Experiences of the non-understandable: Jungian explorations and contributions

The Program Committee for the XXIII International Congress of Analytical Psychology is pleased to invite proposals for presentations. The Congress will be held in Zurich, Switzerland from August 24 to August 29, 2025.

150 years have passed since Jung’s birth.
Where are we today? Who are we today?
Reflections on theory, clinical practice, values, ethics,
research, training and cultural awareness.

When Jung worked on the stone at the tower in Bollingen, he inscribed it with the words above (in Greek).

As he later recalled, it was a “manifestation of the occupant, but one which remains incomprehensible by others”.

Stones carry symbolic meaning. The stone often symbolizes stability, grounding, and solidity. Jung considered the stone to be a powerful symbol of the self, stable, unchanging, and enduring. The stone may also represent the idea of transformation and renewal. Overall, the stone holds a rich meaning, conveying a sense of stability, grounding, transformation, death and resurrection, and the journey towards becoming an individual, unique self. Yet, the stone also remains a mystery, ineffable, and not fully defined.

The symbol of the stone inspired the Program Committee 2025 to invite you to contribute to the next Congress with questions to do with
Experiences of the non-understandable: Jungian explorations and contributions.

Jung's 150th birthday provides an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate his contributions to the field of psychology and his impact on the world. His ideas and theories have not only helped to deepen our understanding of the human mind, the unconscious, and spirituality, but have also opened our minds toward the non-understandable. The dimension of this has also been (and still is) of great interest for many other disciplines that have been influenced by Jung’s ideas.

The remarkable development of Jung’s ideas guides us to orient ourselves and ask where and who are we today? Where have the developments in Jungian theory and research led us? What impact has our clinical practice and our training programs had on the way we understand ourselves and the culture in our even more diverse and complex world? What ethical challenges do we have? How have our values developed?

The Congress is an opportunity that invites you to freely exchange your ideas, results of research and new theoretical and clinical developments among colleagues, and thereby to support the further growth in our understanding and knowledge.

The Executive Committee of the IAAP has decided to hold this Congress face-to-face. It is our goal to re-vitalize the experience of Community among colleagues and to allow all attendees to enjoy the unique atmosphere of exchanging ideas with analysts from all over the world.

Zurich is a key place for the history of Jung and the evolving of Analytical Psychology. The IAAP was founded in Zurich. In many of its places Jungian history can be met and explored. The Burghölzli, now the University Psychiatric Clinic, where Jung developed the Association Experiment; the Psychological Club that still exists and Jungian Zurich based training locations that grew out of the Club. Near Zurich in Küsnacht, Jung’s house is now a museum open to the public and on the other end of Lake Zurich is Bollingen, where he built his tower. Zurich offers the unique chance to visit the birthplaces of Analytical Psychology and it still holds the spirit and charm of Jung’s time.

The Congress location, the Kongresshaus, is right on Lake Zurich and has been the location of the 1995 Congress and Congresses back in the Sixties. The whole building complex has been renovated and partly rebuilt in 2020 and offers state-of-the-art infrastructure but has kept the feeling of the original architecture. It is easily accessible by foot or tram from the various hotels that will be available and is a good starting point to explore the city.

The Local Organizing Committee is working on organizing a variety of possibilities to visit places that are important for the Jungian Community as well as exploring other parts of the region and the country. You will be able to explore first-hand the historic roots of our community in Zurich and its surroundings.

All presentations can be held and offered in any language, but an English translation must be submitted before the Congress and will be available in the cloud to the audience. Plenary sessions will be translated into the five official languages and will likewise be available in the cloud for all participants

We look forward to receiving your proposal.
With very best wishes from the Program Committee of the XXIII International Congress for Analytical Psychology

We look forward to receiving your proposals in English:

1) Oral Presentations
Single presentation

Joint presentations

The Program Committee is looking into ways to foster discussion in both the plenary and breakout sessions. In addition to single presentations, we would like to encourage proposals for joint presentations or panel discussions, in which two or more members present their papers and have a dialogue among themselves and with the audience.

Joint presentations (incl. panel discussions) should be submitted as one single proposal that includes the papers of all presenters. Titles and authors of the Joint Presentations will be included in the Congress Program and proceedings.

2) Poster Presentations

Poster presentations will be exhibited, and the authors will have the opportunity to give a short oral presentation of about 5 -10 minutes during a breakout session. Poster sessions will also be included in the Congress proceedings.

3) Other

While all presentations will necessarily have to fall within the technical and logistical limitations of the Congress, the committee will consider presentations involving the use of media such as film, hypertext, performance, experiential groups, etc.

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS (Abstracts)

Proposals should be no more than 500 words, including a title, and should be submitted by 15 November 2023 at the latest.

Please submit your proposals by using the new online platform. To do so, follow the below instructions:

1. Click here to access the website of the congress
2. Click "Create account"

3. Activate your account by clicking “Confirm your e-mail address” in the confirmation email sent to the email address you enterred to create your account
4. Login and complete your personal information
5. In the menu, on the top right-hand side, click on “Abstract submission” to start submitting your proposal.
6. An automatic confirmation of each proposal will be sent upon receipt. If you do not receive a confirmation, please contact [email protected]

Program decisions will be announced by June 2024.

NOTE:
All presentations will be included in the Proceedings in English.
Any extraordinary costs for a presentation, including specialized equipment, must be paid by the presenter.
Should your proposal be accepted, no honorariums or expense reimbursements are offered to presenters.

All presenters must register for the Congress. Submission of a proposal will be understood to indicate a willingness to attend the entire Congress if the proposal is accepted.
Presenters allow the video recording of their presentations and the use of these videos on the IAAP homepage for its members.
Inquiries about the program should be sent to iaap2025@meister-concept.