This professional development course provides a comprehensive exploration of dissociation and the multiplicity of self-states from a depth psychological perspective. Drawing on the work of key theorists including Bion, Bowlby, Fonagy, Bromberg, Kalsched, Jung, and van der Kolk, this presentation offers a nuanced understanding of dissociation as a defence mechanism rooted in early relational trauma.
This advanced training is ideal for psychologists and therapists seeking to deepen their clinical insight into dissociative processes, improve attunement to subtle presentations of dissociation in therapy, and develop effective techniques for working within the intersubjective space with traumatised or fragmented clients.
Sections
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this talk, participants will be able to:
Differentiate between normal multiplicity of self and pathological dissociation.
Understand dissociation as a defensive process through the lens of Bion’s alpha function and attacks on linking.
Recognise how early relational trauma informs the development of dissociative self-states.
Explore the contributions of attachment theory, affect regulation, and archetypal psychology in shaping dissociative phenomena.
Identify subtle signs of dissociation in clinical presentations and respond with informed, ethically grounded interventions.
Develop clinical skill in working with projective identification, countertransference, and intersubjective therapeutic space.
Apply theoretical concepts to case material to enhance therapeutic confidence and insight.
Structure as a Pathway to Connection: The Imago Dialogue as Relational Practice