Reflections on the Tel Aviv Conference
Following the recent 17th Annual IARPP International Conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, we invited a number IARPP members from around the world to share their impressions of the conference. Those comments follow, as does a gallery of photos submitted by many conference attendees.
We would very much like to acknowledge and thank the conference committee – Tami Dror-Schrieber, Dan Friedlander, Ilana Laor, and Steven Kuchuck – for their outstanding leadership and organization of what proved to be a memorable, moving, and meaningful conference experience shared by our international community.
Christina Emanuel (USA), Guest Editor
Photo Gallery Slideshow – IARPP 2019 Tel Aviv
Reflections by:
Peter McKay (Australia)
Noga Guggenheim (Israel)
Irwin Hirsch (USA)
Tammy (Tamar) Ben-Shaul (Australia)
Shlomit Yadlin-Gadot (israel)
Adrian Cuenca (Mexico)
Alejandra Plaza (Mexico)
Stavros Charalambides (Greece)
Gabriela Gusita (Greece)
From the moment I boarded my flight from Melbourne to Tel Aviv, I sensed that it was going to be a special trip. This was my third IARPP Conference and I was excited about reconnecting with those I had met at the earlier conferences. Also, with a number of other Australians to meet up with, I was assured of an enlivening experience…and this is without considering the rich content of the presentations to be held.
The first plenary To Dream the (Im)possible Dream, opened my eyes to the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict profoundly by allowing me to hear different perspectives in an inclusive manner, leading to a yearning to further my understanding of this complex struggle.
The Imaginarium on Friday evening was a surprising treat, despite the very long day! Theatres of Mutual Imagination, the session that I attended, really invited all participants to venture out of their comfort zones and experience a plethora of emotions in a number of roles that we may not have been particularly familiar with. By taking us out of our usual psychoanalyst/psychotherapist space and inviting us to be in the moment in a different way, we were truly facilitated to embody the conferences theme of imagining with our eyes wide open and to journey on a relational path. As a Somatic Psychotherapist, this session really touched me in a rejuvenative way, amongst the sometimes-heavy theory of the daily sessions.
With the topics of presentations ranging from photography to MDMA therapy to Married at First Sight – Israel, my mind was spinning from the breadth and depth of the work we all do around the globe, and the people we help. The chance to deliver a very practical presentation of my own was an extraordinary honour. To be able to share my experiences with colleagues and friends was a great delight.
As the end of the conference neared, a number of emotions were apparent in me, not the least sadness that this wonderful experience was coming to an end. Singing Imagine at the end of the conference with friends, both old and new, was a very special way to end together. A huge thank you the Tel Aviv organisers–the LA organisers have a tough job following you!
Peter McKay
68 La Trobe St, Melbourne
Victoria 3000, Australia
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Website: www.petermckay.com.au
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Conference Reflections
(לחצו כאן לעברית)
As I write my personal reflections on the IARPP conference in Tel Aviv, my thoughts go back to the words of the Israeli poet Avraham Halfi, whom I cited in the closing remarks at the conference:
“Paths do not have eyes to see how deep the dreams of those who walk on them are.”
Indeed, these words symbolize for me what I experienced personally, both as consultant to the conference co-chairs, and in my collaboration with my friend and colleague, Udi Chen (Israel), in the conference Cultural Committee.
Much has been said about the professional success of the Tel Aviv conference, as well as the many political difficulties and conflicts that accompanied its preparation. Additionally, I would like to share the Cultural Committee’s process in creating the conference environment that we all enjoyed. First, the Conference Committee’s decision regarding the conference location contributed a great deal to the good atmosphere. We all wanted to create, first and foremost, a sense of generous hospitality, with an open and nourishing feeling of welcoming everyone home. We were also determined to create an artistic vibe from the beginning of the conference, starting with the live music at the social reception, with the spectacular sunset over the Mediterranean Sea, and continuing until the conclusion of the conference when we all enthusiastically sang together the song “Imagine.”
Udi Chen
In the cultural, experiential programs of the conference–which we called “The Imaginarium” – we saw the importance of exposing the work of therapists and artists who represent the periphery, in order to discover the unexpected that is located at the intersections of social activity. In organizing the Imaginarium we approached people from “The Cabine,” a group that enables professional advancement and rehabilitation for musicians, actors, stage and production people, all of whom are challenged with mental disabilities.
The choice of the South Side Dinner and Party’s location and its varied artistic program were designed with a similar sensibility. The artists who performed at the party represented a variety of people and works, some of whom participate or teach in social frameworks that support young people from diverse populations who are socially and economically disadvantaged.
