ATTENTION SEEKING with Tennyson Dodd, MSW
In Attention Seeking, his short book packed with his inimitable style, Adam Phillips makes the case that “attention seeking is one of the best things we do.” This course will explore the odd fact that an activity so fundamental to our lives has become an accusation, rather than a complement. We will explore how our need for attention, as well as our desire for it, is shaped by the way we’ve been attended to by our various environments. The links between shame, sociality, and attention seeking will also be attended to during this course, with the clinical implications of these relationships kept in mind throughout.
Date: Thursday, January6,13,20 &27 / Time: 7:30 – 8:45 / Number of Credits: 5.0 credits / Price: $100 / Level: Advanced / Audience: Mental Health Professionals / Location: TBD
Questions? Contact us at 314-361-7075 or marketing@stlpi.org
Cancellations will be accepted up to one week prior to the first session. Make check payable and send to St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute 7700 Clayton Rd, Ste 200, St. Louis, MO 63117
Objectives:
Describe an understanding of psychic suffering as a form of attention seeking gone awry Investigate cultural understandings and teachings about attention and attention seeking
Hypothesize about how attention seeking has come to be frowned upon
Describe the clinical importance of narrow and wide forms of attention for those who care for children.
Describe the relationship between helplessness and attention seeking
Describe the relationship between how one is attended to and one’s attention seeking
Describe the links between shame and attention seeking
Delineate Phillips’ argument that the painful elements of shame are linked to sociality and its potential forms
Gain on understanding of the current cultural pressure to enhance one’s capacity for attention, i.e. Elaborate forms of distraction and their importance for everyday life Describe the importance of Phillips’ unique understanding of attention and attention seeking in the clinic, classroom, and at home.
Understanding how Phillips’ writing instructs us how paying close attention can be a form of anxiety
