As every year, the Annual Conference represents an important occasion for our global psychoanalytic community. This year we gathered in Mèrida, Mèxico in June for the generative experience of exchanging ideas among professionals from different countries, united by the desire to contribute with passion to the development of relational psychoanalysis.

The Candidates Committee Panel for this year’s conference was entitled “A Path to Belonging: Psychoanalytic Institutes as a Relational Home for Candidates.” This panel, featuring select candidates from around the globe, offered a valuable opportunity to reflect on the relational and socio-cultural dynamics that a psychoanalyst in training could experience in relating with psychoanalytic institutes during training.

The panelists brought diverse yet complementary perspectives, enriching the discussion with their personal and professional experiences:

• Sepideh Shirani (Iran) presented “Psychoanalytic Institutes as Symbolic Homes: Navigating Crises and Identity Formation,” exploring the challenges candidates face in grasping the dynamics of (un)belonging to institutes in trauma-prone countries, considering the profound impact of intergenerational, social, and political traumas on both groups and individuals.
• Gerardo Perez (Mexico) shared “From Homelessness to Relatedness: How Moving to a Virtual World Enabled Me to Build a Sense of Community and Belonging as a Psychotherapist,” focusing on the importance for a young candidate of being able to belong to a community in which they can feel welcomed and represented, beyond borders, while also exploring the opportunities that digital technology offers to broaden their possibilities.
• Stefania Baresic (Canada) discussed “Remembering, Repeating and … When Working Through Falls Short of Relational Repair,” which helped us reflect on the complex dynamics that emerge in the relationship between analysts in training and their supervisors, with particular attention to the implications of shame in the relationship.

The Candidates Committee is most grateful for the enriching contributions of the discussant, Maria Silvia Soriato (Italy). Her reflections on the panelist’s presentations further highlighted the strong need for belonging and support among our community, and the importance of creating inclusive and relational learning environments which are capable of embracing and valuing the diversity of individual experiences in different cultural contexts. These reflections helped to activate the lively and productive discussion that followed.

The Candidates Reception was another highly successful event, fostering interaction and connection between candidates and more experienced community members. This gathering received active and warm participation, demonstrating the strong sense of community and solidarity that characterizes our organization. The opportunity to interact in an informal setting strengthened bonds and encouraged future collaboration among participants. The reception also provided an opportunity for most of the Candidates Committee members to meet together and socialize in-person as well as to get to know the newer committee members, including the Candidates Committee’ newest member, Marco Ponta (Italy). Marco’s appointment was warmly received, and we look forward to his valuable contributions in the future.
Marco is a psychologist, psychotherapist, and psychoanalyst. He has completed psychoanalytic training and has been associated iwth ISIPSÈ (Institute of Specialization in Self-Psychology and Relational Psychoanalysis, in Rome and Milan) since 2021. A former outpatient specialist in neuropsychiatry health service in Naples (Italy), Marco now works there as a private clinician with adults, adolescents, and couples.

The activities of the Candidates Committee highlighted the importance of a relational and inclusive approach in psychoanalytic training, emphasizing the need for institutes to serve as “homes” for candidates. We thank all those who participated and contributed to the success of this event, hoping that the reflections and connections developed in Mérida will continue to inspire and guide our future work.

With gratitude,

Lissa Schaupp (USA) and Afarin Kohan (Canada), Co-Chairs

Lissa Schaupp, LCSW
New York, NY, USA
Email Lissa Schaupp

Afarin Kohan, MD, FRCPC
Toronto, Canada
Email Afarin Kohan