Presenter: Brent Willock

This is an online presentation

Since we only had a short time to discuss Brent’s well-received paper, many of you asked if we might be able to schedule a Part 2 in which we could continue to ask questions, make comments, share reactions, etc. In this second, continuing session, we could revisit the children’s drawings to see if others had additional thoughts about them. We can also discuss the clinical and theoretical issues raised in the paper. For those who would like to immerse themselves in the manuscript in preparation for this discussion, Brent is willing to share the paper for this purpose.

Please register asap if you wish to have time to contemplate the contents of the paper at your own pace and formulate questions and comments for the discussion. (The paper will be distributed after registration and should not be distributed to anyone else without written permission from Brent.)

Abstract:  Through careful analysis of rich clinical material, this article explores the proposition that at least some, perhaps many, transgender identities may be formed to manage (defend against) prior developmental relational challenges and trauma. Adverse experience during the stage of differentiation out of the dual unity that Winnicott, Mahler, and others emphasized may prompt some boys to retreat to the security provided by earlier, undifferentiated, primary identification with their mothers. The diagnostic and treatment value of considering this possibility and perspective is underscored. Two children’s profound wish to understand their difficult developmental trajectories is examined, along with their astonishing ability to utilize art to tackle their questions about their developmental identity histories (who they are, where they came from, and where they are going). Without thorough understanding of these early developmental processes and defenses, it may be difficult or impossible to provide optimal assessment and treatment for these individuals.

Biography:

Dr. Willock taught at the Children’s Psychiatric Hospital, University of Michigan Medical Center, before returning to Canada where he became Chief Psychologist at the C.M. Hincks Treatment Centre. He was Adjunct Faculty, York University, and Associate Faculty Member, U of T. He is on the faculty of Adelphi University’s Postgraduate Program in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. He is Founding President of the Toronto Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis and served on the Board of the Canadian Institute for Child & Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. He is Writing Mentor for the Washington Psychoanalytic Foundation’s New Directions in Psychoanalytic Thinking Program. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy, and Psychoanalytic Dialogues. He was honoured with the first Perkins Award (cosponsored by the Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School at the University of Chicago and the Child Analytic Program at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis) for “outstanding application of psychoanalytic theory and insight to the understanding and treatment of severely emotionally disturbed children.” He authored Comparative-Integrative Psychoanalysis, and The Wrongful Conviction of Oscar Pistorius, and edited several books that received Gradiva and Goethe Awards. His contributions have been honored by the Ontario Psychological Association, the American Psychological Association, and the Canadian Psychological Association, the International Federation for Psychoanalytic Education. In January 2024, Dr. Willock received the Gradiva Award from the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis for the best psychoanalytic paper written in the past year.