Alistair D. Sweet MA (PsyA), MSSc, Dip.Couns (PsyD), MBACP

As a psychoanalytic psychotherapist with many years’ experience of training and teaching psychotherapists, counsellors, social workers and allied healthcare professionals, both nationally and internationally, Alistair's areas of expertise include: working with hard to reach patients, the addictions, suicidality and self-harm and the complex psychodynamics of the therapist/patient relationship.

Alistair’s research work has appeared internationally in a range of peer reviewed journals including The British Journal of Psychotherapy, The International Forum of Psychoanalysis and The American Journal of Psychotherapy. He has written and published extensively addressing such topics as the psychodynamics of addiction, early disturbances of attachment and defensive processes following trauma. These contributions have led to the description of original clinical ideas and concepts such as: mimetic fusing with primary objects, automata defensive states and the automaton personality.

Alistair is an Editorial Consultant for the American Journal of Psychotherapy, New York and for Psychodynamic Practice, London. He is also a member of the submissions review panel of the British Journal of Psychotherapy and an Editorial Reader for the International Forum of Psychoanalysis.

In 2006 Alistair received the annual Butler Trust Award for an outstanding contribution in the field of psychotherapy provision.

Alistair is also an Honorary Lecturer, Clinical Supervisor and Member of the Board of Studies for the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, School of Psychology, Queen’s University, Belfast.

Selected publications

Sweet, A.D. and Miller, I.S. (2016). Bingeing on sobriety: White holes, black holes and time’s arrow in the intra-psychic worlds of addicted and substance abusing patients. In press, British Journal of Psychotherapy, 32:3.

Sweet, A.D. (2015) Substance misuse and the workplace: A psychotherapeutic approach to meeting the patient’s needs through assessment and targeted treatment interventions. In: The Legal Island HR Yearbook 2015: Legal Island: Northern Ireland.

Sweet, A.D.  (2014)     Objects of desire and the mediated self:  Addictions, compulsions and fetishism in the techno-culture arena.  Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy:  28:2, 176-192.  Routledge.

Sweet, A.D. (2014)       Free return trajectories or enmeshment?   Some psychodynamic factors and thoughts on the role of social capital in the use of substituted cathinones (M-cats).   Drugs and Alcohol Today: 14:1, 2-8.  Emerald Publishing Group.  

Sweet, A.D. (2013)      Pregabalin abuse and the risks associated for patients with a previous history of substance misuse.  Journal of Addiction Research and Therapy, 4:1,    Omics publishing. 

Sweet, A.D. (2013)     Thoughts without a thinker, mimetic fusing and the anti-container considered as primitive defensive mechanisms in the addictions.  Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, 27:2, 140-153.  Routledge. 

Sweet, A.D. (2013)      Aspects of internal self and object representations in disorganised attachment: Clinical considerations in the assessment and treatment of chronic and relapsing substance misusers. British Journal of Psychotherapy, 29:2, 154-167.  Wiley-Blackwell. 

Sweet, A.D. (2012)      Personality structures and chronic childhood relational trauma: Psychodynamic and attachment based perspectives that challenge the restricted diagnosis of personality disorder.      Psychotherapy and Psychological Disorders, 1:1doi.org/10.4172/jppd.1000101. Omics Press.      

Sweet, A.D. (2012)      The thrill-kill zone:  Some thoughts on the psychodynamics of addictive behaviours. Psychology and Psychotherapy, 2:2 1000e-104. Omics Press. 

Sweet, A.D. (2012)      Black holes: Some notes on time, symbolization and perversion in the psychodynamics of addiction.  International Forum of Psychoanalysis 21:2. 94-105. Routledge

Sweet, A.D. (2011)      The automaton self: defensive organization, psychodynamics and treatment approaches.  Psychodynamic Practice 17:4 387-402.  Routledge. 

Sweet, A.D. (2011)      Elements of psychotherapeutic assessment and treatment with structured and under-structured personalities.  British Journal of Psychotherapy 27:1 4-18.  Wiley-Blackwell. 

Sweet, A.D. (2011)      When therapeutic worlds collide: On Bion’s concept of reversible perspective: A brief review and clinical case illustration.  International Forum of Psychoanalysis 20:1 38-44.  Routledge. 

