By Chana Ullman (Israel)

Dear IARPP members,

I am pleased to write to you to share some of our plans and recent developments at IARPP.

The Rome conference is just behind us. This is an opportunity to thank again the co-chairs Susi and Gianni Nebbiosi and the local Italian team for this magnificent conference, attended by 560 participants, who together created the international ambience and the vitality that was itself the topic of our gathering. This has been an opportunity to learn and dialogue about the implicit and creative aspects of clinical process and the arts, combining scientific, clinical, political, and cultural sensibilities, along with enjoying the pleasures of artistic experiences and social events. The international growth and the vitality of IARPP were apparent, contributing to an energizing and heartwarming experience for us all.

We are now already intensely engaged in the planning of our next conference which will take place in Sydney, Australia, from May 25 to 28, 2017. The conference, which takes us to a different part of the globe, is entitled “From the Margins to the Centre: Contemporary Relational Perspectives,” and is chaired by Cathy Hicks (Australia) and Sarah Calvert (New Zealand), with the help of the local IARPP chapters in their respective countries. This upcoming conference promises to be a uniquely rich and innovative experience. The topics explored will move us to examine the ways the margins, in the broadest and varied sense of the term, can influence the mainstream in a dialectical process. Moreover, we hope that this will be a first time opportunity to open our gates to participants from Asia and the Pacific and to hear new voices and perspectives. The call for papers for this conference has already been announced. Please check our website and this issue of the eNews for details. We invite all of you to submit proposals and to take part in this event, one that is off our usual common path in many ways.

I am pleased to report that the IARPP board has approved the continuation of travel stipends for the Sydney conference. We will be offering $25,000 in stipends for qualified applicants. This is part of our efforts to respond to the needs of our younger and diverse membership and to enable their participation in our conferences.

At our meeting in Rome the board devoted some time and thought to envisioning IARPP in the next few years. Many ideas for addressing the future directions of IARPP came up, including enhancing the theoretical and clinical relevance of the relational approach as a psychoanalytic perspective in the contemporary world, and investing our resources to enhance our growth as an international and diverse organization. We were also appreciative of the thoughts and wishes expressed by the membership at our membership meeting in Rome. These ideas will be discussed and hopefully gradually implemented in the near future.

Wishing all of us peaceful and productive times around the globe.

Chana Ullman, PhD
17 Neve Matz
Rehovot 76100    Israel
Email Chana Ullman