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Interviewing leaders
in mental health
Interviewing leaders in mental health
Dr Anne Alvarez Legacy Interview: Pioneering Psychotherapy for Autistic and Traumatised Children
One of child psychotherapy’s most admired and respected therapists alive today sharing her thinking and wisdom working with traumatised children and autism
Access the recording + resources + 2 hour CE/CPD certificate for £39
“This is the best online event I have ever attended. Anne is an incredible speaker. Thank you Anne and all the MINDinMIND team for crafting such a remarkable two hours.”
Dr Anne Alvarez
With Special Guests
Dr Graham Music & Dr Robin Holloway
This Legacy Interview recording with Dr Anne Alvarez is more than a conversation. It is an opportunity to hear directly from one of child psychotherapy’s most influential figures as she reflects on the evolution of her thinking and clinical practice. Across this wide-ranging discussion, Anne shares the insights and ideas that have shaped a lifetime of work with emotionally troubled and autistic children, offering a lasting contribution to how we understand and care for some of the most vulnerable children in our societies.
Anne Alvarez is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and retired Co-Chair of the Autism Service at the Tavistock Clinic, London. She is internationally renowned for her groundbreaking concepts in working therapeutically with children previously thought unreachable.
Anne is in conversation with her two special guests:
- Dr Graham Music, Child and Adult Psychotherapist and author of several influential books on child development and therapy
- Dr Robin Holloway, a Clinical Psychologist specialising in autism and Asperger’s syndrome
We hear how Anne Alvarez has developed innovative approaches to working with autistic and traumatised children, integrating psychoanalysis, developmental psychology, and neuroscience into practical interventions.
Key points from the interview
- The development of Anne’s interest in child psychotherapy and work with autistic children
- The influence of Melanie Klein, Frances Tustin, and other pioneers in the field of child psychoanalysis
- The concept of “reclamation” and its role in engaging withdrawn or undrawn children
- The development of the three levels of therapeutic work: explanatory, descriptive, and intensified vitalizing
- The importance of hope and vitality in therapeutic relationships with severely disturbed children
- The integration of psychoanalytic theory with developmental psychology and neuroscience
- The role of supervision and mentorship in developing as a therapist
Cultural considerations and adaptations in working with diverse populations - Addressing the needs of autistic children and their families
- The ongoing relevance of psychoanalytic thinking in understanding child development and mental health
Special Guests
Dr Graham Music
Graham Music is a psychotherapist, trainer, author and supervisor. He is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist at the Tavistock Centre where he worked for over 25 years, and he has been an adult Psychotherapist for about 35 years. Formerly Associate Clinical Director of the Tavistock Clinic’s Child and Family Department, he has developed many innovative programs, including setting up services in over 40 schools and a range of services working with the aftermath of child maltreatment and neglect. His clinical specialty for decades has been understanding and working with trauma. He supervises and teaches nationally and internationally and has a particular interest in linking cutting-edge developmental findings with therapeutic practice.
In this interview Graham discusses:
- The influence of Anne’s work on his own clinical practice and thinking
- The application of Anne’s concepts to a wider range of clinical populations
- The importance of integrating different theoretical perspectives in child psychotherapy
- The role of vitality and aliveness in therapeutic work with traumatised children
Dr Robin Holloway
Robin Holloway is a Registered Psychologist providing psychoanalytic psychotherapy to children, adolescents, and adults in Toronto, Canada. Robin was able to survive two doctoral degrees, one in educational theory and the other in developmental/clinical psychology. He is a graduate of CICAPP (The Canadian Institute for Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy) where he is now a supervisor and a teacher. Robin is in private practice at The Willow Centre in Toronto, Canada.
At The Willow Centre, Robin has the privilege of working with a small group of like-minded clinicians where together we can discuss cases, and where he has had the unique opportunity of discussing aspects of this paper with his enormously helpful colleagues. Before joining his colleagues at The Willow Centre, Robin worked for over 20 years in the Child and Family Services department of a public hospital where he participated in weekly assessments of children referred for possible autism spectrum disorder.
Inspired by this experience and by hearing Anne Alvarez speak about autism to a group of graduate psychoanalytic psychotherapists (the Canadian Association of Psychoanalytic Child Therapists), Robin went on to develop a special interest in children with autism and Asperger’s. This in turn has led to several publications: Asperger’s Children: Psychodynamics, Aetiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment, High-functioning autism: changes over fourteen years of psychoanalytic psychotherapy.
More about Anne Alvarez
Dr Anne Alvarez is an internationally recognised clinician, teacher, and author. She has made significant contributions to our understanding of autism, borderline states, and the psychoanalytic treatment of severely disturbed children. Her work has emphasised the importance of hope, vitality, and responsiveness in therapeutic relationships, particularly with children who have experienced severe emotional deprivation or trauma.
Anne has lectured and supervised all over the world, influencing generations of clinicians working with children who have experienced trauma.
She has dedicated her career to understanding and treating the emotional and psychological needs of damaged and neglected children and was one of the first clinicians to treat children with autism.
By highlighting the significance of early relationships and the role of play in the healing process, Anne has had a profound impact on our understanding and treatment of children with complex emotional and psychological needs.
She has written numerous influential books and articles on child psychotherapy, including ‘Live Company: Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy with Autistic, Borderline, Deprived and Abused Children’, ‘The Thinking Heart: Three Levels of Psychoanalytic Therapy with Disturbed Children’ and ‘Autism and Personality: Findings from the Tavistock Autism Workshop,’ edited with Sue Reid.
Today, Anne Alvarez is considered one of the most highly respected authorities in the field of child psychology, and her contributions continue to shape the practice and theoretical frameworks used by professionals working with children and adolescents.
Interviewer
Anne is in conversation with Jane O’Rourke.
Jane O'Rourke, founder of MINDinMIND and a former award-winning BBC journalist now practising as a Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, draws upon her combined expertise to create rich and thoughtful conversations with leading mental health clinicians. Her interviews weave together the personal and professional threads of her guests' journeys, capturing the experiences that have shaped their clinical work and thinking.
Details correct at time of recording on 27 September 2023
