Explore a preview of the scientific program for the 21st WADP World Congress in Vienna. Featuring selected keynote lectures, workshops, presentations, symposia, and posters, the program offers insights into current developments and diverse perspectives in dynamic psychiatry and psychotherapy. Discover the breadth of topics and the international expertise that will shape this year’s congress.
Please note that the program is preliminary and subject to change.
Selected Key Lectures
(Subject to changes)
- Alfonso, César (USA)
Silence in Psychotherapy: Converging Perspectives from Cultural Anthropology, Psycholinguistics, Psychoanalysis and Neuroscience - Ammon, Maria (Germany)
Challenges to Identity Development in Today’s World - Bauer, Joachim (Germany)
Social Media, Online Games, Chatbots: Identity in Digital Times - Botbol, Michel (France)
From Identity-Assertion Symptoms to Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Psychodynamic Perspective - Burbiel, Ilse (Germany)
The Relevance of Analytical Group Dynamics for Working with and within Groups - Chadda, Rakesh (India)
Psychotherapy: Contributions from the Indian Schools of Thought - Meixner, Elisabeth (Germany)
Insights into the Theater Work of the Psychoanalytic Kindergarten, Munich (With Video) - Mezzich, Juan (USA)
The Multidimensional Identity of the Person: Conceptual Bases and Practical Applications - Neznanov, Nikolay & Vasileva, Anna (Russian Federation)
Mental Health and Mental Health Care in the Syncretism of Realities - Rass, Eva (Germany)
Important Aspects of Sibling-Relationship with Special Attention to Affect Regulation and Shame Experience - Sartorius, Norman (Switzerland)
Forgotten Workforce in Psychiatry Care: the Carers - Spitzer, Manfred (Germany)
Communication, Curiosity, Motivation and Creativity - Thome, Astrid (Germany)
Resonance and Regulation in Psychodynamic Groups - Tyal, Hachem (Morocco)
Prescribing through Speech. Words and Molecules in a Moroccan Psychiatric Clinic - Tyano, Sam (Israel)
Pinocchio on the Couch - von Bülow, Gabriele (Germany)
Analytical Psychotherapy for a Patient with Complex Trauma and Transgenerational Entanglements - Wancata, Johannes (Austria)
Planning Mental Health Care Considering Societal Changes - Wenzel, Thomas (Austria)
Interdisciplinary and Transcultural Aspects of Persecution Trauma Related Psychological Problems
Selected Lectures
(Subject to changes)
- Abbati, Michele (Italy)
The Therapist at Work: Participant Observation, Rupture and Repair in the Clinician’s Mind. An Integrative Review - Al-Taiar, Hasanen (UK)
Forensic Psychiatry, Identity, and the Future of Diagnostic Classification: Reflections from the DSM Process and Implications for DSM-6 - Andresan, Laura Maria (Romania)
The Intersubjective Dream Field Method: Dreaming Identity and the Undreamt within the Group Field - Annerl, Gerald (Germany)
Identity between Digital Recognition and Relationship: Ammon’s Concept of Social Energy in the Age of Social Media - Bahmani, Soya (Iran)
When Boundaries Become Identity: Narcissistic Vulnerability and the Therapeutic Frame - Battaglini, Irene (Italy)
Handing Over the Fire: The Crisis of Transmission in Psychoanalytic Training and Supervision - Battaglini, Irene (Italy)
Withdrawal from the Living: New Intelligent Matrices and the Metamorphosis of the Intersubjective Field - Benedetti, Marco (Italy)
Donald Winnicott in the Daily Practice of a Dermatologist - Bihler, Thomas (Germany)
Conducting Inpatient Psychodynamic Group Therapy Under Conditions Of Low Coherence. Case Presentation from Menterschwaige Clinic. - Bistis-Nadala, Christine Rio (USA)
Unconscious Containment Across Clinical and Community Contexts: Identity Formation in Relational Fields - Brantsaeter, Benedikte (Norway)
Psychological Violence -How Capable, Intelligent People Get Broken Down – and How to Rebuild Power, Clarity and Self-Trust - Byrne, David (Ireland)
Which Outcome Measure is most Suitable for Network Modelling of Anxiety Symptoms: Comparing the HAM-A and HADS - Campos Chinchilla, Francia Ivonne (Japan)
Mental Wellbeing Challenges of Immigrant Families in Japan: Awareness, Prevention and Steps to an Integrate Care - Carmelita, Alessandro (Spain)
