Autistic Functioning and Language Development

This thesis is a retrospective qualitative study based on psychotherapy sessions with children presenting autistic features who use language in atypical ways. The aim was to understand, through the transferential relationship, what psychological context in terms of anxieties and defences prevents the child from using language efficiently. Hypotheses concerning children‘s use of language in the context of their emotional oscillation and evolution during the course of treatment were noted and checked against subsequent developments. They were also triangulated with the outcome of a grounded theory analysis. The grounded theory analysis led to the emergence of higher-level themes that were compared within and across cases and allowed factors surrounding the children‘s use of language to be conceptualized. The grounded theory method was used in parallel with the usual process of evaluation of the dynamics of each session and patient used by psychoanalysts a posteriori and which is part of the researcher‘s background. This procedure was enhanced by the use of Bion‘s Grid, here in a version adapted to the aims of the research. This approach is discussed in detail in the Methodology chapter. The psychoanalytic theoretical background that supported the research was mainly based on the tradition of Object-Relations Theory, particularly the evolution of Kleinian thinking represented by Bion‘s works, and as far as autism is concerned, by Frances Tustin and Donald Meltzer‘s formulations. Concerning the subject of language development, Meltzer‘s explorations on the necessary conditions for its development and the philosopher Wittgenstein‘s investigations on the social function of language were the main influences of this work. The evolution of the children‘s use of language in parallel with their emotional development in the context of their psychotherapies was analyzed and some hypotheses about the oscillations in their emotional and mental functioning were made. The oscillation in the children‘s emotional state, language use and thinking processes was also studied in terms of a general fluctuation between different mental states that was considered to be present in different degrees and quality in mental life and more strongly when there are limitations in communication skills and social interaction. A few excerpts from notes on adolescent and adult cases with autistic features were included in the Discussion Chapters to briefly illustrate this aspect.

Financialisation, Capital Accumulation and Economic Development : A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation of the Nigerian Economy

The primary focus of this study is to highlight those unobtrusive, yet fundamental, factors undermining economic development in Nigeria. To begin with, it posits that the decelerating pace of capital accumulation in Nigeria, which naturally occasions rising unemployment and poverty levels, and widening inequality gap, is the result of the ‘low possibility’ of capitalist enterprises in the country of earning an adequate rate of profit from their productive processes. In turn, the ‘low possibility’ is argued to be the result of the uneven development inherent in the modern capitalist structure, the high cost of capital and of production peculiar to Nigeria, and the ineffective demand for goods made in Nigeria: these elements are viewed as been precipitated by the contradictions of the contemporary political-economic arrangement that organises the Social Structures of Accumulation. For Nigeria to ‘develop’, it is contended that the unobtrusive elements inherent in the contradiction of the political-economic economic that undermine the capitalists’ ability to earn a commensurate rate of profit in the country needs to be fully addressed first. Furthermore, this study suggests that it is crucial the country embraces knowledge-based industrialisation if it is to achieve some form of ‘competitive advantage’ in the global market, which could enable its productive processes extract a commensurate level of profit from the market. To facilitate the knowledge-based industrialisation, the state should, not only create a conducive environment for industrial development but also play the lead role in transforming the peripheral and oil dependent economy to a knowledge-based economy by coordinating business organisations and investing in high-risk innovations.

Towards Empowerment: Narrative Study of Counselling Psychology Trainees and How They Make Sense of Their Personal and Professional Development in the Context of Their Past Experiences

The discipline of counselling psychology continues to grow and change in response to social, economic and political pressures. It has been argued that its quest for a coherent and distinct identity, which emphasises the possibility of the coexistence of multiple approaches, creates an inherently uncertain and dilemmatic training environment that may hinder the development of trainees’ professional identities. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the issue at hand, the aim was to explore how final year trainees and newly qualified counselling psychologists constructed and made sense of their emerging professional identities and what experiences, past and present, they drew upon in the context of their training to shape those identities. Applying narrative inquiry to analyse eight open-ended interviews, eight preliminary themes were originally identified in participants’ narratives, which with further refinements lead to stories of struggle and marginalisation, growth and discovery, and power and resilience. Participants’ stories of struggle and marginalisation emerged in reference to early family dynamics and stressful life experiences, which seemed to also foster a strong identification with the counselling psychology profession, while stories of growth and discovery focused on the importance of having supportive figures, who helped to instill a sense of security and create an atmosphere of openness. It was in this learning environment that participants felt it was possible to develop a more resilient, empowered professional self, which allowed them to shed an earlier sense of struggle and vulnerability. However, where more of an emphasis was placed on power and resilience, there seemed to be less room for participants to express other feelings that came into conflict with their preferred sense of professional self. While there seems to be a need for a ‘safer’ climate, in which trainees could voice and acknowledge anxieties, vulnerabilities and limitations, addressing concerns around power and vulnerability that may be contributing to the silencing of particular voices and identities may be equally important if trainees are to develop coherent and distinct counselling psychologist identities.