It was our wish that the conference participants would carry with them a unique, unconventional, arousing curiosity resulting from a magical and exciting experience.
Thanks to all those who took part in our dreams and contributed to the success of the conference.
Noga Guggenheim, PhD
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בבואי לכתוב את התרשמויותי האישיות מכנס IARPP בתל אביב, מחשבותי חוזרות לדברי המשורר אברהם חלפי, אותם הקראתי בדקות הנעילה של הכנס:
“לדרכים אין עיניים לראות מה עמקו חלומות הולכיהן”.
מילים אלה אכן מסמלות נאמנה את מה שחוויתי באופן אישי הן בתפקידי כיועצת וועדת הכנס והן בעבודתי המשותפת עם מר אודי חן, בוועדת התרבות של הכנס.
רבות דובר על ההצלחה המקצועית של כנס תל אביב זאת נוכח הקשיים הפוליטיים והקונפליקטים הרבים שליוו את הכנתו. לצד זה, אני רוצה לשתף בתהליך שעברנו כוועדת תרבות ביצירת סביבה שכולנו נהננו ממנה. ראשית, ההחלטה שהתקבלה בוועדת הכנס על המיקום תרמה רבות לאווירה הטובה. כולנו רצינו שתהיה תחושה של אירוח נדיב ומזין כמו בית מסביר פנים שילווה אותנו לאורך כל ימי הכנס. מבחינה תרבותית היה לנו חשוב שמשב רוח אמנותי ילווה את הכנס החל בקבלת הפנים, בליווי של מוזיקה חיה עם נוף השקיעה המרהיב לים התיכון, ועד לסיומו, עת שרנו כולנו יחדיו ובהתלהבות את imagine.
Udi Chen
בתוכניות התרבותיות והלא מילוליות של הכנס, אשר קראנו להם -“אימג’ינריום”- ראינו חשיבות בחשיפת עשייה אומנותית של יוצרים, מטפלים ואומנים המייצגים את הפריפריה. רצינו לגלות אזורים שאינם שגרתיים ושנמצאים בצמתים של עשייה חברתית. בארגון האימג’ינריום פנינו בין השאר ליוצרים מתוך ה”קבינה” שהיא קבוצה המאפשרת קידום מקצועי ותעסוקתי למוזיקאים, שחקנים, אנשי במה והפקה, המתמודדים עם בעיות נפשיות.
בחירת המיקום של הערב החברתי – South Side Dinner & Party – והתוכנית האומנותית המגוונת בו עוצבו אף הם מתוך מגמה זו. האמנים שהופיעו במסיבה ייצגו פסיפס של אנשים ויצירה, חלקם משתתפים או מלמדים במסגרות חברתיות המקדמות צעירים משכבות אוכלוסייה מגוונות ומאותגרות חברתית וכלכלית.
דמיינו בעיני רוחנו שמשתתפי הכנס יצאו ממנו עם חוויה ייחודית, לא שגרתית, מסקרנת, קסומה ומרגשת.
תודה לכל מי שלקחו חלק בחלומות שלנו ותרמו להצלחת הכנס.
ד”ר נגה גוגנהיים
ישראל
Noga Guggenheim, PhD
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Conference Reflections
by Irwin Hirsch (USA)
Prior to attending the recent IARPP conference I hadn’t been to Israel in over 30 years, and on this trip, indeed, I fell in love with Tel Aviv: young, vibrant, sophisticated, architecturally rich, and filled with culture, interesting neighborhoods, outdoor cafes, excellent restaurants, and of course magnificent beaches on the blue sea. Much of my time during the conference was spent exploring the streets of the city and sampling Tel Aviv’s restaurants with valued colleagues. I also loved the incredible buffet breakfasts and lunches at the conference hotel overlooking the sea, which offered more aesthetics, more great food, and more time with colleagues, new and old.
I was very pleased to see that, despite the controversy surrounding this conference, it was well attended and filled with interesting panels. I was happy to support the IARPP governing body’s decision to hold this conference in Tel Aviv and was honored to be an interlocuter for an excellent plenary panel. Additionally, I was pleased to attend panels featuring personal friends and colleagues.
People attend our conferences for many different reasons, social, educational, and to travel to interesting places, all of which were rich and fulfilling at this conference. I also must add that the conference was very well planned and organized and the venue ideal. Much credit goes to those who, under acute distress, organized this with a steady and very professional hand.
