Dr Irene Bruna Seu

MA, PhD (Lond)
Senior Lecturer

Contact details

Room 502B

30 Russell Square

Department of Psychosocial Studies

Birkbeck College, University of London

London WC1B 5DT

Email: b.seu@bbk.ac.uk
Tel: 020 7 631 6539
Fax: 020 7631 6312

Research and teaching

Introduction

My main research interests, grouped under the four broadly defined areas listed below, reflect my multidisciplinary background and expertise (Honours degree in Philosophy, MA and PhD in Psychology, UKCP Registered Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist), my intellectual interest in Western culture and values, and political commitment to feminism and the attainment of a just society. These concerns fuel my overall interest in epistemological debates around the ontological and epistemological status of knowledge in social sciences in contemporary western society and how these debates are affected by post-structuralism, psychoanalysis and feminism. Connected to these is my commitment to developing and applying qualitative research methods, in particular Grounded Theory and Discourse Analysis, to the investigation of social phenomena.

Research interests

Human Rights, social responsibility and helping behaviour:
For some years I have researched public responses to mediated news of Human Rights abuses, both in the UK and Spain, thanks to the support of a Leverhulme Foundation Fellowship and Birkbeck College Research grants. With time, these have evolved into an interest in the related issues of moral and social responsibility; prosocial behaviour; moral boundaries and discursive constructions of the ‘Other’. I have used a psychosocial approach in bringing together psychological work on altruism, psycho-social understanding of denial as well as psychodynamic and discursive readings of emotional responses. I have published on these subjects in Psychological and Human Rights journals.
Gender:
I am particularly interested in exploring how current social constructions of femininity and gender affect women’s lives. In particular I have conducted in-depth feminist qualitative research into women's experience of shame and critically explored socio-psychological and psychoanalytic theories of femininity, mainly through a social constructionist/discursive approach.
Psychoanalysis:
My interest in psychoanalysis is two-fold. I am concerned with psychoanalysis both as a body of theory that has greatly affected the way we understand human behaviour and motivation, and as a clinical technique.
As far as the latter is concerned, in my writing I have investigated the complex relation between feminism and psychoanalysis particularly in clinical practice.
I am also interested in applying psychoanalytic ideas to the understanding of social phenomena, in particular oppression, discrimination and bystander behaviour.
My critical interest in psychoanalytic theory and practice on the one hand and gender issues on the other has been further developed in ‘Feminism and Psychotherapy; Reflections on Contemporary Theories and Practices’ (Sage, 1998), co-edited with C. Heenan and in the edited book "Who am I? The ego and the self in psychoanalysis" (Rebus Press/Taylor and Francis 2000).
Discursive analyses and psychoanalytic readings of text:
The substantive interests listed above have found best methodological expression in discursive analyses and psychoanalytic readings of text. I am currently working on the complementarities and potential benefits of bringing together these epistemologically different readings of text, in grappling with the complexities of subjectivity and power dynamics.

Supervision

Areas of supervision
Psycho-social inquiry into moral apathy in response to human rights abuses; psychoanalytic and social psychological contributions to the understanding of oppression, race, discrimination, identity and helping behaviour; social constructions of femininity and gender; discourse analysis and social constructionism.
Current PhD and Doctoral Students
Eva Cracow: Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy (DPsychotherapy)
Elizabeth Hughes: Psychosocial issues faced by adopted women who choose to reunite with their birth fathers
Xena Leung: Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy (DPsychotherapy
Michael Mallaghan: “Negotiating gay Chinese subjectivities – shame, dilemmas and conflicts”
Graham Lee: “Living with ADHD diagnosis: A disordering of family life”
Gaby Santacruz: Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy (DPsychotherapy)
Mahnaz Sekechi: Iranian Diaspora: Patterns of early attachments and feelings of belongingness
Sharon Shoestrong: Unpalatable truths: How does society cope?
Recently completed PhD's
Marcus Averback: "Fatherhoods in Family Therapy; A Discourse Analysis of Family Therapists’ Contributions to the Constructions of Fatherhoods."
Janette Bennett: “(Dis)ordering Motherhood: Mothering a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)”
Martine Castagna-Shoo: “Helping adolescents; a discursive analysis of young adults’ talk of prosocial behaviour”
Andrew Middlecoat: “How are the existing biological relationships with families affected by fostering?”
Szilvia Minai: In the Shadow of the Oppressor: A psychopolitical study of subordination and resistance.
Lynn Moore: “Families’ talk about their first session of family therapy; a discursive analysis”

Publications

Books

Seu I.B. (ed.) (2000) “Who am I? The Self and Ego in Psychoanalysis” Vol.V in the series 'Encyclopedia of Psychoanalysis'. London: Rebus Press/ Karnac.
Seu, I.B. and Heenan, C. (eds.) (1998) Feminism and Psychotherapy; Reflections on contemporary theories and practices.Vol.3 in the series: ‘Perspectives on Psychotherapy’ London: Sage.

