Teddy Bear Evening

The stuffed animals we had in childhood can be counted as some of the most significant figures in our early lives. Through them, we took our first steps towards learning about love, relationships and care. The sort of animal we had (be it a bear or a rabbit, a giraffe or a tortoise), how we related to it and how we think of it today holds vital clues as to who we are now.

Psychotherapists have long been fascinated by the way children interact with their stuffed animals. The great English psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott famously termed them ‘transitional objects’ and made their study one of the key elements of any successful therapy.

It’s with this tradition in mind that The School of Life presents its own teddy bear evening; a chance – in a place of safety, warmth and complex understanding – to bring along a favourite toy and discuss its meaning in company, thereby to better understand our own psychology and that of others.

Led by psychotherapist, author and founder of The School of Life Alain de Botton, the evening offers a unique chance to recover contact with a central object of our pasts, hear from others and together – with a lot of warmth and compassion – reach a new understanding of the emotional dynamics of our early years.