Australia is struggling to contain the Delta strain of Covid 19. The state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, has successfully suppressed community transmission with a strict three-week lockdown, having suffered a very harsh sixteen-week lockdown in 2020. Unfortunately, Sydney is entering a sixth week of lockdown, which has now been extended for at least another four weeks, as the number of new infections continues to rise daily. A very large section of south Eastern Queensland is also locked down as of this week, and “level three” restrictions are in place in South Australia.

Lockdown is considered the best strategy for containment, as our vaccination rates remain by far the lowest in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Recent epidemiological modelling indicates that 70-80% of the population will have to be vaccinated before restrictions can be lifted. Whether this is possible and just how long it will take remains to be seen. Unsurprisingly, community distress and discontent are increasing.

As a direct result of the ongoing pandemic, our seminars continue to be conducted entirely on-line. However, we have endeavoured to provide a full program to keep our membership and other relationally oriented clinicians connected and networked. Early in the year, we enjoyed two rich and often moving seminars each from Jean Petrucelli (USA) and Galit Atlas (USA).

More recently, we held our first “Meet the Author” events, presenting new books by Australian members. The first featured Victorian psychotherapist and academic Petra Bueskens and her recently published Nancy Chodorow and The Reproduction of Mothering: Forty Years On. The second featured Animals as the Third in Relational Psychotherapy: Exploring Theory, Frame and Practice edited by Sydney members Jo Frasca and Jo Silbert.

These seminars were fascinating, very well attended, and elicited lively and engaged conversation between the authors, our audiences and some of the contributors to both books.  Still to come, we have presentations from Amy Joelson, two each from Jack Foehl and Nancy McWilliams, and we’ll finish the year’s program with Susan Sands (all USA).

We are especially happy to report that, thanks to the energy and efforts of our Melbourne branch and members, there are now eight reading groups up and running, including two in New Zealand and one in Sydney, with two more in development. Some of these are conducted in person, others via Zoom.

I look forward to a time in which we can all meet again in person, most especially at our international conference.

Annette Conradi, President

Annette Conradi
Australia
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