Journal articles

Seu, I.B. (2011) ‘Shoot the messenger’ dynamics of positioning and denial in response to Human Rights appeals. Journal of Human Rights Practice
Seu. I.B. and L. Cameron (under review) The role of empathic mutual positioning in reconciliation work. Journal of Peace Research
Seu. I.B. (in press) “Everybody is welcome but nobody is living next to me”; talking of emotions and with emotions about refugees. Special issue on ‘Asylum and Refugees’ Annual Review of Critical Psychology.
Seu, I.B. (in press). Bystanders to Human Rights appeals: A critical reappraisal of the ‘Passive Bystander’ phenomenon. Human Relations.
Seu, I.B. (under review) Bystanders to Human Rights appeals: a critical reappraisal of the ‘Passive Bystander’ phenomenon. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology
Seu, I.B. (2010) Doing Denial: Audiences’ Reactions to Human Rights Appeals. Discourse and Society. Vol. 21(4)
Seu, I.B. (2010) The ‘anti-social’ nature of prosocial research; a psychosocial critique. Psychology Compass
Moore, L and I.B. Seu (accepted for publication) Giving children a voice; children’s positioning in Family Therapy. Journal of Family Therapy
Moore, L and I. B. Seu (2010) ‘Doing family therapy’; a Foucauldian Discourse Analysis. European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counselling. Vol.12 (4)
Seu. I.B. (2008)“Everybody is welcome but …”. Talking of emotions and with emotions about refugees; a psychosocial discursive analysis. In Callaghan, J and R. Capdevila (Eds.) Special issue on Globalization, Migration & Asylum: the peril of the alien and the safety of the familiar. Annual Review of Critical Psychology. Vol.6; 71-88
Seu, I.B. (2007) Psychology’s contribution to bystander non-intervention. Social Practice/Psychological Theorising Article 6; retrieved 04/01/07 from http://sppt-gulerce.boun.edu.tr.html
Seu, I.B. (2007) Psychology’s contribution to bystander non-intervention. Social Practice/Psychological Theorising Article 6; retrieved 04/01/07 from http://sppt-gulerce.boun.edu.tr.html
Seu, I.B. (2006). Shameful selves: Women’s feelings of inadequacy and constructed facades. European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counselling, 8(3).
Seu, I.B. (2003). The woman with the baby: Exploring narratives of female refugees. Exile and Asylum Feminist Review, 74. London: Pelgrave.
Seu, I.B. ( 2003). Your stomach makes you feel that you don’t want to know anything about it : Desensitization, defence mechanisms and rhetoric in response to and Human Rights abuses. Journal of Human Rights, 2(2), 183-196.
Seu I.B. (2003) .Desensitisation and Human Rights abuses: Defence mechanisms and rhetoric in talk about inaction. Human Frailty. Journal of Human Rights, 2(2).
Seu I.B. (2000). Feminist psychoanalytic psychotherapy: Some reflections on a complex undertaking. Changes, 18(4).

