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Neural processes can be understood at a huge range of timescales. At one extreme, biophysical processes within and between cells take place in a few millionths of a second. At the other end of the scale, neurodegenerative disease can take years to manifest. Neuroplasticity, or re-wiring of the brain, can also be rapid or prolonged. Until recently cortical remapping was thought to take place mostly in infancy. But recently this orthodoxy has been challenged and new findings reveal the rates at which the brain rewires itself throughout life.

There is some research evidence supporting the effectiveness of both short- and long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Some illustrative studies will be outlined, with some points for discussion.

Our fast-forward culture damages everything from our health to our relationships. The growing Slow Movement offers a lifeline: it is not about doing everything at the pace of a snail; it's about doing everything at the right speed. Forging a healthier relationship with time and slowing down at the right moments can bring greater depth, connection and meaning to our lives. Time and slowness are the oxygen of relationships, which has implications for psychotherapy.

In working with the patients who are in greatest need of help, I am particularly interested in the dilemma between tackling their greatest anxieties immediately or avoiding these until the patient feels safe. But just how safe do patients really feel if their prime areas of anxiety are not to some extent named from the start? In this presentation I will consider the dilemma of how to time interventions in order to create the greatest safety in the relationship in the context of specific work with challenging patients.

This talk addresses the contrast between the urgency present in Marvell's address To his Coy Mistress with the time needed to make – and indeed, survive – a committed adult partnership. Using clinical illustrations, this talk will draw on Jung’s understanding of this relationship as one between container and contained. I will address the necessity for mourning as well as celebration in the deepening of relating and in the psychological development of the couple. Individuation takes time.

Our brochure contains information about Confer events from November 2008 to June 2009. NB this file is very large and may take time to download.

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