Derek Irwin is a Psychodynamic Psychotherapist and a Qualified Psychodynamic and Psychoanalytic Supervisor (WPF).
He has been practising for 14 years in the field of addictions therapy with individuals presenting with various addictions – drugs, sex, alcohol, gambling, the internet or other behaviours in counselling and therapy organisations in London, and has extensive experience of running long term therapy groups. Derek was Head of a large Addictions Counselling Service in London for 6 years until 2018 when he commenced private practice in Cambridge.
His focus has been on understanding the meaning of “addiction” within the matrix patient-therapist-organisation-society and the role that addictive states of mind play in producing addictive behaviours, understood as dissociative defences/psychic retreats.
Derek’s approach to working with these patients emphasises extensive assessment focusing on the early historical, internal and relational experiences of patients, understanding the unconscious meaning of their behaviours, managing boundary issues and providing psychic containment whilst ensuring the use of interpretation and attention to the interplay of transference and countertransference featuring more normally with this client group. Following Bion, from ‘minus k’ to ‘k’.
Derek presented papers on working psychodynamically at the Psychotherapy of Addiction Conference at The Maudsley Hospital in 2011 and at the University of Toronto Addictions Conference in 2014. He is currently working on a clinical manual for Short Term Psychodynamic Work with Addiction. He is registered with FPC, BPC, UKCP and a member of BACP and IAFP.
Derek’s presentation will include how addiction/addictive states of mind are understood and the politics and practice of working within a managed care culture. Anonymised vignettes will be used to illustrate the theoretical and clinical approach. There will be opportunity for participant Q & A’s.