The weekend from Friday, May 8, 2026, to Sunday, May 10, 2026, was marked by activities surrounding the Second Conference of the Psychoanalytic Society of
Serbia, titled “The Riddles of the Unconscious,” which commemorated the 170th
anniversary of the birth of the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. The Program Committee of the conference consisted of Marija Vezmar (President),
Jasminka Šuljagić, Tijana Miladinović, and Nina Popadić. The Organizing Committee included Ivana Dobrić (President), Nataša Đerković Lukač, Anka Marjanović Radonjić, Andrea Menzalin, and Zona Lemez. Preparations for the conference began nearly a year in advance, in June of the previous year, when we started the work on the program and on finding a suitable venue. Among many excellent hotels and conference spaces in Belgrade, we once again chose Hotel Palace, which proved to be a reliable and an impeccable partner, combining the old spirit of Belgrade with modern practicality.
The conference weekend began on Friday morning, May 8, 2026. Anka Marjanović Radonjić welcomed our guest from Vienna, Renate Kohlheimer, current EPF Vice President and former President of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, at the airport. She was then taken on a guided tour of the city center by Anka, Tijana Miladinović, and Olga Savostjanova. Our guide, Vlada Dulović, shared many interesting insights about the history of Belgrade and Serbia. From the very beginning, Renate showed great interest in all planned activities, which already brought us the feeling of satisfaction despite the fatigue from weeks of preparation. After the tour, Marija Vezmar welcomed Renate to a lunch at the Zepter Hotel restaurant.
As planned, participant registration took place on May 8th 2026, from 4 PM to 5 PM. The Program Committee, together with the speakers, prepared a rich and engaging program. Attendees had the opportunity to hear numerous lectures by our guest, distinguished members, and candidates of our Society. The first day also included a screening of the latest documentary film about Sigmund Freud, Outsider.Freud, by Israeli director Yair Qedar, translated by members of our Society.
The program attracted many colleagues from related fields, psychoanalysis
enthusiasts, and students, for whom reduced fees were provided. Applications
began arriving from the first day we opened the registration, and unexpectedly, we had to close the registration a full month before the conference. In total, 117
participants attended, nearly filling the venue capacity of 120 seats. This strong
interest once again confirms that Freud’s legacy remains very much alive.
The program officially began on Friday at 5 PM with opening remarks by Tijana
Miladinović (President of the Society), Marija Vezmar (Program Committee Chair), and Ivana Dobrić (Organizing Committee Chair).
The first block of lectures followed, including: Aleksandar Kontić Freud’s Lesser-
Known Cases, Nina Popadić Review and Analysis of Freud’s Text “The Uncanny”, Srđa Zlopaša Freud’s Biography About Us. The session was moderated by Anka Marjanović Radonjić.
After discussion and a short break, the documentary film was screened, preceded by a greeting video from the director. The discussion was moderated by Jasminka Šuljagić and Aleksandar Kontić.
The second day, Saturday, May 9, began with a thematic block on the relationship between sexuality and aggression: Tijana Miladinović Passion and Trust: A Developmental Perspective, Jovana Mladenović Sadomasochism in the Analytic Room, Jasmina Vrbaški Female Sexuality and Perversion, moderated by Vojislav Ćurčić.
After a coffee break, the third block included: Ljiljana Milivojević Psychosomatics in a Cauldron of Boiling Impulses, Sandra Simić The Film “Empty House”: A Psychoanalytic Perspective and Vesna Brzev-Ćurčić Helplessness, moderated by Olga Savostjanova.
Following lunch, the fourth block featured: Renate Kohlheimer Which unconscious are we talking about today? Is the unconscious still one of our basic assumptions? and Jasminka Šuljagić On Dreams, Sleeping, and Waking, moderated by Nataša Đerković Lukač.
The final segment was a round table of candidates in training: Zona Lemez On
Mourning: From Freud to Contemporary Authors and Everyday life Andrea Menzalin The paradox of repetition – a striving for a different outcome or the same one?, Danilo Đurić On Becoming a Psychoanalyst and Dušica Dubljević My Encounter with Freud, moderated by Maša Karleuša Valkanou. Our advanced candidates demonstrated a remarkable maturity in psychoanalytic thinking, making the Society justifiably proud.
Renate Kohlheimer followed the entire conference attentively, using English
materials prepared in advance. Where the translation was not available, Marija and Vesna gave their best to be good-enough simultaneous interpreters for her.
The audience atmosphere was exceptional. After the initial shyness after the first
round of lectures, it seemed that discussions have become increasingly lively
throughout the event and that we could have spent much longer after the closing
hour of 18h on Saturday in sharing, discussing and thinking.
The conference concluded with closing remarks by Tijana Miladinović. She invited the participants to follow our pages for future events and has given special presents of acknowledgments to the president of the programme committee and to all the members of the Organizing Committee.
With this we ended the formal program of our conference, prepared for the wider audience, and we moved for an informal dinner the Restaurant Vuk, with a traditional dinner and not so much traditional music. The event was attended by most our members, marked by a warm and relaxed atmosphere, and some have celebrated to later in the evening.
On Sunday, May 10th, a clinical supervision session was held at the Society’s House with 15 candidates participating. Miloš Bulatović presented his analytic case, followed by a lively andn productive discussion. Renate expressed her strong good impressions of the candidates’ quality and the vitality of psychoanalysis in Serbia.
After the supervisions, the members have gathered once again informally in the
Society’s garden. We have spent pleasant, warm few hours of an almost summer
afternoon talking in the shade. On this occasion, Ljiljana Milivojević was invited to present at the EPF Training Forum in Brussels, for which we warmly congratulate her.
Vojislav Ćurčić concluded with a quote by André Green: “Democracy may not be the best form of government, but we do not know a better one. Likewise, psychoanalysis may not be the best way to understand the human soul, but we do not know a better one.” Moved by the quote, Renate has kindly asked Voja to use it in her next presentation.
Finally, we note the continued collaboration with the Austrian Cultural Forum, which supported part of the guest’s travel expenses. We are grateful to them and look forward to future cooperation.
We can be truly proud of everything accomplished during this conference weekend!
