6th European Psychoanalytic Conference for University Students EPCUS
BODY – Psychoanalytic Perspectives
This year, the European Psychoanalytical Federation (EPF) organized the sixth conference for students and recent graduates entitled “Body – Psychoanalytic Perspectives”. It took place, for the first time, in a hybrid format.
EPCUS team: Martin Teising, Alex Janssen, this year for the first time Mercedes Puchol on the team, and Jasminka Šuljagić designed a programme that presented the main topic to students from different perspectives in an interesting and challenging way. The participants were provided with the Reading List with the recommended literature to prepare and study before the conference, there was plenty of time for questions after each lecture, and one discussion group for students was envisaged each day of the conference.
There was a total of 95 registered participants, mainly from Germany and Belgium, with three participants being from Serbia.
The EPF president Heribert Blass opened the conference.. The lectures were given by renowned analysts, Jasminka Šuljagić, Jan Abram and Rudi Vermote, delivered an opening lecture titled “Notes on the body, in the theories of Freud, Winnicott, Bion”. This was followed by the topics on embodied memories (Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber), body transformation in adolescents (Teresa Olmos de Paz), and a famous lecture on psychosomatics by Catalina Bronstein, followed by a lecture of the EPF group that works in the field of psychosomatics. The evening lecture tackled the subject of the body in the art of Giacometti, and on the last day, the participants discussed the subject of tele-analysis and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the analytic work (Alex Janssen), as well as the subject of body, symptoms and meaning (Charlotta Bjorklind). Finally, along with the closing discussion, students were introduced to the basic ideas of psychoanalytic training.
As a hybrid conference, EPCUS 6 was a pioneering event for the European psychoanalytical community. Based on the need for such working model and the EPCUS experience, purchase of equipment for the EPF House in Brussels has been agreed so that upcoming events and conferences can be organized in the same way.
Jasminka Šuljagić