“I knew how to find the good in people, but I certainly understood the other side.” ERNA FURMAN
Description: Erna Furman’s straightforward writing style helps adults understand children’s actions. In this four-session course, we will be reading several of her most useful papers.
Objectives:
- The students will be able to describe why it’s healthy for a mother to remain fully available while supporting the child’s growing independence.
• The students will be able to list three developmental milestones.
• The students will be able to name common ways in which mothers unconsciously avoid or mitigate their distress at ‘being left’ at the cost of jeopardizing the child’s mastery.
• The students will be able to describe why it’s difficult for a parent to shift their emotional investments in the child.
• The students will be able to list Furman’s four stages in the development of independence.
• The students will be able to describe the transformations a mother has to go through to appreciate her child’s independence.
• The student will be able to describe the origins of self-esteem.
• The students will be able to trace the development of feelings in early childhood.
• The students will be able to describe the importance of the mother’s role during the toddler phase, enabling the child to move from physical discharge of emotion to other forms.
• The students will be able to describe how and why some children have difficulty developing the ability to experience feelings.
• The students will be able to define and distinguish between two aspects of the parent-child relationship: distinguish between “narcissistic” and “object investments”
• The students will be able to list the three areas the preparatory work of therapy focuses on.
• The students will be able to list the ways in which child is included in therapeutic work with parent.