The Reflected Self and the Fragility of Identity: Dissociation, Shame and Relational Safety in Mirror-Based Psychotherapy - Cavallo, Giuseppina (Italy)
Trauma of Separation. The Presence of Parents in Therapy Room - Chou, Kuei-Ru (Taiwan)
Effects of Integrative and Instrumental Reminiscence Therapy on Psychosocial Outcomes in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial - Cipta, Darien Alfa (Indonesia)
Identity under Pressure: Psychotherapy in Times of Democratic Backsliding - Di Rocco, Monica (Italy)
Creating the Self – Art Therapy between Person, Group and Society - Dometios-Murphy, Maria Eleni (Germany)
Migration, Trauma, and Identity in Psychotherapy - Ercegil, Gonca (Turkiye)
Attachment Theory Revisited: What Human–AI Attachment Reveals About Intimacy, Identity, and the Relational Self - Flor, Michael (Germany)
Identity on a Relational Spectrum: Tracing Psychic Energy from Internal to Social Processes - Galgano, Andrea / Marcantonio, Erika (Italy)
To Be Many: Fragmented Identity and the Multiplicity of the Self in Fernando Pessoa - Göring, Albrecht (Germany)
When Populism Turns Malignant: Democracy’s Vulnerability, and it’s Defenses - Guénolé, Fabian (France)
From Contact to Metaphor: Generalizing Institutional Functions in Psychodynamic Practices - Guo, Shenchang & Qi, Tingting (China)
“Adolescent Syndrome” in Chinese Psychiatry: A Survey and Analysis of the Psychological Status of 212 Adolescent Patients - Gupta, Ananya (India)
Beyond Universality: Reappraising Psychodynamic Theory Through Evidence, Identity and Culture - Hajji, Khalid (Morocco)
Identity: a Culture-bound Concept - Hinrichs, Reimer (Germany)
Identity Issues in the Motive of the Doppelganger - Holm-Hadulla, Rainer M. (Germany)
The Creative Transformation of Despair, Hate and Violence - Karkabi, Mouna (Israel)
Holding the unholdable: Palestinian therapist- Palestinian clients enduring collective ongoing trauma as citizens of Israel after October the 7th - Kerekes, Medard Ferenc (Germany)
The Neuro-Imaginary Unit (NIU): A Model for the Dynamics of the Collective Unconscious and Archetypes Based on Transcultural Psychiatric Experience - Kharouaa, El Hassan/ Kharouaa, Mouna (Morocco)
Identity Disorders and States of Depersonalization - Kiem, Eugen (Germany)
Die Integration der Ego-State-Theorie in die gruppendynamische und psychodynamische Arbeit (mit Kasuistik) - Lautenschläger, Ruth (Germany)
10 Days of Self-Experience in Paestum, South Italy – Identity Expansion through Group Dynamics - Leßner, Erwin (Germany)
The Conditions Giving Rise to Fascist Thought and Proposals for Addressing It - Liao, Yi-An (Taiwan)
The Storehouse and the Unconscious: A Comparative Study of Yogācāra Buddhism and Psychoanalysis - Łukaszewska, Zofia (Poland)
Addiction, Identity and Personality Organization: A Psychodynamic Case Formulation - Mackenthun, Gerald (Germany)
Peace Capability - Mahdaviseresht, Shiva / Faghih Nasiri, Basir (Iran)
Describing a Dream While Awake: Parallel Processes in Group Analysis and the Art of Shaping Affect into Form - McDermott, Justin (Australia)
When Meaning Becomes Sovereign: Identity, Authority and Agency in Psychosis - Melamedoff, Silvia (Argentina)
Interaction Between Individual and Society: A Holistic Perspective on the Social Determinants of Health - Moneglia, Martina / Vanacore, Raffaele (Italy)
Masculinity and the Psychic Reality of the Other: a Human Birth Theory perspective - Nauer, Marie Anne (Switzerland)
Identifying Identity – a Psychodynamic Concept - Nauer, Marie Anne (Switzerland)
Identifying Identity – Practical Impacts in Psychotherapy - Nekouei, Nasim (Iran)
From Survival to Mutual Care: Social Energy, Group Identity and Psychotherapy in an Iranian Group under Conditions of Chronic Uncertainty - Nicastro, Nicoletta / Freisleben, Julia Anna (Italy)
The Algorithmic Self: Psychotherapeutic Reflections on Identity Fragmentation Between Virtual Reality and Social Belonging - Nooruddin, Eman (Bahrain)
When Trauma Becomes Identity: A Practice-Derived Framework for Understanding Self-Worth, Self-Esteem and Body Image - Pearl, James (USA)
