different fields), the reflection on the teacher’s own way of teaching in “Work Discussion Groups” and the study of psychoanalytic theory. Students practice Esther Bick’s mode of psychoanalytic observation in their first semester in a kindergarten, whereas in semesters two through four a particular baby is closely observed one hour per week in the context of its family, and in the fifth semester interactions and unconscious fears are closely observed in an educational institution one hour per week. These unstructured observations of interactions, as well as the feelings evoked in the observer, are then recorded in detail in written form. In a seminar held by a psychotherapist, hypotheses are formed concerning the conscious and unconscious psychic processes of the persons observed. Using further observa- tions, the hypotheses can be modified or further developed, so that the forming of the baby’s personality until its first birthday is thoroughly observed. This simple but brilliant method enables understanding of early, archaic feelings, dependence, longing for protection and love as well as the child’s fears of losing its way. The group collects, describes and reflects on various experiences of a baby’s early interactions in her family, the child in kindergarten and teachers with each other.