Meet our Scholars

My research focuses on the history, comparison and contemporary application of psychoanalytic concepts, with particular reference to the work of W. R. Bion and C. G. Jung. I am interested in the interface between the individual and society, and in the possibility for mutual interplay between psychoanalytic concepts and understandings and legal processes.

Born in Chicago, grew up in Southern California. Obtained MSW from USC in 1985 and worked thereafter in the field of mental health as a clinical social worker, a manager, and a researcher in two separate countries. In 2015 I wrote a biography of my grandfather, analyst Franz Alexander, after whom I am named and who assumed the role of father for me. In 2018 I wrote a memoir of the growing up with this man as my father, a giant in the field of psychoanalytic thought and practice. Working now on 4th book “Freud’s Honorary Son: Exploring the Theories of Franz Alexander”.

Dr Andrew Balfour is Chief Executive of Tavistock Relationships, where he has worked since 2001. He originally trained as a clinical psychologist at University College London and then as an adult psychoanalytic psychotherapist at the Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust, whilst in a staff post there. After qualifying, he worked in the Trust, developing training for people working with older adults. He is also currently Head of Training at Tavistock Relationships, where he set up and runs the Advanced Standing Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic trainings (accredited by the BPC). He was the Clinical Director at TR for more than 10 years. He also holds a PhD from the Psychoanalysis Unit at UCL. He has undertaken research in several areas, including a study of couple psychotherapy outcomes, and dementia care, developing a relationship intervention for people living with dementia. This work received the British Psychoanalytic Council award for Innovative Excellence in 2019. He has published many journal articles and book chapters and has co-edited two books: How Couple Relationships Shape our World (Routledge, 2012) and Engaging Couples - New Directions in Therapeutic Work with Families (Routledge, 2019). His latest book is Life and Death: Our Relationship with Ageing, Dementia and Other Fates of Time (Routledge 2025).

Callum Blades is an interdisciplinary researcher and practitioner at Bournemouth University as well working with the Freud Museum London. Blades has a background in psychosocial studies, psychodynamics and psychoanalysis, with application to political culture, conspiracy theories and contemporary society. He works with scholars, academics, counsellors and political theorists in order to contribute further knowledge of conspiratorial reasoning and affect-based decision-making within public and political discourse.

Thomas Booker is a psychodynamic psychotherapist in private practice and a Senior Lecturer at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation trust. He is also an academic researcher at the Psychoanalysis Unit in the Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology at University College London (UCL). He previously worked as a researcher on the UCL-led Kailo project, the COFI project at the Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry in Newham (Queen Mary University of London and the East London NHS Foundation Trust) and the Tavistock Adult Depression Study (TADS). He completed his clinical training at the Tavistock, and is an accredited member of the BPC, the Tavistock Society of Psychotherapists (TSP) and the Black, African and Asian Therapy Network (BAATN). Thomas is French and African-American, and has lived in the United States, Kenya, Colombia, France, Cuba, and Zimbabwe. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in History and Politics from the University of Warwick, an MSc in Theoretical Psychoanalytic Studies from UCL, and an MA in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy from the University of Essex. To date, the main focus of his research interests have been related to psychotherapy process research, epistemic trust and adolescent mental health.

I have worked as an academic in the university sector for 30 years. My most recent post was at Southampton University as a Senior Lecturer in Mental Health. Before this, I worked at UEL on our psychoanalytically informed psychosocial studies BA and at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust as a course leader on the MA in Psychoanalytic Studies. I am a BPC accredited psychoanalytic couple psychotherapist, BPC accredited DIT practitioner and BACP psychodynamic counsellor. I am a visiting clinician and clinical supervisor at Tavistock Relationships and I am on the editorial board of Couple and Family Psychoanalysis. My publications are in the broad area of mental health, romantic love and psychosocial studies.

Dr Gisele Caseiras is a Psychodynamic Psychotherapist working with children, adolescents, young people, and parents. She is a Senior Lecturer at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and holds a PhD in Neuroscience from University College London. Her clinical work is psychodynamic, informed by neuroscience, and grounded in psychoanalytic thinking. She has a particular interest in difference, identity, and diversity in clinical practice and teaching.

Max Cavitch, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of English and Co-director of the Psychoanalytic Studies programme at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also edits the prize-winning blog, Psyche on Campus (which he writes about in issue 44 of New Associations). He is also an Editorial Consultant for ROOM: A Sketchbook for Analytic Action and a member of the Editorial Board of Revisit: Humanities and Medicine in Dialogue. Max’s latest book is Psychoanalysis and the University: Resistance and Renewal from Freud to the Present (Routledge, 2025), and he is currently the Fulbright-Freud Visiting Lecturer at the Sigmund Freud Museum and the University of Vienna, where he is completing his next book, Fido and Psyche: Dogs in and around Psychoanalysis, 1871 to the Present: An Illustrated History.

Professor Divine Charura (Dr) is a Professor of Counselling Psychology and a registered counselling psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) in England. He is also a psychotherapist, and an Honorary Fellow of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). Professor Charura’s research focuses on psychotraumatology and mental health across the lifespan, and he has co-authored and edited 10 books. His work is widely published in peer reviewed journals. He is committed to strengthening the evidence base for psychotherapy, including psychoanalytic and psychodynamic treatments. He contributes actively to research in this field and has a strong interest in the development, dissemination, and rigorous evaluation of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches. He is also committed to understanding the efficacy of long term treatments across a range of psychological difficulties and diverse client groups. In 2019, he was recognised by the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Washington, DC, for his contributions to the DC Campus as a J1 Scholar. In 2026, he was named in The King’s New Year Honours List for services to inclusion and to the advancement of psychotherapy research and practice. Professor Charura has been invited to present at conferences internationally, including at the University of Sigmund Freud in Vienna, and in Canada, the USA, Singapore, India, and across Africa. Professor Charura continues to champion the relevance of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches in contemporary clinical practice and emphasises the ongoing value of their theoretical ideas within psychotherapy, society, and research.

Siobhain is in her final year of studying for a Professional Doctorate at Essex University. She works for icap, a specialist British-based counselling and psychotherapy service that supports people from the Irish community. She also has a private practice in Surrey. As well as holding membership of the British Psychoanalytic Counsel, (BPC) Siobhain is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and The Foundation of Psychotherapy and Counselling (FPC). Research and conference activities include participation in the PPS 30th Anniversary Student Research Conference at Essex University: Dreamscapes of Belonging in a Changing World 2024 and the PPS Student Research Conference 2025: Haunting the Future: Insanity in Uncertain Times. Siobhain was a member of the conference organising committee and presented papers on her research into The Roman Catholic Confessional and the Psychotherapy Consulting Room space: Is there a transferential experience of the Catholic confessional within the therapeutic alliance