Losses, Recovery and the Experience of the Helpers
October 21 - 23 2016
Prague, Czech Republic
The international conference will deal with the lot of the civil population that is caught up in the many wars and armed conflicts that are taking place all over nowadays. It will explore the ways this situation affects everyday life of people who are subjected to such continuous threatening reality as well as mental health professionals and para-professionals which are struggling to help them.
The wars in Ukraine, in Africa and in the middle east , the terror attacks in numerous countries, the aftermath of civil wars in the Balkans, all these cast a heavy shadow on the optimism that has accompanied the dismantling of totalitarian regimes and on the hopes for social flourishing and prosperity.
In view of this reality, we as psychotherapists, psychoanalysts, group-analysts and other mental health workers are likely to feel especially vulnerable when witnessing the suffering of refugees, immigrants, survivors and the countless victims of such man made violence. Many times we are faced painfully with our limited ability to offer the needed emotional support. The international conference is aimed at providing a space for sharing our experiences as persons and helpers subjected to this same reality. It enables us to process the feelings evoked, to encourage and strengthen each other in this arduous task, and turn our sharing into a mutual resource.
The international conference will also provide us with an opportunity to conceptualize our experiences in psychological, psychoanalytic and groupanalytic terms and enable professional dialogue among us.