Irwin Hirsch, PhD
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Reflections on the IARPP 2019 Conference: Imagining with Eyes Wide Open
by Tammy (Tamar) Ben-Shaul (Australia)
It feels like my professional life took a turn in 2017 when I attended my first IARPP conference in Sydney. And I appreciate the opportunity to reflect here on my now third conference experience, one in which it feels like several of my homes have come together. Arriving first in Jerusalem, my hometown, from Melbourne, this year’s annual Motherland Visit pivoted around the conference. I was grateful for the location: it allowed me five days solo in Tel Aviv, a context of old-time friends, supervisors, colleagues, and my mentor, representing a past I have been painfully nostalgic about since immigrating to Australia.
By now, IARPP conferences–with the customary social events, informal parties, walkabouts, and conversations–feel like an opportunity to deepen and clarify friendships with like-minded colleagues and familiar faces. In Tel Aviv a sense of confidence and security emerged, one that is based on an awareness that these friendships will develop in the years to come. Additionally, I had the unique and privileged opportunity to help my colleagues from Melbourne and Sydney, who have heard so much about Israel, decipher some aspects of it.
The months of preparation to attend the Tel Aviv conference were intense. As an active participant in the IARPP Collective forum, and as a friend to Israelis embedded in the organizing of this conference, I did not know what atmosphere to expect. But by the last day, at the session in which my co-panelists and I presented our papers, I felt I was amongst people who were curious about my experience of having emigrated by circumstance from Israel. I felt that the theme of the conference was deeply considered and well set by the organizers. The political elements were addressed as well as could be. Our Israeli hosts had been waiting and wishing to share their generous hospitality with us. I expected this of my familiar culture and was not disappointed to feel their devotion, which contributed to a tasty, vivacious, intelligent, and very intense experience.
Now I am enthusiastic to visit Los Angeles, another part of the world where I’ve left childhood memories and friends. I’m also eager to see how US politics will be considered there, so close to the border with Mexico, and how much we will be able to speak about unspoken things.
Thanks for the opportunity to reflect on this experience.
Tammy (Tamar) Ben-Shaul, PhD
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Conference Reflections
by Shlomit Yadlin-Gadot (Israel)
I begin with thanking the Israeli IARPP conference committee for the work, thought, and effort they put into the highly professional and perfectly organized 2019 conference. My thanks also to the community at large for the planning, thinking, and hashing-out of the issue of the conference location. Lastly, my gratitude to the conference participants. I felt that they brought with them their faculty of thought, compassion, and open-mindedness that allowed the inextricability of pain and creation, as they exist in this complex State, to reveal itself.
This conference had death as one of its prominent threads. In the opening plenary that brought Said Abu Shakra, Hannah Kehat, and Sammy Smooha’s accounts of emotional and concrete loss of life and identity; through the moving presentations of trauma given by Cathy Hicks (Australia), Jeanne Wolff Bernstein (Austria), and Vojna Tapola (Finland); in Galit Atlas’s (USA) paper; and throughout Lew Aron’s memorial, I felt death’s tangible presence. This presence was thick, I believe, as an enactment and a communication about life in Israel. That is, death exists here alongside the heat of political debate, the self-doubt and the pride, the fears and the guilt, and it also exists alongside the arts, the beach, the feasts, and the festivities.
Many panels tackled, in various ways, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I felt that this was in order and important, allowing a potentially explosive topic to disseminate and transform through dialogue and thought. Most poignantly this came across for me in the panel “Collective Dreams; Trans-Identifications and Liminal Belonging.” Eyal Rozmarin (USA), Francisco Gonzalez (USA), and Victor Doñas (Chile) discussed the possibility of transcending subjectivity, and I felt that their panel enacted what it had theoretically formulated. One of the themes developed was the way belonging to various non-congruent groups can mitigate the identity of the “I”s and “We”s that long for, and create, the dangerous coherence of uniformity. Victor, both objecting to the conference’s location and acknowledging his various group-belongings, did not physically attend, but gave the panel his voice and smile on screen. For me this was a joyful instance of transcending.
For sharing all this, for immersing it in serious psychoanalytic thought and discussion, I send my gratitude and my hopes for the best futures we can, and have, imagined together, with eyes wide open.
Shlomit Yadlin-Gadot, PhD
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Reflections on the Tel Aviv Conference
by Adriana Cuenca (Mexico)
(clic aquí para español)
Attending IARPP conferences has always been an enriching and stimulating experience for me. IARPP events always create a space for open dialogue. You always feel included and invited to share experiences that enrich us as human beings, as well as our clinical work. It is wonderful to combine the passion for the work we do with the passion of discovering a new part of the world and understanding its people and the historical and socio-political situation in which they live.