Working with the Complexities of a Boundary Violation in Psychotherapy - Rapp, Michael (Germany)
In Search for Identity? Challenging Experiences in Expanded States of Consciousness - Roohi, Romina (Iran)
Between the Hope of Rescue and the Certainty of Repetition: Social Working-Through in Contemporary Iran - Saïbou, Abiba (Germany)
Identification with the Aggressor and the Abuse of Power - Sarkar, Siddharth (India)
“Against the Odds”: Glimpses of Therapist Feelings in Government Addiction Psychiatry Practice in India - Sebti, Amel
The Anthropology of caregiving. From Survival to Care, an Anthropological Journey from the Paleolithic Era to Modern Psychiatry - Sharma, Astha
From Training to Transformation: Building Psychotherapy Capacity among Early-Career Psychiatrists in South Asia - Sukhanova, Ekaterina
Laughter and the Construction of Self: Between Carnival and Parade - Taddei, Alberto (Italy)
When Is Psychotherapy Legitimate? Rethinking Therapeutic Neutrality, Autonomy and Clinical Responsibility - Tappeiner, Harald (Italy)
The Dialogical Paradigm: Dialogical Self-Organisation, Identity Development and Therapeutic Change - Thomashoff, Hans-Otto (Austria)
How Psychodynamics Should Shape Politics of the Future - Uhlemann, Hannes (Germany)
Frank Zappa and the Conceptual Continuity – an Autopoietic Path to Identity - Vannier, Jean-Luc (France)
The Psychic Dimension of Islamist Radicalization among Young People - von Hummel, Markus (Germany)
Innovative Model of Day-Clinic Psychotherapy: An 8-Week Closed-Group Group-Analytic Approach - Wang, Francy (Canada)
Ideal Personality in Traditional Chinese Thought: Bridging the “Junzi” and Psychoanalytic Maturity - Yoganathan, Nadarasar (UK)
Stigma, Dynamics, Psychiatry and Psychotherapy: A Clash of Nature and Culture in 21st Century UK and Beyond - Zwißler, Maria Ilona (Germany)
What Impact do Ongoing Crises, Wars, and Restrictions in Psychotherapy have on the Mental Health of Trainees?
Selected Workshops
(Subject to changes)
- Manzini-Egger, Claudia (Switzerland)
Who Am I — and Where?
Identity in Motion: Layers of Identity in a Practical Experiential Approach - Milosevic, Vladimir (Serbia/ Slovenia)
The Group as a Creative Context in the Process of Change in a Therapeutic Group with Prisoners - Keren, Miri (Israel)
The Impact of War on the Identity and Practice of the Parent-Infant Psychotherapist - Keren, Ronel & Ben Shachar, Stav (Israel)
Listening to Songs as a Therapeutic Tool for PTSD Patients - Nadala, Jose Gary & Bistis-Nadala, Christine Rio (USA)
Recognizing Containment in Clinical, Group, and Institutional Practice: An Experiential Workshop - Schmidt, Cristina (Romania)
Reorganising Identity through Group and Psychodrama: Emotional Processes during Menopause - Möbus, Bernhard (Germany)
Right-Wing Extremism in Times of Climate Change and War - Gamper, Johan (Sweden)
Psychic Energy and Macro Psychology - Shapiro, Yakov (Canada)
Dynamical Systems Therapy (DST): The Adaptive Psychological Fitness Landscape Approach - Pfahl, Joachim (Germany)
Trauma-Yogatherapy: How Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TSY) Works, Applications in Therapy and Prevention - Ammon, Maria (Germany)
Dancing Workshop (please bring your own music) - Pearson, Pauline (Australia)
The House Within: A Five-Floor Model of Identity Architecture and Its Independent Convergence with Dynamic Psychiatry - Dormann, Beate & Kapsberger, Sofie (Germany)
Concurrent Work with Parents in Psychodynamic Group Psychotherapy with Children: Therapeutic Factors, Therapeutic Stance, and Setting - Savina, Elena (USA)
Therapeutic Work with Adolescent Girls: From Understanding to Empowering - Smith, Jeffery (USA)
The Therapeutic Moment: Healing Across Persons, Groups, and Society - Feldman, Michael (USA)
From Alienation to Authenticity: Identity Formation and Artistic Creativity by Minoritized Individuals in Culture and Clinic - Dauda, Elisabeth / Zajec, Karin (Austria)
Sharing. Coping. Tolerating. How AI Influences Our Social Interactions and the Way We Form Relationships: Implications for Identity Development - Film Workshop “Outsider. Freud” (2025, Director: Yair Qedar, Israel)
Film length 66 Mins. With discussion.