Sweet, A.D. (2011)      On the borderline: Some observations on internal pathological organizations, patterns of attachment and their later emergence in criminal offending and the therapeutic relationship.  Psychology and Psychotherapy 1: 10e doi: 10.4172. Omics Publishing. 

Sweet, A.D. (2010)      Paranoia and psychotic process: Some clinical applications of projective identification in psychoanalytic psychotherapy.  American Journal of Psychotherapy 64:4 339-58. APP. 

Sweet, A.D. (2010)      Automata states and their relation to primitive mechanisms of defence.  Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy 24:2 101-114.  Routledge.

Armstrong, C and Sweet, A.D. (2010)   Eastern Drug and Alcohol Co-ordination Team Tier 3 Workforce Development Evaluations:  Inter-Agency Psychodynamic and Systemic Psychotherapy Training Report.  NICAS /FASA/ EDACT. 

Sweet, A.D. (2010) Psychodynamic therapeutic approaches to trauma and dissociation.  In: Abstracts of the European Society for Trauma and Dissociation Conference Proceedings.  April 2010.  European society for trauma and dissociation (ESTD).  

Sweet, A. D, Weir, C, Prentice, G, Murphy, D. (2009) Screening and Brief Intervention with Alcohol Abusing Offenders.  In: Abstracts of International Network on Brief Interventions for Alcohol Problems.  October 2009. Inebria Publishing. 

Sweet, A.D., Weir, C, Prentice, G and Murphy, D. (2007) The Rapid Assessment and Treatment Service for Drug and Alcohol Misusers 2003-2006: A Three Year Review.  Northern Ireland Community Addiction Service. 

Sweet, A.D. (2006)      Substance abuse treatment for criminal offenders: An evidence based guide for practitioners, Eds: Springer, D.W., McNeece, C.A., Arnold, E.M, pp 256. Washington: American Psychological Association.  Reviewed for Drugs and Alcohol Today 6:4. Pier publishing.

Sweet, A.D. and Murphy, D. (2004)    Substance misuse and offending: An innovative partnership providing assessment and treatment.  Irish Probation Journal 1:1 14-16.   

Selected Recent Presentations:

Trauma and addiction: psychodynamic perspectives in clinical practice. Invited lead speaker at the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) conference: Working with Addiction, Clayton Hotel, Belfast, 1st March, 2016.

Multiple drug use and tobacco. Invited panellist to the Belfast Tobacco Stakeholder Event, Malone House, Belfast, February, 2016.

Substance abuse: Policy, strategy and intervention in the workplace. Invited speaker to key Northern Ireland Businesses, Business in the Community, 11th November, 2015, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Polysubstance abuse and older adults: Effective treatment design and delivery to aid stability and recovery. Invited speaker to the British Irish Council, Royston House, 19th October, 2015, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

On substance misuse in the workplace: Signs, symptoms and effective interventions. Three half-day trainings for Parliament Buildings Staff, Stormont Assembly, Belfast, 16th, 23rd and 30th January, 2015.

Exploring the psychodynamics of addiction: Internal objects, the automaton self and destructive behaviours. One-day conference for the Irish Forum for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, 4th October, 2014.

Addiction, attachment and the internal object world: Psychotherapeutic treatment strategies and interventions. Presentation to the School of Education, Counselling Trainees, Queen’s University, Belfast, 20th March, 2013.

Early ego states, disturbances of attachment and personality structures. Presentation to the 13th Annual Conference of the British and Irish Group for the Study of Personality Disorder, Hilton Hotel, Belfast, 20-22 February, 2013.

Frozen in time: Dissociative disintegration and the re-emergence in psychotherapy of primitive early ego states. Invited speaker Division of Clinical Psychology, Northern Ireland, Queen’s University Belfast, 9th January 2013.

An Inside Job: Psychodynamic Approaches to Substance Misuse and Recovery. Invited speaker to a one day conference at Springfield University Hospital, London, and 14th November, 2011.

Black Holes: The Collapse of Time in the Mind of the Addict. Keynote speaker to 7th Annual International Conference on the Psychotherapy of Addictions: 28th June, 2011, London, U.K.

Psychodynamic therapeutic approaches to trauma and dissociation. The European Society for Trauma and Dissociation International Conference, Queen’s University Belfast, 8-10th April, 2010.