Truth and Kindness
We invite you to join us , whether in person or online , for a thought-provoking day of papers and discussion on the topic of Truth and Kindness, which is a central preoccupation in Kleinian thinking and indeed for all psychoanalytic clinicians.
As John Steiner says in his book IIIusion Disillusion and Irony in Psychoanalysis, ‘Truth can be cruel in its unrelenting logic and it is easy for those who idealise truth to overlook the human limitations that make us depend on illusion in order to survive….kindness is important not simply to modify the cruelty of truth but to make it more true. If truth is viewed from a rigid and narrow perspective , we fail to recognise that it may be based on unconscious phantasies that are being denied. A wider truth can then emerge that includes an acceptance of human frailty , including our own.'
These are some of the dilemmas that this conference is designed to address and we hope you will share your perspectives on these important clinical tensions.
For online participants there will be a live-stream of the sessions . The presentations will be recorded and made available to stream for one month after the conference. The conference will be chaired by Gigliola Fornari Spoto, Chair of the Trust.
Speakers include Kathryn Pugh & Penelope Garvey as well as Margaret Rustin & Wilhelm Skogstad
Programme
9:00 - 9:30 Registration
9:30 - 9:45 Introduction by the Chair
9:45 - 11:00 100 Lies Before Breakfast by Penelope Garvey
11:00 - 11:30 BREAK
11:30 - 12:30 Discussant Margaret Rustin with discussion
12:30 - 14:00 LUNCH
14:00 - 15:30 To the Lighthouse, The Marriage of Kindness and Trust by Kathryn Pugh, followed by discussion between Wilhelm Skogstad and Kathryn Pugh, and discussion from the floor
15:30 - 16:00 BREAK
16:00 - 17:00 Further discussion between audience, speakers and chairs
17:00 - 18:30 Reception for in person attendees
Optional online and in person clinical seminars are offered at various times on Friday 13th of June in the evening and Sunday, 15th June in the morning. Some seminars are now open but others coming soon. Places are limited and you are advised to book for these as soon as possible. You may book a seminar on Friday and Sunday, if you wish. Please ensure if you book on to an in person seminar session, you are able to attend in person. There will not be a hybrid option for this.
Please note that only qualified psychoanalysts, psychoanalytic psychotherapists and IPA candidates may attend clinical seminars and all seminar participants must have stated the name of their registering professional body on their booking form. We reserve the right to cancel and refund your booking if you do not do this. If you do not fit these criteria but would like to attend a seminar please get in touch , we aim to be as flexible as possible .
Tickets: Once you have booked and paid you will receive an email from Eventbrite confirming your place. Those attending online will receive a Zoom link closer to the time of the event.
Speakers Bios
Kathryn Pugh is a Child and Adolescent and Adult Psychoanalyst and Fellow of the British Psychoanalytical Society, and a Training and Supervising analyst . She is currently working privately but was Consultant Psychiatrist and tutor in Psychotherapy at Central and North West London Trust from 2000 to 2021. She teaches in Universities including UCL and Kings University.
Penelope Garvey is a Fellow and a Training and Supervising Analyst of the British Psychoanalytical Society. She has worked in the NHS and has a private practice in Devon. She teaches both in the UK and abroad. She is one of the co-authors of The New Dictionary of Kleinian Thought (2011), a co-editor with Kay Long of The Klein Tradition (2018) and author of Melanie Klein: A Contemporary Introduction (2023). She currently chairs the Outreach Committee of the Institute of Psychoanalysis.
Margaret Rustin is an Honorary Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and a Child Analyst at the BPAS. She was Head of Child Psychotherapy at the Tavistock 1986 – 2009, Dean of Postgraduate Studies 1993-99, and subsequently Chair of the Professional Committee. She continues to teach at the Tavistock and the British Psychoanalytical Society and also in many countries across the globe. In 2005 she was made an Honorary Affiliate Member of the British Psychoanalytic Society. Her publications include many journal articles and books, and a volume of her collected clinical papers entitled “Finding a Way to the Child” was published in the International Library of Psychoanalysis in 2023.
Wilhelm Skogstad is a Fellow and a Training and Supervising Analyst of the British Psychoanalytical Society, working in private psychoanalytic practice. He trained as a psychiatrist and worked for 20 years as a Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy and later Clinical Lead at the Cassel Hospital in Richmond. He has been the main organiser of the British German Colloquium. He co-edited, with Bob Hinshelwood, the book "Observing Organisations: Anxiety, Defence and Culture in Health Care” (2000).
Gigliola Fornari Spoto is a Fellow and a Training and Supervising Analyst of the British Psychoanalytical Society. She trained as psychiatrist in Italy. She edited Eric Brenman’s book the Recovery of the Lost Good Object and has a particular interest in psychoanalytical education. She is the current Chair of the Melanie Klein Trust.
The Ethical Obligations of All Participants:
All those registered for the conference are expected to adhere to the highest professional standards. They must respect confidentiality. If you think you recognize the identity of a patient in any presentation, please leave the session. Never discuss clinical material outside with anyone. Do not record or disseminate any part of the presentations and discussions on any device.
If you are joining via Zoom, please join the conference from a secure environment where you will not be interrupted by other people. If you have difficulty with any of these requirements, please contact us so we can cancel your registration and refund your conference fees.
Bursaries: The Melanie Klein Trust is a charity, and we rely upon income from events like these to continue our work. However, just as it is a challenging time for us, we understand that many others are in a similar situation, and we do not want the price of entry to be a barrier to anyone keen to attend. We have therefore made a limited number of free places available for those who cannot afford the ticket price. To apply for a free place please contact us, giving some details about yourself and your current situation.
Discounted tickets: We have a certain number of discounted tickets for the conference for candidates in psychoanalytic clinical trainings and for full time students on related courses. On the ticket booking page, you will see a small blue link in the top left hand corner - "Enter promo code" - the code MKT2025 can be applied for in person tickets or MKT2025O for online tickets. Note that you must state both your professional institution/ university and the name of your course on the booking form, and please be ready to provide proof of these if asked.
Refund Information: We are unable to offer refunds after 10th May. Unfortunately if you alter your plans and want to join online rather than in person we cannot refund the difference due to the costs we will already have incurred.
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