Tribute by Savi McKenzie-Smith at Arthur Hyatt Williams' memorial service at the Tavistock Clinic:
My very first meeting with Hyatt was when I was still an inexperienced child psychotherapy trainee. I was fortunate to be asked by Gianna to join a seminar group that discussed work with patients from ethnic minority families. The group consisted of people from various disciplines and departments of the Tavistock. We met monthly in the late afternoon on a Friday. As most of us know Gianna’s generosity the meetings ended with deliciously cooked pasta, salad and hand picked olives. Often Hyatt joined us for the meal. The first time he did so I was fascinated by this very intelligent man who also had a wonderful sense of humour. His prolific knowledge, intermingled with his lively anecdotes often kept us amused and laughing. But I also felt I was learning some interesting aspects of psychoanalysis.
My next meeting was on a more serious level. This was during the latter part of my training when he led the theory seminars on Bion. As most trainees, including myself, experience Bion as very difficult to understand, there is no need for me to emphasize how lucky we felt to have Hyatt teach us the thinking of Bion. He had made such an impact on us, that much later a small group of us sort out Hyatt for private once monthly seminars to understand some of Bion’s more advanced concepts. The seminars were lively with his very clear explanations, intercepted with a vignette or anecdote. Personally I found it easier to understand some of Bion,s intricate concepts.
After my training I attended the ‘Eating Disorder Workshop’ run by Hyattt and Gianna. The seminars were lively for such a morbid subject but nevertheless, as I discovered that the teachings of Hyatt were also constructive, very insightful and meaningful. Hyatt had the gift to teach painful and difficult material with a strand of ongoing humour that made the learning seem much easier and palatable.
My final and most impressionable memories of Hyatt are those of when he supervised one of my adult training cases for two years. The patient was an intelligent woman who did not easily express any emotionalality. I learnt a tremendous amount from Hyatt of working psychoanalytically with similar patients. Some of that learning still remains vividly with me.
After listening to my written notes on the session,, Hyatt hardly ever
made immediate comments on the material. Instead he asked me questions
like:
What do you think the patient was feeling when she was saying those
things? Was she feeling anything at all?
What were your feelings at the time? He continually made me explore
and find out for myself
At first I felt disappointed, as I was expecting some great interpretations from the master. I did not understand what was going on. Consequently, I realized that he was encouraging me to understand the concepts of the transference, countertransference, projections etc., some of the essential tools of psychotherapeutic work. He was trying to make me learn from my own experience and to practise Bion’s “Learning from Experience”.
Another very important and useful fact that he imparted to me, was to be aware and to hold in mind that most of our patients are very intelligent people who survive very well in their everyday lifestyle, entirely depending on their intellect. However they reach a stage when they find difficulties that they are unable to cope with. Often this is connected with their incapacity to be in touch with their feelings and a struggle or failure to cope with life experiences. In an intellectual debate they would probably outwit us, but they come to us because they are at a loss with their feelings. With a twinkle in his eye he would say that at times, without being oppressive or demanding ,a gentle debate or challenge about their feelings might help them see what was going on in their ‘inner state’. We can use their “outer state to understand what is going on inside. By giving some thought, they might be able to progress from this intellectual thinking to come to terms with their ‘inner state’ or feelings.
I think that my most important memory of Hyatt with regard to him as
a supervisor, that still plays a prominent role in my work as a clinician,
is what he had often said,
“It is very important not to lose sight of who you are and not
feel that you have to be someone other than yourself.” He always
encouraged me to be myself and to find my own space to work in, but
also to be aware and remain within the parameters of the analytic practice
and not to blur the boundaries.
I have very fond memories of Hyatt and treasure some of his prolific, profound thinking intertwined with his mischievous smile and ever present sense of humour.
Savi McKenzie-Smith