Pre-Congress Workshops on 22nd March 27
(Subject to changes)
- Guénolé, Fabian (France)
The Core Principles of Institutional Teamwork in Psychiatry: From Theory to Practice
Pre-Congress Workshop in the morning 22nd of March 27.
Minimum number of participants with prior extra registration: 15 - Yoganathan, Nadarasar & Willis, Jennifer (UK)
Stigma, Identity and Group Dynamics
Pre-Congress Workshop in the morning 22nd of March 27.
Minimum number of participants with prior extra registration: 15
Selected Symposia
(Subject to changes)
Title
Advances in Psychodynamic Psychiatry
A Symposium Sponsored by the World Federation for Psychotherapy
Chair: Alfonso, César (USA)
Co-Chair: Sullivan, Timothy (USA)
Speaker
- Sullivan, Timothy (USA)
The Gap Between Effectiveness and Utilization of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy - Cipta, Darien Alfa (Indonesia)
Integrating DBT with Psychodynamic Psychotherapy - Della, Constantine (Philippines)
Curative Factors and Memory Reconsolidation in Psychotherapy - César, Alfonso (USA)
Intensive (High-Dose) Psychotherapies – A Review of the Evidence
Recontextualizing Psychotherapy in Postmodernity: A Global South Perspective
Psychotherapy Section of the Indonesian Psychiatric Association
Chair: Lalenoh, Leonardo Alfonsius Paulus (Indonesia)
Co- Chair: Velyani, Dyani Pitra (Indonesia)
- Lukman, Petrin Redayani (Indonesia)
Reframing Psychotherapy: From Self-Exploration to Relational Meaning in Indonesia - Elvira, Sylvia Detri (Indonesia)
Decolonizing Psychotherapy: Integrating Local Wisdom and Healing Practices in Indonesia - Velyani, Dyani Pitra (Indonesia)
Negotiating Identity in Clinical Practice: Culture, Religion and Community in Indonesia - Lalenoh, Leonardo Alfonsius Paulus (Indonesia)
Attunement to Narratives: Interpreting Patient Stories in Indonesian Clinical Encounters
Shaping Identity in Contemporary Psychiatry: Perspectives from Early Career Psychiatrists
(ECP Section of WPA)
Chair: Spadini, Alex Vicente (Brazil)
Co- Chair: Morales, Yoelkys (USA)
- Ferreira, Leonor (Portugal)
Beyond the Label: Psychiatric Diagnosis, Precision Psychiatry and the Identity of the Patient - Sharma, Astha (UK)
From the Consulting Room to Society: Does Psychiatry Have a Moral Obligation to Address Social Injustice? - Farooq, Rihab (Germany)
Whose Identity, Whose Psychiatry? Culture, Diagnosis and the Challenge of Decolonizing Mental Health Care - Morales, Yoelkys (USA)
Whose Algorithm Is It Anyway? Culture and Equity in Digital Psychiatry
From High School School to University: Evidence on Students’ Mental Health and Dynamic Psychotherapeutic Interventions Based on Human Birth Theory
Chair: Moneglia, Martina (Italy)
Co-Chair: Polese, Daniela (Italy)
- Buzzi, Maria Francesca (Italy)
From Silence to Voice: The Escape Room Experience in High School - Mazzetta, Alessandro (Italy)
How Prolonged Stress May Affect Salience Attribution, Mood, and Sleep in Female Medical Students - Daverio, Andrea (Italy)
Human Birth Theory–Based Group Psychotherapy: From Theory to Clinical Practice - Polese, Daniela (Italy)
Human Birth Theory–Based Group Psychotherapy in Young Adolescents: A Case Report of Ultra-High Risk for Psychosis
Symposium of Dynamic Psychiatric Hospital Menterschwaige Munich
Chair: Bihler, Thomas (Germany)
Co-Chair: Hoffmann, Nataly (Germany)
- Manderscheid, Christiane (Germany)
Identity Therapy in Inpatient Care at Dynamic Psychiatric Hospital Menterschwaige - Barrera, Andrea (Germany) et al.
