Intellectual Disability and Psychotherapy

Alan Corbett (1963-2016) was the author of a number of books, chapters, and papers on aspects of working psychoanalytically with trauma, abuse, and disability. Alan worked as a psychotherapist and supervisor in private practice and had been Clinical Director of Respond, ICAP, and the CARI Foundation in Dublin.

Disability therapy is a remarkable and constantly developing specialty and Valerie Sinason is its major pioneer. The book celebrates her bravery, wisdom and honesty. Alan Corbett and Tamsin Cottis have assembled in her honour a gifted group of contributors who are open to the often very challenging nature of disabled people’s lives but have found clinically urgent and wonderfully creative ways of helping them to flourish. The therapists and carers have found highly imaginative ways of opening lines of communication with their clients, but also, equally importantly, within their networks and worlds. This is an exciting book.Dr Anne Alvarez, PhD, M.A.C.P. Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, retired Co-Convener of the Autism Service, Child and Family Dep't. Tavistock Clinic, LondonValerie Sinason, with her powerful words, her challenging ideas and her empathic insights into the sometimes painful emotional lives of people with labels of disability has taught me to listen with more than my ears, and, at times, helped me to bear the unbearable. This book is testament to her place as a respected, cherished and highly influential figure in the lives and professional careers of many and diverse people, myself included. Dr Roger Banks FRCPsych FRCGP(hon) FIPD, National Senior Psychiatric Lead, NHS England, President of the European Association of Mental Health in Intellectual Disability

• ContentsNotes on contributorsForeword by SUSIE ORBACHIntroductionALAN CORBETTIncluding the excluded: Valerie Sinason, psychoanalytic pioneer GRAEME GALTONCreativity and the analytic condition: creative arts approaches within a psychoanalytic frameEIMIR McGRATH We are who we see looking back at us: Valerie as a supporter of a developing organisationALAN CORBETT and TAMSIN COTTIS The handicapped smile: language and identityLIZ LLOYDDeath, loss, and the struggle for non-disabled griefNOELLE BLACKMANForensic groupwork and Books Beyond Words: Valerie Sinason as colleague, co-author, and friendSHEILA HOLLINS The best of both worlds: the making of a disability psychiatristGEORGINA PARKESBuilding insight and changing lives: the contribution of Valerie Sinason to the history of disability psychotherapyDAVID O’DRISCOLLSharing our history, informing our future: Valerie Sinason and the development of training for frontline care workers and therapistsPAT FRANKISHSecondary handicap and a model for the supervision of nursesSHULA WILSON Labels, death-making and an alternative to Social Role Valorisation: Valerie Sinason’s influence on my workJAN WALMSLEYValerie Sinason, South Africa, and the politics of seeingLESLIE SWARTZLike an owl in a tree: learning from Valerie Sinason in treating patients’ intellectual disabilities in SwedenANDERS SVENSSONValerie Sinason and the psychodynamics of bravery BRETT KAHRAn interview with Valerie Sinason reflecting on her life and the evolution of disability psychotherapyALAN CORBETT