This lecture will take place on:

*To enable access to the widest possible audience these lectures are planned to be delivered live, but remotely, as webinars. Where we are able, a recording will be made available to all booked delegates although we encourage live attendance wherever possible. Please see the details above to see if this lecture will be recorded and available after the live event.

These lectures will be delivered remotely using Zoom. You will need a device with a suitably fast internet connection. Although mobile devices and tablets can be used, we recommend the use of laptop or desktop PC for the best experience. Some devices provided by employers may have restrictions in place. Please use this test link (https://zoom.us/test) to check your set up before booking.

You will be sent the necessary login link about a week before the course start date. Should you have any concerns about the accessibility of remote delivery please contact us at CPDEvents@tavi-port.ac.uk to discuss how we can best help you.

This is the first lecture in the spring 2026 series.

Lecture 1: The unbearable burden of meaning

Tuesday 13 January 202

This lecture will be recorded.

Lecturer: Jean Knox

A person who has suffered long-term abuse tries to retain some sense of agency by constructing narratives which might give some meaning to the abusive experiences. The terrible choice they are faced with is between accepting the fact that they have been treated as a mindless object, that their own subjectivity has been of no value or significance to the other person, or, on the other hand, if they retain a sense of agency then it leads to a belief that they must somehow have caused the abuse.

Such an imaginative belief would allow a child to retain some sense of cause and effect, some belief that she actually does have some control over the situation because she did something wrong which provoked this violent response. So, faced with the choice between passive helplessness and some kind of active role, people often seem to choose the latter- to retain some sense of agency, whatever the price.

I shall discuss the resulting state of mind of both utter helplessness and a sense of total responsibility, which combine to create the deep sense of shame that results from what Ferenczi named as ’Identification with the aggressor’.