Learning and Unlearning through the Clinical Encounter

This book examines the learning process of becoming a psychoanalytic practitioner and presents training experiences at the Tavistock Clinic through the lens of both teachers and trainees. The book describes the relevant history at the Tavistock Clinic and how psychoanalytic knowledge is acquired through a process of learning from experience and the fostering of a culture of enquiry. The contributors also present their interpretations of what is meant by analytic learning and how this is acquired so that a psychoanalytic attitude becomes possible. The book includes a mix of chapters by more experienced clinicians setting out what can be useful in training, balanced by other chapters from more recent trainees who reflect on their development and experience of that training. Other vitally important sections focus on the experience and importance of supervision, and on how to respond to clinical challenges in training and practice, specifically public sector-based trainings. With rich clinical vignettes and personal reflections on training experiences, this book is key reading for all psychoanalysts and psychotherapists involved or interested in training.