Infant Observation Conference

This half day event celebrates the long-standing bpf infant observation course, where each year two final papers from students on the course are selected as gold and silver winners of the now Hester Solomon Prize. Hester was one of the inspirations and founders of the bpf infant observation course and championed the experience of observing an infant as foundational for any psychotherapy training. This year, Jennie Hogan will read her gold-winning paper: ‘The Bliss and the Terror of Stillness’ and we are privileged to have Marilyn Mathew give a response. The morning will conclude with an open discussion.

This event is open to anyone interested in infant observation, whether qualified or in training, considering training, already following an infant observation course or just simply curious. There are a limited number of places available as this event is being held in-person at the bpf house so book early!

About the speakers

Marilyn A F Mathew is a BJAA Training Jungian analyst with nearly 30 years experience of running Infant Observation Seminar Groups. She was one of the first to undertake a Jungian Infant Observation as a requirement of training and her award winning paper, ‘Stranded Starfish’ was published in the Journal of the British Association of Psychotherapists (1995). For many years, before she trained as an analyst, Marilyn ran antenatal groups for pregnant couples and postnatal groups for new mothers. Alongside Infant Observation, her main areas of interest lie in unconscious and nonverbal communication, psyche and soma, imagery and dreams. She is the author of a number of published papers and chapters.

Jennie Hogan trained as a psychodynamic psychotherapist at WPF, qualifying in 2019. She was ordained as an Anglican priest in 2004 and served in various churches and universities in central London. Her debut book, This is My Body: A story of sickness and health, was published in 2017, and she writes for publications such as The Journal of Psychodynamic Practice, The Crucible, and The Church Times. She gained a Master’s Degree in psychodynamic theory and practice from Roehampton, University of London, writing on the subject of Bion’s concept of ‘O’. She completed a Master’s degree in modern English literature from Birkbeck University of London, and a Master’s degree in Theology from the University of Cambridge. Jennie has a private practice in central London