24th Annual Day in Applied Psychoanalysis

Between Hours/Interdisciplinary Dialogues, Applied Psychoanalysis Programme of the Toronto Psychoanalytic Society, presents

The Sibling Trauma

A Zoom Symposium

Saturday, October 21, 2023, 9:20 am – 2:00 pm (ET)

Featuring: Juliet Mitchell

with Margaret Ann Fitzpatrick Hanly

Early Registration: $125 Regular / $75 Full-Time Student* (before September 15, 2023)

Regular Registration: $140 Regular / $90 Full-Time Student* (September 15, 2023 and after)

*Student Registration – Proof of 2023/2024 status in universities/colleges is required. Please contact the TPS directly to register.

** DISTANCE PARTICIPATION ONLY – This event will be conducted online.
Preregistration required.

Registration deadline: October 13, 2023

This symposium will bring to the foreground Juliet Mitchell’s ground-breaking work on sibling relations. It will hone in on what she has viewed as a gap in psychoanalytic theory concerning the developmental dilemma of the toddler in being faced with the birth of a sibling. In this presentation she will speak about the role of the mother in setting prohibitions, in being called upon to mediate in the face of the displaced toddler’s brush with murderousness following the birth of a new sibling – what she calls, the ‘Law of the Mother’.

The presentation will also shed light on the toddler’s experience of loss (of the baby he or she once was) in feeling displaced by the new baby (whether in phantasy or reality). This trauma—a product of the mother’s prohibitions—has as its consequence the fear of maternal abandonment and death in the face of the toddler’s wish to ‘murder’ the new baby.

In casting a light on horizontal/fraternal relations, Juliet Mitchell will speak to the existence of two intersecting developmental axes: a horizontal axis, along which siblings interact and a hierarchical vertical one, representing parent/child relations, including both the paternal oedipal structure and the earliest maternal infant relationship, with prohibitions against incest and murder operating from within both.

Margaret Ann Fitzpatrick Hanly will respond to Juliet Mitchell’s seminal thinking on fraternal relations and bring to the discussion her own work on Austen’s portrayal of loss, sibling rivalry, and unconscious fantasy.

This year’s Annual Day will explore how the sibling trauma plays out psychically and interweaves with other developmental rites of passage. The presenters, both having a background in literature, will draw on underlying sibling dynamics as enacted in literary works and will explore the function of patriarchy and fraternity in the world today.

The day has been structured to allow participants ample time to reflect on the topic and to have an opportunity to participate in the discussions.

We welcome you to join us for a day of stimulating dialogue!

Register Now

Programme

9:20 am – Welcome and Introductions, Vivienne Pasieka, Chair

9:30 am – Juliet Mitchell: The Sibling Trauma

10:20 am – Coffee Break (15 minutes)

10:35 am – Response from Margaret Ann Fitzpatrick Hanly

11:05 am – Audience Discussion

11:45 am – Lunch Break (45 mins)

12:30 pm – Juliet Mitchell and Margaret Ann Fitzpatrick Hanly in conversation

1:00 pm – Open Panel and Audience Discussion

1:50 pm – Closing Remarks

Organizing Committee

Vivienne Pasieka, PhD, Chair
Michael Blugerman, MSW, RSW
Simran Chahal, MA