Sigmund Freud’s great grand-daughter here once again to conduct workshops
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Caroline Freud-Penney, great-granddaughter of the father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud, will be in Sri Lanka for the fifth time, conducting workshops for parents and others responsible for teenagers and young adults on October 17 and 18.Workshop schedules will include sessions on the current knowledge of brain changes in adolescence and their impact on teenagers’ development and emotional well-being, parenting styles, communication, generational patterns, handling conflict and stress management among others. Key issues examined will include misuse of internet, friendship problems, school/work issues, sexuality and difficult feelings. The sessions will take the form of discussions, plenaries as well as practical exercises, all of which are geared towards what Penney believes is an issue that is relevant and current in Sri Lanka.
Penney first began work in Sri Lanka with local monks as well as childcare and community workers. The experience has since grown into a strong bond with the island and long-term work with the Chitra Lane School for Special Children and with support systems for practising counsellors and local parents.
The issue of separation and individuation is a common problem that Penney has identified over the course of her work with Sri Lankan communities. She also finds that there is a serious concern regarding child sexual abuse, which has even recently been given much attention. Less acute but more cross-cultural concerns that have drawn her attention in Sri Lanka include discipline, the desire for respect and the need to build good communication between children and parents. Penney’s focus is helping create structures that can deal with these issues.
Penney grew up in a family of psychotherapists and has always been drawn to working with families.
“I felt that if I worked with parents, lots of the issues that children experience could be addressed by helping the parents,” she says.
Depression, low self-esteem and anxiety are some of the common issues Penney has been working through with parents as a parenting educator for 30 years. Seeing families getting on better, a child becoming happier or seeing parents being able to love their child again if the bond has been ruptured, are things that “thrill” her.
Penney is “enormously proud” of her family heritage, she says, but is also influenced by systemic thinking.
“Often, it is not the child in themselves that holds the problem,” she explains systemic thinking, “but this is a result of problems in the communication system in the family.”
She is also influenced by the work of Carl Rogers in helping clients gain a greater sense of self, and the work of Aaron Beck in linking feelings and thoughts to behaviour.
“Family Matters: Understanding Teenagers” for parents with teenagers aged 14-24 with systemic family therapist/parenting trainer Caroline Freud Penney and child, adolescent and adult psychoanalytic psychotherapist Dierdre Dowling will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on October 17 and 18 at 8, Kynsey Terrace, Colombo 8. Limited seating is still open to parents and counsellors.
Call 077-314-1180 for registration information.