Catamnestic Study Dynamic Psychiatric Hospital Menterschwaige 2026 - Bihler, Thomas (Germany)
The Psychiatric Hospital as Group Dynamic Process. The Menterschwaige Approach - Weis, Daniela /Hoffmann, Nataly (Germany)
Trauma Therapy in Dynamic Psychiatry
Hate, Trauma and the Persecutory Other: Psychodynamic Perspectives on Violence, Authority and Identity
Chair: N.N.
Co- Chair: N. N.
- Curen, Richard (UK)
Channel Tunnel to Channel Panel: Violence to Self and Others as a Result of Migration Trauma - Spadaro, Francesco (Italy)
Hate, Guilt and Responsibility - Boden, Mark (UK)
Bonds of Hate: Psychodynamic Understanding of Christian Nationalism: Narcissistic Longing, Fear of Castration and Horror/Hate of the Phantasmic Other - Ruger, Michelle (UK)
The Student Body Identity and Hating the Psychotherapy Institution
Group Psychotherapy as Holding Environment for Personal and Social Challenges
Chair: Schmolke, Margit (Germany)
Co-Chair: Thome, Astrid (Germany)
- Kiem, Petra (Germany)
The Therapeutic Group as a Space for Development for Young Adults with Mental Health Conditions - Mendelson, Anna (Germany)
Does a Common Language Suffice? Psychoanalytic Reflections on Belonging, Otherness, and Cultural Diversity in Group Psychotherapy - Meddur, Sevgi (Germany)
From Individual Being to Group Belonging in Child and Adolescent Group Psychotherapy - Schmolke, Margit (Germany)
The Significance of Group Psychotherapy in Times of Social Disruptions
Selected Posters
(Subject to changes)
- Al-Khayyat, Abdul-Aziz (USA)
Ego-Syntonic Homicidal Ideation: Reading Identity at Triage - Arena, Gloria (Italy)
Doping in Adolescence. Body Image and Mental Disorders: The Athlete’s Identity - Birsel, Ege Ece (Turkiye)
The Enduring Impact of Childhood Trauma on the Adult Self: Self-Esteem and Interpersonal Functioning - Can Yalman, Demet (Turkey)
Finding the Right Words: Bilingual Therapists and the Challenges of Psychotherapeutic Practice - Carbonari, Domitilla & Beltrami, Marisa (Italy)
From Individual to Group Therapy: How the Image of the Therapist Changes - Colella, Alisia (Italy)
From Clinical Organization to Therapeutic Process: The Experience of the Centro Clinico Fondazione Massimo Fagioli - Colella, Alisia (Italy)
Human Birth, the Search for the Other and Identity: the Loss of Desire and Envy – “A Rereading of Dostoevskij’s White Nights in light of Massimo Fagioli’s Birth Theory” - De Picciotto, Maria (Argentina)
Promoting the Universal Right to Mental Health Care for Victims of Human Trafficking - Demition, Earl Benedict (Philippines)
Early Relational Trauma and Identity Fragmentation: A Psychodynamic Case Formulation of Covert DID in Bipolar I Disorder - Doroteo, Jeruz (Philippines)
Bukod-Tangi: Health Anxiety, Depressive Pathomorphosis, and Disrupted Self-Cohesion in a Self-Psychology Framework – A Case Report - Doroteo, Jeruz (Philippines)
Huminahon: Complex PTSD, Identity Diffusion, and Multilevel Resilience Following Severe Developmental, and Adult Trauma – A Case Report - Llanes, Geremiah (Philippines)
The Red Thread of Identity: Self, Culture, and Relationship in the Psychotherapy of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - Lugli, Fabiana Yvonne (Italy)
Art for Therapy and Image Recreations in the Treatment of Depressing Wounds - Pagliari, Francesca (Italy)
Relational Confirmation, Vitality, and Affectivity as Moderators of Childhood Emotional Neglect: A Perspective Based on Fagioli’s Human Birth Theory - Terenzi, Irene & Chianese, Livia (Italy)
From Prevention to Proximity: a Community-Based Interdisciplinary Model for Perinatal Mental Health - Terenzi, Irene (Italy)
Perinatal Mental Health and Early Prevention: The Role of Multidisciplinary Care