The Well Gardened Mind – Sue Stuart-Smith

In this difficult time of the pandemic we have been encouraged to engage more with our local environments, and many of us have taken solace in our connection with nature. Sue Stuart-Smith’s book The Well Gardened Mind weaves together case studies with material from literature, anthropology, psychoanalysis and neuroscience. In particular it draws on the works of Freud, Jung and Winnicott, each of whom in different ways understood the importance of our relationship with nature for healing. Sue will deliver a verbal paper further woven from the themes and ideas she explores in her book. Susie Godsil will respond to Sue and plant seeds for further thought, leaving time for all of us to contribute thoughts and questions to the panel.

Discussant: Susie Godsil

Chair: Martin Gill

Sue Stuart-Smith is a psychotherapist, psychiatrist and author of The Well Gardened Mind, a Sunday Times Bestseller, listed as one of the 37 best books of 2020 by The Times and gardening book of the year by The Sunday Times. It analyses the relationship between gardening and mental health. She currently teaches at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in London and is a consultant at DocHealth, a not for profit, psychotherapeutic consultation service for doctors.

Susie Godsil is a Fellow of the Institute of Psychoanalysis and has a psychoanalytic practice in Leeds. She teaches on a variety of professional trainings and is active in the development of psychoanalysis beyond London and especially in the North of England. She has a particular interest in the creative relationship between psychoanalysis and the arts .

Martin Gill is a psychoanalyst in private practice and is interested in the application of psychoanalytic ideas within mental health systems and more widely.