Group learning in a young child observation seminar

Abstract

The paper focuses on a rather neglected area of the theory of Observation Seminars based on the Tavistock model. According to this model, each participant presents and discusses the observation that he/she is doing within a Seminar that is leaded by an experienced psychotherapist. Whereas the processes that are activated within the Seminar have been widely investigated, no much attention has been paid insofar to the way in which the possibility of sharing a number of observations within the Seminar contributes to the students' learning experience. In the present paper this issue is explored through the analysis of the observations and the final papers written by a group of nine participants to a Young Child Observation Seminar. This Seminar was part of an Observation Course held in Italy that lasted two years. The discussion of the material, the similarities and contrasts among the different situations helped the whole group to become more aware and concerned about the many and complex elements that contribute to shape the family's experience, the child's personality and the dynamics within the relationship with the observer.