Unspeakable: Survival and Transformation after Trauma

The concept of ‘trauma’ is complex, and has become even more so over the last half century. In the field of psychiatry, there has been a mass expansion of diagnoses which describe human reactions to traumatic events, many of which are disputed or poorly defined. The internet as a discursive space has enabled popular discussion of the psychological impact of traumatic events, but also enabled the concept to be so over-used that any unpleasant event can be seen as a ‘trauma’ which is then assumed to cause permanent damage to the mind. Virtual spaces like #Trauma and TraumaTok inevitably oversimplify the work of decades of psychological research into how people survive trauma, and do not look at the quality of survival or what helps people transform their experience into discovery of new ways of being. In this talk, I discuss trauma as a complex form of human suffering, which is heterogenous and can result in many outcomes. Using case examples, I explore how different kinds of trauma may have different kinds of impact on language and identity; and I discuss the importance of the provision of therapeutic space to help people survive after trauma. I draw on my new book, written with Eileen Horne, entitled ‘Unspeakable: stories of survival and transformation after trauma’.

About the Speaker and Chair

Dr Gwen Adshead is a forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist. She currently works part time for West London NHS Trust at Broadmoor Hospital; and is associate professor in psychotherapy at the University of Exeter. She trained at St Bartholomew’s hospital, St George’s hospital and the Institute of psychiatry. She holds a Master’s Degree in Medical Law and Ethics, a Master of Science Degree in Mindfulness based Cognitive Therapy from Oxford University and is a Qualified member of the Institute of group analysis. She was awarded two honorary Doctorates by St George’s Hospital medical school; a visiting fellowship at Yale school of Law & psychiatry and was associate professor of psychiatry at Gresham College for three years. In 2013 she was awarded the President’s Medal for her work in mental health ethics, and in 2024 was awarded Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. She was the invited BBC Reith Lecturer in 2024, speaking on the theme of violence.

Gwen has published over 150 academic papers on a number of topics: including attachment theory applied to offending, ethical issues in mental health, and personality disorder in perinatal settings. She also is interested in enhancing public understanding of mental health and offending, and she appears regularly on podcasts and public radio.  In 2021, she published her first book for a general audience called ‘The Devil You Know’ which was co-authored with Eileen Horne. It was published by Faber in 2021 and was serialised on radio 4’s Book of the Week. It was a Sunday Times best-seller and was Waterstones’ non-fiction book of the month in July 2022 and has sold over 100000 copies across the world in several different languages. She and Eileen have now completed a new work about recovery from trauma called ‘Unspeakable’ to be published in 2026.

Jean Knox is Associate Professor and Academic Director for the doctoral training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy at the University of Exeter.

She is a psychiatrist, a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and is Chair of the Trustees of the British Psychotherapy Foundation.  She is an honorary member of the International Attachment Network. She has been Editor-in -Chief of the Journal of Analytical Psychology.

She has written and taught extensively on the relevance of research in attachment theory and developmental neuroscience to psychotherapy theory and practice, particularly in the context of the impact of early relational trauma on psychological and emotional development.

*If you are a psychotherapist or counsellor residing in an active conflict zone, you are eligible to attend this event free of charge (regardless of whether you are a bpf member or not). Please email events@bpf-psychotherapy to enquire about a ticket.