MAP AUTUMN SEMINAR 2010

Tatiana De Stempel: Kali

THE HANDS OF THE LIVING GOD

FEMININE SEXUALITY AND RELIGION

A much neglected figure in psychoanalytic discussion is Marion Milner 1900-1998.

She pioneered journal keeping as a form of therapy. Under the pseudonym of Joanna Field she published A Life of One's Own followed by An Experiement in Leisure and Eternity's Sunrise: A Way of Keeping a Diary. These writings attracted great interest from literary figures like W H Auden and Stephen Spender.

Milner was passionate about art and became an enthusiastic painter. In her own therapy and psychotherapeutic work she made use of painting and doodling. This resulted in On Not Being Able To Paint.

For sometime Milner was also fascinated by Jung and "bisexuality", which perhaps now would be better termed psychological androgyny.

Milner started psychoanalytic training in 1940. The Hands of the Living God is an account of her work with a psychotic analysand. As well as narrating the process of her patient, Milner tells how this psychoanalytical work gave valuable insights into the nature of her own desire.

Six sessions are planned for the Autumn of 2010

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