The first clinical workshop in child and adolescent psychoanalysis was held on April 6, 2024. A large number of attendees (over 50), a lively, exciting working atmosphere in which all participants actively contributed to their associations made this workshop particularly interesting.
The introductory lecture “Psychoanalysis of children and adolescents, then and now” was given by Tijana Miladinović, IPA child and adolescent psychoanalyst and training psychoanalyst of PDS. Those present had the opportunity to hear how the development of institutional child and adolescent psychoanalysis in IPA went and what the “medicinal ingredients” of psychoanalysis were, which were illustrated by presentations from clinical practice.
A special method of presenting and commenting on a psychoanalytic clinical case in a group is also presented – the method of weaving thoughts. This method is based on Bion’s theory of groups and his statement about “thoughts in search of a thinker” – uncontained thoughts during the session are released and are in search of a mind that is receptive to them and can think about them and transform them into verbal commentary. The “weaving of thoughts” method provides a setting and procedure that protects and facilitates the presenter and group members to reach a deeper understanding of the psychoanalytic process in the presented material together.
This was followed by presentations of clinical material in three groups that used this new method of work. The moderators were Jasminka Šuljagić, Olga Savostjanova and Olivera Aleksić-Hil, while the cases were presented by: Nataša Djerković Lukač, Jasmina Vrbaški and Tijana Miladinović. In a safe atmosphere, group members could freely associate and think, building on each other, spontaneously discovering new perspectives in the clinical material, thus creating a mutually enriching experience.
The organizing committee of the workshop headed by Jovana Mladenović made sure that the organization of the event ran flawlessly.
