Alexandra Harrison, MD
February 14, 2023
10:00 am – 11:15am Pacific Standard Time via Zoom

BARNARD CENTER FREE LECTURE SERIES

Insights from NCAST Behavioral Cues for the Practicing Child Therapist

Dr. Harrison will present videotapes of sequences from play therapy cases that demonstrate what she calls the “double bi-directional” communication of nonverbal behavioral cues between her and her child patient and between the two of them to themselves. Knowledge of the way infant and caregiver communicate with their behavior enhances the understanding of how clinician and child create, disrupt, and repair their connection in their movement towards an expanded repertoire of coping skills for the child.

Alexandra Harrison, MD, is Training and Supervising Analyst in adult and child and adolescent analysis at the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute, Assistant Professor Part Time in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School at the Cambridge Health Alliance, Core Faculty of the Infant Parent Mental Health course at U Mass Medical, and a Newborn Behavioral Observation practitioner and trainer.  Her clinical specialties are preschool children, autistic spectrum disorders, and parent consultation. Her Parent Consultation Method is a strength-based, collaborative consultation to parents in 3 sessions. Dr. Harrison’s publications include the themes of play and therapeutic action. Her current research focuses on supporting child resiliency in high-risk populations. Dr. Harrison is also co-founder and CEO of the non-profit, Supporting Child Caregivers, that aims to build capacity in caregivers of children—parents, health workers, and teachers– throughout the world.