Dear Colleagues,

I hope this message finds you managing alright wherever you may be.

Many years ago, in the very first issue of the IARPP newsletter (Summer 2002), Lew Aron wrote the following words:

In preliminary discussions among the IARPP Board and Advisory Council, it has become clear how differently each of us experiences the current state of the world in crisis. But if there was ever a time that we needed more international exchange, more dialogue, more widespread participation among all of our colleagues, clearly it is now.

This sentiment feels no less true today.

And so it was that 472 clinicians met in the birthplace of democracy, in Athens (and online as well) in Summer 2025, to reckon with the current state of the world, yet again – or as ever – in crisis.

IARPP’s 21^st Annual Conference, exploring “The Paradox of Freedom in Relational Psychoanalysis: Democracy and Tyranny In and Out of Therapy,” was a moving and meaningful congress, comprised of members from 27 countries. It was as notable for who attended as for who, due to the sudden outbreak of war between Israel and Iran, could not. The presence of absence was strongly felt, mitigated in part by a heroic last-minute technological and logistical scramble by our conference co-chairs, Stavros Charalambides, Alkinoi Lala, and Fotini Doumoura, in coordination with the Local Organizing Committee, the International Conference Committee, the IARPP Executive Committee, and organizer Nilou Mostofi. Thanks to these collective efforts, dozens of Israeli registrants were able to participate virtually in both plenaries and parallel panel sessions. Papers written by Iranians unable to attend due either to the fighting or to visa restrictions were delivered by Iranian colleagues who now live outside Iran. These improvisatory measures ensured the inclusion of these important voices. It was powerful as well to hear from Russian and Ukrainian colleagues. There were so many wonderfully stirring and heartfelt plenaries and panels throughout, and the discussions among attendees, in formal and informal settings alike, were often rousing and deeply moving.

In that same inaugural issue of IARPP’s newsletter, Jessica Benjamin remarked, “If all goes as we hope, this association will allow us to structure our discipline in more democratic and pluralistic ways, instead of creating a new orthodoxy.” Benjamin noted that one of the motivations which fueled our association’s 2001 founding was the aim of fostering structured opportunities for those drawn to relational theory to engage in “dialogue that produces differences and challenges us to face them.” She further elaborated, “There is a kind of dialectical process we hope to foster by opening up our field to new ideas and providing a less exclusionary environment that embraces our common experience as analysts and therapists as well as our differences and disagreements.”

And indeed IARPP continues to evolve “in more democratic and pluralistic ways.” In addition to exploring the stated conference themes of democracy, freedom, and tyranny, several important questions emerged with respect to ways that relational theory, practice, and training might evolve, “opening up our field to new ideas” per Benjamin. As examples, what room might there be in the unfolding relational perspective for group dynamics? sociopolitical influences? somatic interventions? greater integration of theory from the Global South? Such questions coursed in many registers through the four days of the conference.

For a review of the Athens conference as experienced by a cross-section of its attendees, I invite you to peruse our conference section. You’ll also find in this issue reports from a number of our committees and a couple of our chapters.

* * *

If you would like news of your recent publications and/or presentations to be included in the next IARPP Bookshelf, please send the following materials to me at MattAibel@gmail.com by Sunday, November 23, 2025 for inclusion in the December issue:

• Title of your recent* or upcoming publication(s)/presentation(s) (*“Recent” should be understood as occurring within the past year.) Please note that we do not publish announcements of IARPP Conference presentations.
• An abstract or brief description of the content (around 150 words)
• Link to a publisher, if applicable, so that members might access or purchase a copy
• Book cover photo or artwork, if applicable
• Digital photograph of yourself (jpeg format)
• Professional contact information as you would like it to appear publicly (city/town in which you practice or work and your email address)
• Book authors, please provide a brief bio of up to 90 words
• Presenters, please spell out organizational acronyms and include the location, if in-person

Wishing you well,

Matt Aibel
Editor, The IARPP Bulletin

Matt Aibel, LCSW
New York, NY, USA
Email Matt Aibel