PhD Courses in Denmark

Course content

Psychosocial research grows out of a combination og psychoanalytic theory and sociological perspectives. Working psychosocially means combining an understanding of the “inner life” of human beings (emotions, ideas, fantasies, desires, defenses, trauma, etc.) with an understanding of their social, institutional and biographic context.

In psychosocial theory the subject is only partially aware (conscious) of his or her own motivations; part of what drives and inhibits a person is always unconsciously motivated. This complex understanding of the subject as both socially situated and only partially conscious of his or her motivations raises specific methodological issues in qualitative psychosocial research: How do we combine a contextualized (social) perspective on subjects with an understanding of their complex inner lives? And how do we research subjects who are only partially conscious of their motivations? Psychosocial methodology also raises new questions about the role of the researcher’s subjectivity and how it can inform the research process (for instance by interpreting transference / countertransference dynamics with the field).

The course combines attention to these overall theoretical and methodological issues with the question of how psychosocial research can contribute to our understanding and development of our welfare eservices and the welfare state.

The course is aimed both at PhD students who already work within a psychosocial framework and those who mainly place their work in another theoretical framework but are curious about how the psychosocial perspective can enrich their work.