The IARPP conference in Tel Aviv not only fulfilled my previous expectations but also exceeded them. It was a very well-organized and warm conference in which we were generously offered a lunch every day that gave us the wonderful opportunity to meet new friends and chat with old ones. “Imagining with Eyes Wide Open” was also a very moving conference. We were all together at the Lew Aron memorial event after his recent death, and remembering him in such an affectionate and deserving way was a special moment.
A very special event for me was the Walls and Barriers tour that was organized a day before the conference began. Visiting the West Bank with the group Combatants for Peace was a perfect way to open my eyes and better understand the difficult and complex situation between Israelis and Palestinians, and to listen to the different points of view of incredible people, pacifists and therapists so passionately involved in finding ways to support each other and maintain dialogue between them. Despite the differences, there were many similarities with which I identified deeply because I live in another part of the world in which walls and barriers, racism, hatred, inequality, and insecurity are also part of everyday life.
I left Israel with my heart full of the warmth of its people and its landscapes as well as with a broader understanding, gained through first-person experience, of its historical and complex socio-political context and how all this shapes daily life. Thanks to the conference co-chairs for a great event, and thank you all for imagining together and for dancing non-stop at Studio 207!
See you in Los Angeles!
Adriana Cuenca Carrara, PhD (Tijuana, Mexico)
LMFT (San Diego, United States)
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Reflexiones sobre la Conferencia en Tel Aviv 2019
por Adriana Cuenca (Mexico)
(click here for English)
Asistir a una conferencia de la IARPP siempre ha sido una experiencia enriquecedora y estimulante para mí. Los eventos de la IARPP siempre crean un espacio para el diálogo abierto. Siempre uno se siente incluido e invitado a compartir experiencias que nos enriquecen como seres humanos y, por lo tanto, también a nuestro trabajo clínico.
Es maravilloso combinar la pasión por el trabajo que hacemos con la pasión de descubrir una nueva parte del mundo y comprender a su gente y la situación histórica y socio-política en la que viven.
La conferencia de la IARPP en Tel Aviv no solo cumplió mis expectativas previas sino que las superó. Fue una conferencia muy bien organizada y cálida en la que nos ofrecieron generosamente un almuerzo todos los días que nos brindó la maravillosa oportunidad de conocer nuevos amigos y conversar con los ya conocidos. “Imagining with Eyes Wide Open” también fue una conferencia muy conmovedora. Estuvimos todos juntos en el evento conmemorativo a Lew Aron después de su reciente muerte, y recordarlo de manera tan afectuosa y merecedora fue un momento muy especial.
Un evento muy especial para mí fue el recorrido Muros y Barreras que se organizó un día antes de que comenzara la conferencia. Visitar Territorio de Ocupación con el grupo Combatientes por la Paz fue una manera perfecta de abrir los ojos y comprender mejor la difícil y compleja situación entre israelíes y palestinos, y escuchar los diferentes puntos de vista de increíbles personas, pacifistas y terapeutas tan apasionadamente involucrados en encontrar maneras de apoyarse mutuamente y mantener el diálogo entre ellos. A pesar de las diferencias, hubo muchas similitudes que me permitieron identificar profundamente con ellos porque vivo en otra parte del mundo donde los muros y las barreras, el racismo, el odio, la desigualdad, y la inseguridad también forman parte de la vida cotidiana.
Me fui de Israel con el corazón lleno de la calidez de su gente y sus paisajes, así como con una comprensión más amplia de su complejo contexto histórico y socio-político y cómo todo esto da forma a la vida diaria. Gracias a los co-presidentes de la conferencia por un gran evento, y gracias a todos por imaginar juntos y por bailar sin parar en Studio 207!
Nos vemos en Los Angeles!
Adriana Cuenca Carrara, PhD (Tijuana, Mexico)
LMFT (San Diego, United States)
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Conference Reflections
by Alejandra Plaza (Mexico)
(clic aquí para español)
My experience at the Israel conference was powerful because it confronted me with the social situation surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict. This conflict has both macro and micro implications, especially as it impacts our role as relational psychoanalysts and our work within IARPP. Therefore I think it was an excellent decision to attend. In particular, the tour to the occupied territory was both troubling and educational because it confronted me with the reality of inequality in that area.
In the paper I presented at the conference I invited us to ask ourselves what we are willing to give up or surrender (Ghent) when considering the narcissism that can allow us to hold positions of power. After attending the conference, however, I came to realize that this question is much more complex than can be addressed with surrender alone, as we must also consider and understand the economic, religious, racial, and political aspects of international conflicts. However, a first step is to speak up, to come to the table to discuss these conflicts, and to take the risk of trying to listen and understand.
