Infant and Young Child Observation Training Program

The Tavistock Model

Nydia Lisman-Pieczanski, M.D., Chair

The Washington School of Psychiatry is offering a two-year training program in Infant and Young Child Observation, the Tavistock Model. The two-year training will be conducted by a multi-disciplinary faculty of dedicated child, adult, couple and family psychotherapists and psychoanalysts experienced in the model of Infant and Young Child Observation as pioneered and developed by Esther Bick at the Tavistock Clinic in London.

This course is designed to enhance awareness and understanding of human development and interaction in all cultures and ethnic groups. Sharpening the ability to look closely at and attribute meaning to what is happening before one’s eyes strengthens the observer’s emotional and intellectual receptivity and capacity for professional work whether that work is in the field of social work, psychology, psychiatry, nursing, midwifery, teaching, child care, or any other allied profession.

Observations of an infant and young child serve as the cornerstone of the Program curriculum. The student engages in a prearranged, one-hour visit to a family each week for up to two years to quietly and unobtrusively observe a baby and its interactions with family members from birth onwards. During the second year of the Program, each student will also observe a young child between the ages of 2-4 for an hour a week either at home or in a nursery school or day care setting.

Detailed notes are written by the student and they are discussed in a small seminar group, where the anonymity of the family is preserved and the rules of confidentiality are strictly kept. Each seminar group will consist of about five people, who, with their seminar leader(s), will have the chance to get to know all the babies. Observers thus learn about one baby in depth and a number of others to a lesser degree.

Learning to Observe and to Wonder

“This kind of mental functioning requires a capacity to tolerate anxiety, uncertainty, discomfort, helplessness, and a sense of bombardment. It is the personal equipment needed by a psychoanalytic psychotherapists”

(Margaret Rustin, “Encountering Primitive Anxieties” in Closely Observed Infants)

Studying babies and their mothers/family members over a long period of time means that we have a unique opportunity to perceive patterns in the making. Observers come to comprehend, both how relationships are developed and how we become part of each other’s world while recognizing the persistence of infantile patterns of behavior in later life.

Observation is more than simply looking. It involves the observer taking in, and holding in mind, the shared physical and emotional experiences of the baby or young child and his family, while attempting, in time, to construct meaning from these experiences. In bearing witness to the intimacy and intricacies of the evolving relationship between a baby and its caretakers, observation promotes a deep appreciation for the manifest and latent processes that underlie child development.

LEARNING GOALS

  • Develop observational, reflective, and therapeutic skills
  • Understand communication and the therapeutic process
  • Gain a foundation for psychodynamic thinking
  • Apply psychoanalytic concepts to current workplace practice
  • Learn together across professional boundaries to reflect and strengthen practice
  • Gain an increased understanding of the factors that promote healthy emotional development in individuals and families

Curriculum

Seminars will include theoretical, clinical and experiential learning to provide a stimulating and rich experience. There will be plenty of discussion time to give students the opportunity to integrate the range of ideas and to find useful applications in their work setting. Learning about object relations and developmental theories while having one’s own experience of doing an infant observation, as well as discussing ongoing work and clinical cases, will enable students to absorb and integrate a range of perspectives and ideas.

Year One

  • Infant Observation and Infant Observation Seminar
  • Theory and Practice Seminar — Foundation in Psychodynamic Theories and in Observational Studies Readings
  • Work Discussion Seminar — Application of Observational Studies in Different Settings

Year Two

  • Infant Observation and Infant Observation Seminar
  • Young Child Observation and Young Child Observation Seminar in alternate weeks with Theory and Practice
  • Work Discussion Seminar — including One-Way Mirror Interventions conducted by Faculty Members followed by Clinical Discussion.

We will explore many situations: the impact of medical illness, sleep disturbances, feeding problems, postnatal depression in mothers, premature babies, bereavement, multiple births, abuse and trauma on children and their families, and many others. Through thinking together, students will build a deeper understanding of the particular emotional context in which these difficulties are arising, and develop ideas about effective interventions to relieve them.

SCHEDULE

Classes will be held on Monday evenings, from 4:30 to 9:30.

ELIGIBILITY AND SELECTION

Applications are welcome from:

  • Mental Health Professionals
  • Medical Practitioners including Nursing Practitioners
  • Case Workers in Public and Private Organizations
  • Professionals working in Protective Services, Prisons, Social and Probation Services
  • Teachers

All levels of experience are welcome. Given that students entering the Program may come from different areas of interest and training, each student’s development in the Program will be closely attended to by a core faculty member to give ample attention to individual needs.

FACULTY

Nydia Lisman-Pieczanski, M.D., Chair
Sharon Alperovitz, M.S.W.
Deborah Blessing, M.S.W.
Karen Block, M.S.W.
Carla Elliot-Neely, Ph.D
Justine Kalas Reeves, Ph.D.
Rachel Kaplan, M.S.W
Karyne Messina, Ed.D.
Alberto Pieczanski, M.D.
Silvana Starowlansky-Kaufman, M.S.W.

TUITION

Tuition for the 2011–2012 academic year is $2,350. Supervision fee is included; books and study materials are additional.

The $50 application fee is nonrefundable.

Limited scholarship money may be available, based on need and merit. See