Friday 17 - Saturday 18 October 2008
Fee: £230
Venue: Tavistock Centre, London

The method of infant observation, first developed and pioneered by Esther Bick and her colleagues at the Tavistock Clinic, has had an enduring influence, not only in the training of psychoanalytically oriented clinicians and other professions, especially child psychotherapists, but also in deepening the capacity for observation and the observational stance in ‘seeing’ and recording human interaction and its resonance in the observer, no matter what her or his field of endeavour. 

While Esther Bick’s focus was, in the main, on observing the interplay between mother and child, her method and conceptualisation of observation has influenced ways of framing and understanding the use and practice of observation in a much wider variety of settings, including those afforded by organisational life.

The aim of this international conference is to bring together practitioners, researchers and consultants familiar with or interested in this tradition of work and the contribution it can make to furthering our understanding and engagement in the dynamics of organisational life. Our intention is to inform one another, to exchange experiences and thus to stimulate discussion and debate on the practice of organisational observation and to explore areas for its further development and research possibilities.

The conference will include plenary presentations and the opportunity for dialogue with senior practitioners, clinicians and consultants on the development and application of the Tavistock-Bick tradition. It will also explore in detail its relevance to the observational study of organisations and the contribution this can make in training, research and consultancy.

Parallel workshops offered by international practitioners, drawing on their own experience of working in this tradition in a variety of different settings, will further enhance and enrich our picture of work being carried out in this vein in many places throughout the world. 

In addition there will also be opportunities for participants to convene and contribute to workshops themselves in order to share their own work and thoughts in this field.Streaming optionWe are piloting this conference as our first online streaming event to our colleagues who are unable to attend this conference, the opportunity to watch and listen to its main presentations, live.  We hope you will be interested in taking part in this exciting experience and, as this is the first time we are able to offer such an opportunity.

Streaming option
We are piloting this conference as our first online streaming event to our colleagues who are unable to attend this conference, the opportunity to watch and listen to its main presentations, live.  We hope you will be interested in taking part in this exciting experience and, as this is the first time we are able to offer such an opportunity.

If you are interested in signing-up for this conference online, please email us, as soon as possible.