Anna Freud Centre Academic Faculty for Empirical, Theoretical & Conceptual Psychoanalytic Research and Clinical Analysis
Leader: Professor Joan Raphael-Leff
The Anna Freud Academic Faculty has been established to complement the long tradition of rich clinical debate at the Centre.
The main objectives of the Academic Forum are
- to provide a forum for dialogue between internal and external colleagues, and transdisciplinary cross-fertilisation.
- to frame and encourage collaborative research projects and to support substantive development of methodological pluralism.
- to foment debate around core propositions and promote dissemination of psychoanalytic ideas, practical applications, and national/international exchange beyond the academic arena
- to devise a strategically conceived and graduated series of activities: Small groups, Seminars, Presentations of work-in- progress and Conferences with publications.
- to sustain and train a community of PhD level research students and to address questions of innovative practice in teaching, study and research
Membership of the Faculty is composed of leading academic and clinical researchers engaged in empirical, theoretical or conceptual psycho-analytic research over a variety of topics.
An interdisciplinary system of Affiliates includes some eminent researchers & thinkers in related fields.
Meetings take place once per term at the AFC. Research themes will include
- conceptual research around theory
- process and application of psychoanalytic ideas
- empirically studied treatment outcomes in child and adult psychoanalysis and other therapies
- psychosocial issues of child development, gender and creativity
- parental and infant mental health
- prenatal issues
- epidemiology of trauma and impact of early experiences on adult mental illness (and of parental mental illness on offspring)
- evaluation of community interventions or policy and practice.