When uncertainty grows and there is a lack of future prospects and vision, polarizations often offer the illusion of cohesion around something or someone defined in opposition to someone or something else. The commitment to creating or contributing to a sustainable and supportive way of life seems fragile and perhaps futile. Hate can become a strong affective bond as a misguided response to a deeper need for care and recognition.

In this context, reclaiming clinical sensibilities to further our recognition of the complexity of bonds and affects becomes a precious counter-cultural commitment that is increasingly necessary. Relational theory’s pluralistic emphasis on interpersonal relationships and the co-construction of meaning particularly lends itself to a creative exploration of hate’s complexity, allowing us to inhabit a position from which we might hope to metabolize, integrate, and transform it.

How then does a Relational clinician work when pulled in the direction of being a bad object? How do we manage the intense transference and countertransference engendered by feelings of hate? And what does it all look like in the context of the asymmetrical mutuality of a relational frame?

At this conference, we will explore how we live and work in the context of the hate we encounter, both within ourselves and others, and inside and outside our consulting rooms.

We look forward to seeing you in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May 7-10, 2026.