Child Colloquium Series

This presentation describes the multi-year psychotherapy of a young boy on the autism spectrum. Many children diagnosed with ASD have unique sensory processing challenges. Extensive clinical material is offered to illustrate how sensation and emotion impact the development of a “felt-self”, an idea developed by an English student of Melanie Klein, Donald Winnicott, and Wilfred Bion named Frances Tustin. Tustin’s ideas on the sensory aspects of self development are presented alongside the process of symbolization that allowed this boy to tolerate awareness of his sensory experience, make connections with others, and symbolize and express his emotional experience over time. The lecture emphasizes following the changes in the child’s picture of the world as his capacity for symbolizing develops. 

 

Jeffrey L Eaton, MA, FIPA is a graduate and faculty member of the Northwestern Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and a member of the IPA. He was awarded the 10th International Frances Tustin Memorial Lecture Prize in 2006. He is author of A Fruitful Harvest: Essays after Bion as well as numerous chapters in edited collections. He teaches, lectures, and supervises internationally. He is in private practice in Seattle, WA. Further information is available at www.jleaton.com