Chapters in edited books

Orgad, S. and I.B. Seu (under review) Humanitarianism at work; complexities and contradictions. Culture, Communication and critique.
Cameron, L. and I.B. Seu ( under review) The poetics of place in the discourse of social empathy and charity appeals. Text and Talk
Seu, I.B. (forthcoming) Bystanders to Human Rights appeals: a critical reappraisal of the ‘Passive Bystander’ phenomenon. In Levine & Dixon Beyond Helping: Theory, Methods and Practice in Helping Research
Seu, I.B. (2011) Virtual Bystanders to Human rights abuses; a psychosocial analysis. In T. Cushman (ed.) International Handbook of Human Rights. Routledge
Seu, I.B. (2009) Shameful silences: self-protective secrets and methodological omissions. In: R. Ryan-Flood and R. Gill (eds.) Secrets and Silences in the Research Process: Feminist Reflections. London: Routledge
Seu, I.B. (2008) Shameful silences: self-protective secrets and methodological omissions. In: R. Ryan-Flood and R. Gill (eds.) Secrets and Silence in the Research Process: Feminist Reflections. London: Routledge
Seu I.B. (2005). Feminist Psychotherapy. In C. Feltham, & I. Horton (Eds.), Handbook of Psychotherapy and Counselling.(2nd ed.) London: Sage
Cohen, S., & Seu, I.B. (2002). Knowing enough not to feel much: emotional thinking about human rights appeals. In M. Bradley & P. Pedro (Eds.), Truth claims: Representation and Human Rights. Rutgers University Press.
Seu I.B. (2000). Feminist Psychotherapy. In C. Feltham, & I. Horton (Eds.), Handbook of Psychotherapy and Counselling. London: Sage

Recent lectures

Seu, I.B. (2011) Emotions, defences and denial in response to Human Rights abuses. Centre for Psychosocial Studies, University of the West of England. 30 March 2011
Seu, I.B. (2011) Emotions, defences and denial in response to Human Rights abuses. Representing Atrocity. Public lecture organized by the Centre for the Study of Human Rights. LSE 16 February 2011
Seu, I.B. (2010) Respondent to Craig Calhoun ‘The Emergency Imaginary and the Future of Humanitarian Action’ organized by Dept of Media and Communications and POLIS. 13^th May 2010. London School of Economics and Political Sciences
Seu, I.B. (2009) Why help; Psychosocial factors in audiences’ responses to humanitarian appeals. “Dispatches from disaster zones” event organized by the British Red Cross, 16^th December 2009, The Royal Society
Seu, I.B. (2009) Doing denial; justifications for unresponsiveness to Human Rights appeals. Psychology Department seminar, The Open University, 10^th November 2009
Seu, I.B. (2009) A discursive analysis of resistance to empathy in Human Rights appeals. First meeting of the International Empathy Network. The Open University, 1^st October 2009
Seu, I.B. (2009) On Bystanders. Panel on Victims, perpetrators, bystanders. “Responsibility to the Story” conference, Centre for Applied Human Rights, The University of York, 9-11 September 2009
Seu, I.B. (2008) Doing denial; justifications for unresponsiveness to Human Rights appeals. Interrogating Trauma; Arts and Media responses to Collective suffering Conference. Curtin and Murdock University, Perth, Australia. December 2008
Seu, I.B. (2008) ‘Switching off? Emotional reactions to Media reports of Human Rights abuses’ BISR Autumn Colloquium: ‘Moving citizens: exploring worlds of emotional politics’.24 October 2008
Seu, I.B. (2008) "Metaphorical bystanders: the mediation of distant suffering and audiences reception." Humanitarian Communication and campaigning Seminar Series. Polis, LSE, London. November 2008
Seu. I.B. (2008) In dialogue with Amnesty Scotland – feedback from Human Rights and moral apathy project. ESRC Workshop on Social Responsibility. University of St. Andrews. July 2008
Seu I.B. (2007) Doing denial; Justification for unresponsiveness to Human Rights appeals. Invited paper to ESRC Seminar on ‘Promoting Helping in emergencies’ Lancaster University, Sept 2007

Professional membership and awards

Awards

2010 – 13 : Mediated humanitarian knowledge, audiences' responses and moral actions. In collaboration with Dr. S. Orgad and Prof. S. Cohen, LSE Research Grant submitted to The Leverhulme Trust (232,211.00, three years). Awarded
2008: Moral Enterprise and Moral Response: The Production and Reception of Humanitarian Appeals. (In collaboration with). ESRC (£531,360.00). Alpha rated
2008: Apathy towards Human Rights abuses; a comparative study (UK – SP; Phase II). The Nuffield Foundation. £8,272
2002: Bystander Intervention in response to Human Rights campaigns; a UK/Spain comparative pilot study (Phase I). Faculty of Science Research Grant – Birkbeck £4,800
2000: A multidisciplinary investigation of Bystanders and Human Rights abuses. The Leverhulme Trust £16,440
1997: Public’s Response to Human Rights abuses – a Pilot study. BRIEF Award

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