McCoy, Stephen (2023) A discourse analysis of Lacanian psychoanalysts conceptualisation of child psychopathology. Doctor of Psychotherapy thesis, Dublin City University.
Abstract
This study explores how Lacanian Psychoanalysts understand child psychopathology.
Addressing this question in line with the principles of the methodological approach that was
adopted for the study meant conducting a review of the literature pertaining to the dominant
discourses that construct the concepts ‘child’ and ‘psychopathology’. The discourses found
to be most influentially to the construction of childhood, historically and
contemporaneously, were those of religion, philosophy, and developmental psychology. A
review of the literature concerning psychopathology revealed how developmental
psychopathology and psychiatry remain the dominant models in research and the clinical
treatment of children experiencing mental health problems. The most prominent methods of
clinical treatment are also addressed as part of the literature review. This served as the
backdrop against which the subject of Lacanian psychoanalysis with children is being
explored. Lacanian psychoanalysis provides a coherent theory, with an emphasis on
subjectivity, the unconscious, discourse and early childhood as factors that structure the
individual. It is these elements that enable practitioners to conduct a form of treatment that
is described as ‘one-by-one’, always unique and original to each case. Six semi-structured
interviews were carried out with the participants and the interview data was transcribed and
analysed using Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA). FDA was used to explore how the
participants constructed their understanding of child psychopathology by paying attention to
the discourses they used in discussing this subject. The study outlines the role of
contemporary culture in the conceptualisation of childhood and psychopathology according
to the participants and reveals a radically different way of conducting treatment to the
dominant models, those that are addressed in the literature review. These findings from the
study advocate for a more nuanced approach to treating children with mental health
difficulties that recognises the unique individual qualities of each child and takes account of
their social and cultural experience in devising and delivering programmes of treatment.
Metadata
Item Type: | Thesis (Doctor of Psychotherapy) |
---|---|
Date of Award: | March 2023 |
Refereed: | No |
Supervisor(s): | Moore, Gerard, Lambert, Veronica and McElvaney, Rosaleen |
Subjects: | Humanities > Linguistics Medical Sciences > Mental health Medical Sciences > Psychology Social Sciences > Social psychology |
DCU Faculties and Centres: | DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science and Health > School of Nursing and Human Sciences |
ID Code: | 28011 |
Deposited On: | 03 Apr 2023 11:15 by Gerard Moore . Last Modified 03 Apr 2023 11:15 |
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