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Dr. Celeste Foster shares her journey into psychodynamic practice and how her work with children experiencing medically unexplained symptoms led her to pursue specialized training in adolescent psychotherapy at the Tavistock Clinic.

• Originally trained in mental health nursing heavily influenced by Hildegard Peplau's relational approach
• Found that practice had shifted toward medicalization and symptom-focused models
• Developed interest in psychoanalytic approaches when working with children who couldn't articulate psychological experiences
• Research revealed nurses perform complex psychodynamic interventions without recognizing their value
• When asked directly about their contribution to care, nurses struggled to define their role beyond "keeping patients safe"
• Detailed research using work discussion groups showed nurses practicing sophisticated psychoanalytic techniques
• Identified container-contained relationships, decoding counter-transference, and interpreting symbolic communications as core nursing interventions
• Barriers include internalized professional insecurities and historical stigma around psychoanalysis
• Political context of care work being systemically devalued and considered less important than technical skills
• Growing optimism as more nurses reclaim psychoanalytic theory in their practice and writing
• Success of programs teaching psychoanalytic concepts to primary care nurses working in challenging environments

The team at Peplau's Ghost continues to explore the psychodynamic foundations of psychiatric nursing. Listen to more episodes by subscribing and sharing your thoughts with us.

Let’s Connect

Dr Dan Wesemann

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://nursing.uiowa.edu/academics/dnp-programs/psych-mental-health-nurse-practitioner

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-wesemann

 Dr Kate Melino

Email: [email protected]

 Dr Sean Convoy

Email: [email protected]

 Dr Melissa Chapman

Email: [email protected]