British Psychoanalytic Association

18/11/2025

Join us on Saturday, 13 December, to learn more about the poetry of George Mackay Brown and the psychoanalytic imagination. Discussant Raine Geoghegan will join BPA psychoanalyst David Morgan.

Drawing on Brown’s Orkney-rooted poetics and his injunction to “carve the runes / then be content with silence,” the seminar will explore the shared paradox of poetry and psychoanalysis: that words must be shaped and spoken, yet also relinquished so that silence may transform them.

The event is offered both online via Zoom and in person in London.

Find out more and book your tickets here: https://www.psychoanalysis-bpa.org/events/bpa-event-the-poetic-mind-seminar-carve-the-runes-then-be-content-with-silence

16/11/2025

“The similarity between Freud and Kohelet [Ecclesiastes] is that both of them believe that there’s no overarching totalistic system that integrates all the disparate experiences that one has. You have that, Freud says, in psychotics, and you have that in philosophers, and you have that in devout people – they look for systematicity. They try to cram everything into a framework of meaning. Both Freud and Kohelet reject that. They don’t have a worldview in that way. However, in order to flourish, you do need a meaning-giving, affect-integrating and action-guiding set of considerations. You can’t just be out there like a windowless monad floating around. There are some core beliefs and values that anchor a person, that give them footing. So there’s a difference between a totalizing worldview and a workable framework that’s open to critique.”

Listen here:

“The similarity between Freud and Kohelet [Ecclesiastes] is that both of them believe that there’s no overarching totalistic system that integrates all the disparate experiences that one has. You have that, Freud says, in psychotics, and you have that in philosophers, and you have that in devout...

14/11/2025

Our popular Introductory Lectures series will be running again from January 2026! The series introduces fundamental psychoanalytic ideas and explores a range of topics in greater depth. Delivered by BPA psychoanalysts, presentations are followed by a group discussion.

Lectures take place on Wednesday evenings, 8-9.30 pm UK time, from January to July 2026 (with half-term breaks).

Find out more here:

Psychoanalysis: Key Concepts and a Contemporary Perspective This series of lectures introduces fundamental psychoanalytic ideas and explores a range of topics in greater depth. Delivered by BPA Psychoanalysts, presentations are followed by a group discussion. The series is organised so as to build u...

07/11/2025

In this blog post from IPA International Psychoanalytical Association, Sara Ekenstierna argues that humanity's tragic yet creative struggle with inner conflict and duality holds the key to both our suffering and potential for transformation.

Read here: https://ipa.world/ipa/Dev/News_Stories/Blogs/Blog_Pages/The_Human_Tragicomedy.aspx

03/11/2025

"Some time ago, I realized that there was such a thing for me as experiencing my patients as being friends, but they were psychoanalytic friends. It was a psychoanalytic friendship that was quite unique and unlike any other friendship. I think that’s what people are talking about when they write about psychoanalytic love. It’s not love like any other kind of relationship, because the psychoanalytic relationship is so unique. And I feel the same way about psychoanalytic parenting. It’s like it’s close to mentoring, but it’s different because the structure of the relationship is different than from a mentor or an esteemed and loved teacher. It really is helping somebody with the whole process of development and helping them grow, mature, and become more comfortable with themselves and to know themselves better. That seems to me the essence of parenting, and I don’t think we should feel defensive about thinking about it that way. That doesn’t seem to me that it’s my counter-transference in needing to be a good mother, a good father, a good parent to my patients.”

Listen here:

“Some time ago, I realized that there was such a thing for me as experiencing my patients as being friends, but they were psychoanalytic friends. It was a psychoanalytic friendship that was quite unique and unlike any other friendship. I think that’s what people are talking about when they write...

30/10/2025

The film 'Where the Wild Things Are' is about a lonely and mischievous young boy named Max who sails to a mysterious island inhabited by monstrous, yet emotionally complex, creatures called the Wild Things. Directed by Spike Jonze, it is an adaptation of Maurice Sendak's beloved 1963 children's book.

Join us for an exclusive screening of 'Where the Wild Things Are' in London on Sunday, 2 November, followed by a panel discussion with Rael Meyerowitz (psychoanalyst), Nina Wessels (psychoanalyst) and chaired by Joan Thompson (psychoanalyst).

