Dear Colleagues,

Hate is in the air.

By which I mean that, in just a few more weeks, IARPP will convene for its annual conference, an international gathering which this year dedicates itself to hate and destructiveness as it emerges in the clinical situation, in our internal worlds, as well as in its various interpersonal, institutional, social, cultural, ethnic and political forms. We look forward to welcoming many hundreds of relational analysts and those interested in its ideas and practices to Toronto for an exploration in numerous plenaries, parallel paper sessions, and discussions formal and informal, as we ponder the rich and bracing question, “Can Hate Last? Reclaiming Clinical Sensibilities in Relational Psychoanalysis.”

If you haven’t already registered to attend, we hope you will consider doing so! You can find a précis of the conference at the Conference page. If you haven’t already registered, you can do so here: https://iarpp.ce-go.com/iarpp-conference-2026-may-7-may-10-2026/home. If you are not attending, you might consider registering, through the same link, for virtual access to the plenaries. And if you are still deciding whether to attend, you can peruse the full program here: https://iarpp.ce-go.com/iarpp-conference-2026-may-7-may-10-2026/agenda

For those of you attending the conference, we invite you to join us Friday during lunchtime, 12:30–1:15, for a memorial tribute to the life and work of the late Malcolm Owen Slavin. This coming together of our community will help us mourn the loss of a colleague who was both a warm, kind soul and a brilliant thinker. At the time of his passing in January, Mal was a member of IARPP’s Board of Directors. He was a familiar presence through his numerous IARPP plenary presentations across the decades and a seminal relational contributor through his influential writing, which culminated in the 2024 publication of The Story of Loss: Grieving Existential Trauma in the Arts and the Art of Psychotherapy. Mal’s magnum opus received the prestigious Gradiva Award for best psychoanalytic book just weeks after his passing. Remembrances will appear as well in the next (June) issue of this newsletter.

Sadly, the loss of colleagues has been mounting lately. The preeminent interpersonal psychoanalyst Edgar Levenson passed away last month at age 101. Regarded as a “quintessential American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst,” Dr. Levenson wrote three important books, The Fallacy of Understanding  (1972), The Ambiguity of Change  (1983), and The Purloined Self  (1991) which, alongside numerous journal articles, are standards of psychoanalytic training around the globe.

Ruth Lijtmaer, a frequent contributor to The IARPP Bookshelf, passed away last month as well. Ruth was a tireless advocate for those who endure degrading, traumatic, and painful circumstances — immigrants, refugees, and those living in exile. Through her writings and presentations, including at recent IARPP conferences, she sought to humanize these experiences and deepen our sensitivity to the suffering of others, especially in a time marked by profound social and political dehumanization.

Finally, Irwin Hoffman has just left us. His contributions to Relational psychoanalysis are as monumental as Levenson’s contributions to Interpersonal psychoanalysis. His book, Ritual and Spontaneity in the Psychoanalytic Process: A Dialectical-Constructivist View  (1998), remains a cornerstone of Relational thinking, offering us everything from an understanding of dialectical or social constructivism to the phrase “throwing away the book.” Among his many influential papers were “The Patient as Interpreter of the Analyst’s Experience” (1983), his second sole-authored essay, and “Therapeutic Passion in the Countertransference” (2009), which was also the basis of a memorable plenary talk he gave at the 2012 IARPP Conference in New York.

This month’s issue features a letter from our president, remarks about the Toronto conference, reports from several committees, and the latest activities of two international chapters, Thessaloniki and Mexico.

* * *

If you would like me to include news of your recent publications and/or presentations in the next IARPP Bookshelf, please send the following materials to me at MattAibel@gmail.com by Sunday, May 24, 2026:

• Title of your recent or upcoming publication(s)/presentation(s) (“Recent” means within the prior year; IARPP Conference presentations are not eligible)
• 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

Best wishes,

Matt Aibel
Editor, The IARPP Bulletin

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