By Margaret Black Mitchell (USA) and Hazel Ipp (Canada)
Conference Co-chairs

Registration for our upcoming  (June 14-17) 16^th annual conference, Hope and Dread: Therapists and Patients in an Uncertain World, is in full swing – and while aspects of our contemporary world may indeed feel uncertain one thing that IS NOT uncertain is that we are already nearing full registration capacity for the conference space at New York’s Roosevelt Hotel. If you haven’t yet registered, don’t linger.  To register, click here:  https://iarppconference.org

We are so pleased with the rich program we have planned for you, much of it with the help of our excellent Conference Planning Committees. For our opening plenary, following a viewing of the James Baldwin Film, I am Not Your Negro, Ken Corbett and Dr. Maurice Apprey, the Dean of African American Affairs at the University of Virginia, will lead us in a consideration of some of the issues raised. We hope through this experience we can all enter the conference space having opened ourselves up to the complexities of our shared experiences of struggle – as clinicians and as everyday people – with identity, humanity, and social conflict. Other plenaries will address issues of immigration, the clinical challenges of working in our highly politicized culture, as well as what is becoming an increasingly distressing question for many: Does Truth Matter?

In the panel sections of the conference program we are pleased to feature the excellent papers and discussions of many of our members, as well as several invited panels and Meet the Author presentations of newly published books. Included in this section is also the realization of one of the many creative visions of the late Muriel Dimen. She encouraged the launching of a Fellowship Lecture series in which non-analysts, interested in analytic thinking, could apply for opportunities to work intensively with a senior IARPP analyst, culminating in presenting a conference paper reflecting the outcome of this collaboration. This year’s participants, our very first in this program, are Bettina von Lieres, a political scientist from South Africa, now living in Canada, and Zeynep Turan, an architect, originally from Turkey, who now lives in the USA.  This panel will take place on Sunday at 9:00am, panel 6.1.

We also want to extend a special invitation to students of psychotherapy, graduate students, and early career analysts to join us for a pre-conference reception on Thursday, June 14, at 3:30pm  just before the conference opens. The reception will be held in the Hudson Room on the mezzanine level of the hotel.  At this reception you can look forward to meeting other students from around the world as well as many of the well-known analysts from the United states and other countries who will be coming by to say hello to  you.

The Candidates’ Panel (Saturday at 3:45pm, panel 5.2) is also not to be missed. Presenters are all candidates in training who have been invited to speak after submitting personal proposals. Speakers will include Fabio Bianchi from Italy, Lissa Schaupp from the USA, Gilly Katz ben Sheffer from Israel, and Andrea Iturriaga Medrano from Spain. Francesca Colzani, a senior analyst from Chile, will be the discussant.

In the conference packets everyone will find information about how to get around and what to do while visiting New York, including information for families with children. Here are a few suggestions from that information packet:
Guides to NYC:

– NYC Go:  The “Official” guide to NYC.  Not bad.  https://www.nycgo.com

– New York Magazine Visitor’s Guide:  A very good, comprehensive guide to what’s going on in the city; breaks things down by neighborhoods.  http://nymag.com/visitorsguide/

– Time Out New York:  A younger, hipper outlook.            https://www.timeout.com/newyork

– Thrillist New York: This is almost too hip for us, but maybe it’s just what you’re looking for.  https://www.thrillist.com/new-york

Fun for Kids:

– Central Park has a carousel, a zoo, a puppet theater, and a roller rink, in addition to trees, rocks, and grass.  https://www.centralpark.com/things-to-do/activities/children/

–Children’s Museum of Manhattan:  http://cmom.org

– American Museum of Natural History:  Dinosaurs, a whale, cave men, stars, and more.  https://www.amnh.org

What We’d Do With Our Free Time:

– Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and wander around in DUMBO (the neighborhood that’s down under the Manhattan bridge overpass). We could take in the views of Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge Park or watch the kids ride the carousel.  https://www.brooklynbridgepark.org

– Shop for used books (easy to pack) at the Strand (psychoanalytic titles are downstairs). https://www.strandbooks.com

– Take a free ride on the Staten Island Ferry. It goes right past the Statue of Liberty – just don’t go during rush hour. http://www.siferry.com

– Look up at the stars in Grand Central Station (and whisper to your friends in the basement!). https://www.grandcentralterminal.com

– Visit the Whitney museum (Friday nights are “pay what you wish”) and take a walk afterward along the Highline, a gorgeous elevated park, converted from an old train line, that cuts through some of Manhattan’s trendiest areas. https://whitney.org

and http://www.thehighline.org

It is with great sadness that we also will be creating time to come together to mark the  untimely passing of our friend, colleague, founding board member, and former IARPP President, Jeremy Safran. We will be holding a memorial for him on Saturday, June 16, 2018, from 12:30pm to 1:30pm in the Grand Ballroom of the Roosevelt Hotel.

These conferences allow us to come together, across the many miles, to see one another, and to revel in the vitality and sense of community that has come to characterize our organization. Don’t miss the party on Saturday night where we will dine and dance and listen to great music, some of which will be provided by performances by our many musically talented colleagues.

We hope to see you  in New York.

Warmest regards,

Margaret Black Mitchell and Hazel Ipp
Conference co-chairs