A Skin for the Imaginal
Friday, Feb. 5 | 7:30 pm
How does internal space develop? How do psychological boundaries evolve? In infancy, we begin to develop a psychic skin, or psychological container, a process which continues throughout our lives. The imaginal processes that drive psychological growth and individuation, as well as creative and spiritual evolution, depend on developing the capacity for symbols to emerge within us.
In this lecture, we will use the story of Jung's own infancy and childhood as a way of exploring the idea of psychic skin. Jung's mother suffered severe depression when he was young, separating mother and child for significant periods, and Jung developed a serious skin disorder. We will also view videos of infant observations of a Mayan/Hispanic family, and we will discuss skin painting in the Brazilian Amazon.
Individuation: Its Origins and Development throughout the
Life Cycle
Saturday, Feb. 6
10 am - 4 pm (1.5 hour break for lunch)
Explore how the individuation process emerges in infancy and shapes the course of our lives in this workshop. Individuation is a process of differentiation that has as its goal the development of the individual personality. In infancy the first psychological boundaries are formed through the experience of the skin, and when secure attachment relationships develop the infant and child are able to form a concept of self and other in an ongoing inter-subjective relationship. Boundaries are often challenged in adolescence, as sexual, spiritual and creative identities are shaped. Spirituality and creativity in adulthood rest on the capacity for an ongoing dialogue with the other within, the unconscious and the self. Individuation processes will be illustrated with case material.
The Psychic Skin in Clinical Practice: A Hamman Professional Wellness Workshop
Friday, Feb. 5 | 9 am - 1 pm
NOTE: This workshop is limited to mental health professionals.
Explore how the early physical and emotional interchanges between the infant and her caregivers foster the development of a psychic skin. We evolve psychological boundaries and develop the capacity to experience emotional containment through our earliest experiences, and failures lead to the suffering experienced as attachment disorders. When a faulty second skin evolves, the infant and later the child, adolescent, and adult can learn to rely on problematic behaviors—eating disorders, sexual and exercise addictions, excessive tattooing or piercing, and others—to foster a temporary containment of difficult-to-manage emotional states.
We will use video recordings of infant observations and case examples to discover how these dynamics appear in our clients lives and our own. We will also explore how we can use our own experience in the consulting room, the countertransference, to help our clients develop a psychic skin. |