To book your ticket, go to: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/britishpsychoanalyticassociation/1867312?mc_cid=e4bccbb905&mc_eid=20212000d9

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcBPzqxBnRU

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27/10/2025

The latest blog article from the Freud Museum London recounts the story of Paula Fichtl, the Freud family’s long-time housekeeper: https://www.freud.org.uk/2025/10/10/meet-paula-fichtl-sigmund-freuds-devoted-housekeeper/?fbclid=IwY2xjawNnYZRleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBwQXR3ZFFKZnhCTjllTzRKAR44Z8pvdb35xMfj1IDtYM12WqjB4YEcyEmmsiGIjWfWIXqEdAD5ws15X1rWWw_aem_UdFztH7oinE8j3MXovL79A

Freud Museum London's upcoming exhibition 'Housekeeper', by British artist Cathie Pilkington, brings to life the figure of Paula Fichtl to reflect on the invisible labour involved in caring for the house and its collection.

Garden Closed to the PublicEssential conservation work is underway. The garden is temporarily closed. Thank you for your understanding.

25/10/2025

Join us for an exclusive screening and discussion of 'Where the Wild Things Are' in London on Sunday, 2 November.

The film, directed by Spike Jonze, is an adaptation of Maurice Sendak's beloved 1963 children's book. It's about a lonely and mischievous young boy named Max who sails to a mysterious island inhabited by monstrous, yet emotionally complex, creatures called the Wild Things.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Rael Meyerowitz (psychoanalyst), Nina Wessels (psychoanalyst) and chaired by Joan Thompson (psychoanalyst).

Book your ticket here:

Film Screening - Where the Wild Things Are – Hampstead Everyman Cinema, Sun 2 Nov 2025 - The British Psychoanalytic Association (BPA) presents an exclusive screening of: Where the Wild Things Are At the Hampstead Everyman Cinema, 5 Holly Bush Vale, NW3 6TX (Tube: Hampstead Nor...

23/10/2025

Listen to psychoanalysts Jamieson Webster and Jordan Osserman as they discuss the recently republished, revised translation of Françoise Dolto's 'Dominique: The Case of an Adolescent'.

Child psychoanalyst Françoise Dolto has been little translated and remains curiously unknown in the English-speaking world. First published in 1971, 'Dominique: The Case of an Adolescent' is a granular psychological portrait of a troubled adolescent and his familial inheritance, and a historical case study of French society in the 1960s.

Listen here: https://newbooksnetwork.com/dominique-the-case-of-an-adolescent

20/10/2025

Join us on Saturday, 8 November 2025, in person or online via Zoom, for an opportunity to:

- learn more about our organisation, training, pre-training courses and post-training opportunities

- ask questions and join small discussion groups to consider your particular circumstances.

You will learn about the application process and details of the training, hear from a candidate about their experience of the training and from analysts about life working as a psychoanalyst.

Find out more here: https://www.psychoanalysis-bpa.org/events/bpa-open-day-2025/

17/10/2025

“I was quite protective of the parent reader while I was editing this. I feel that so many of the books out there on the shelf have a real kind of finger wagging quality to parents. They kind of tell parents what to do, what not to do, mostly what they’re doing wrong. I felt like I wanted to create a resource that empathized with the parents’ position, and that protected them, because this is literally the hardest thing in the world. So the protectiveness felt important to me, and it was one of the things that was really quite important that we always held the parent in mind, which is why every letter starts with “Dear Parent”.”

Listen here:

“I was quite protective of the parent reader while I was editing this. I feel that so many of the books out there on the shelf have a real kind of finger wagging quality to parents. They kind of tell parents what to do, what not to do, mostly what they’re doing wrong. I felt like I wanted to cre...

14/10/2025

Join our next event in our series on psychoanalysis and poetry on 1 November. Psychoanalyst David Black and training analyst Giovanna R. Di Ceglie will reflect on the 'poetical mind' of Dante Alighieri.

Find out more here: https://www.psychoanalysis-bpa.org/events/bpa-event-the-poetic-mind-seminar-is-there-a-place-for-paradise-in-the-modern-world-reflections-on-dantes-paradiso/

This series of events is centred on the intersection of poetry and psychoanalysis, exploring how both disciplines utilise language to navigate the complexities of human experience.