These ideas also apply to our learning about the association to which we belong, IARPP. We are an active part of a group that invites reflection and even contributes to social change. The IARPP Collective listserv is a specific example of a space for us to reflect and listen to others. I feel it is essential to participate in the kinds of powerful and productive discussions such as occurred in Israel.
Thanks!
Alejandra Plaza Espinosa, PhD
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Mi experiencia en la conferencia de Israel fue impactante por que me confrontó con la situación social desde el conflicto Israel-Palestina que condensa una situación mundial, hasta nuestro papel como psicoanalistas relacionales en lo macro y en lo micro, así como nuestro trabajo dentro de la IARPP. Por lo cual pienso que fue una excelente decisión asistir. Aprendí del tour en las zonas ocupadas que es verdaderamente inquietante porque nos enfrenta a una realidad de desigualdad.
En el trabajo que presente me (nos) hago la pregunta que estamos dispuestos a ceder o a rendirnos (Ghent) a pesar del narcisismo que nos lleva a tener posiciones de poder. Sin embargo, después de asistir a la conferencia me doy cuenta que es una situación tan compleja que implica posturas económicas, de poder, con raíces internacionales, religiosas que siento que es mucho más complejo que ceder, no obstante un primer paso es hablarlo, ponerlo en la mesa de discusión y arriesgarnos a entender y a escuchar.
Por otro lado, también implica un aprendizaje sobre la asociación a la que pertenecemos. Somos parte activa de un dispositivo que implica reflexión e incluso cambio social. Para ponerlo en algo muy concreto: el grupo de los colectives da un espacio para reflexionar y escuchar a los demás. Es esencial para mi trabajar en estas poderosas discusiones de manera productiva como sucedió en Israel.
Gracias!
Alejandra Plaza Espinosa, PhD
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Conference Reflections
by Stavros Charalambides (Greece)
The Tel Aviv conference was an extraordinary event. Our Israeli colleagues welcomed us and we really felt like we were at home. We Greeks share some common cultural elements with Israelis that were evident at our conference. One of the most astonishing moments during our conference was when Joyce Slochower (USA) began singing to honor Lewis Aron and the rest of the group started singing as if all of us knew Hebrew. Also, the Italian and Greek Groups danced together spontaneously just after our common panel!
The large group experience I co-conducted with my marvelous colleagues Michael Chirug and Irene Melnick from Israel were really deep and meaningful for all the participants. We saw how intergenerational trauma is transmitted, such that the previous generation carries guilt for what they are to pass to next generation, with the next generation members of our group expressing their concerns about their position as well.
As was the case in our large group, IARPP has proven to be an egalitarian organization where many diverse opinions can be acknowledged.
I want to thank the Tel Aviv organizing committee along with the IARPP board members for offering us something so unique. We are looking forward to coming to Los Angeles next year!
Stavros Charalambides
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My Reflections on the Tel Aviv Conference 2019
by Gabriela Gusita (Greece)
The 2019 IARPP conference in Tel Aviv was, for me, a special moment in time, a moment I will keep in my heart forever. In attending my first IARPP conference I knew I would get out of my comfort zone in many ways, especially because the location of our conference was disputed and controversial. But I never could have imagined that I would mourn for Lewis Aron the way I did, that I would be so impressed and touched by the uniqueness of Israel and its people, that I would be hugged and welcomed the way I was, or that I would see, feel, and live everything I experienced during these five days I spent in Tel Aviv.
In choosing to attend this conference I had to open the eyes of my soul and see for myself the borders, the walls, the buildings that are being continuously built, the old, and the new. I wanted to shake hands with Israeli and Palestinian colleagues. I knew it would be difficult but I also knew that a relational environment is that place in which people can mourn together, share their pain, endure, and always stay committed to their truth. Together with my colleagues from Greece and from around the world, I got to know Tel Aviv, a city full of lights and colors with beautiful young people on the streets. I decided to call Tel Aviv “the orange city” because of its amazing orange sunsets on the sea. Everything I saw and felt was so different and new; my brain was fascinated by every single detail.
During the conference I listened to papers about the movement from fantasy to imagination, about how imagination takes us a step further; I kept notes on how we express pain and fear through imagination, and how fantasy helps us fill in the absence while imagination helps us link it to presence. I listened to people share their narratives of trauma and discuss the ethical responsibility we feel for the other. I enjoyed papers about music, research on MDMA in Israel, and poetry, and attended the morning groups. The panels were so many and so rich that my heart was in pain because I could not be present at all of them!
As a relational psychotherapist, I have faith that our “good enough relationships” will always help us be a united community despite the diversity of our political beliefs.
May we enjoy many more conferences together, as a strong united international association!
Gabriela Gusita
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