The Interplay Between Culture and Psychotherapy: Research and Reflections

Joint IAAP/LAAP Vilnius University Conference

In today's globalized world, understanding the cultural dimension of human experience has become an important issue. Culture has a significant impact on an individual's belief system and relationship dynamics; it can shape emotional regulation and the process of making meaning. Relatedness to culture can be a resource for an individual’s self-realization, but it can also restrict the development of a person’s potential. Cultural trauma and its healing, the manifestation of cultural complexes, immigration and integration into other cultures - all these and other issues arise in the psychotherapeutic process and are part of professional training. Questions of cultural identity and the experience of encountering the other are sensitive issues. Engaging with difference and diversity at a deep level can be an enriching experience, but it can also be deeply disturbing when it challenges the values and beliefs of all those involved in the process. According to Analytical Psychology, even the ways of engaging with the unconscious depend on the cultural context in which an individual lives.

How do psychotherapists understand the role of culture in an individual’s development and in their own psychotherapeutic practice? Is the concept of cultural identity still relevant in understanding the multidimensional therapeutic relationship? How can we recognize cultural complexes in contemporary times and how can we heal them? What issues emerge as the main elements of cultural responsiveness in growing multicultural societies? Reflecting on these and other questions would be important for a deeper understanding of the interplay between psychotherapy and culture in psychotherapy practice and training. A major aim of the planned conference is to provide a forum for psychotherapists and researchers to come together and reflect on the place of culture in psychotherapy practice in different cultural settings. 

The international conference will be held at Vilnius University, which was founded in 1579 and is not only Lithuania's oldest and largest institution of higher education, but also a vibrant center of research and Lithuanian culture. The University is renowned for its research contributions and its diverse academic community, which provides a stimulating environment for scholarly discussion and networking. 

The symbol of the straw garden, which we have chosen as the conference image, is an important heritage of ancient Lithuanian culture. It expresses the idea of the interconnectedness of all phenomena and a central organizing principle of the universe as the opposite of chaos. In 2023, the tradition of straw gardens was included in UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

We hope that the meetings at the joint IAAP/LAAP/Vilnius University conference will provide new insights and inspire participants to continue collaborating in the search for bridges between different cultures and analytical psychology, between research and psychotherapy.  

Programme

11 April, Friday

13 00- 13 30 Registration

13 30 – 14 00 Opening ceremony of the conference: IAAP President Misser Berg, LAAP President Goda Rukšaitė, Director  of the Department of Psychology of the Vilnius University Prof.  Roma Jusienė.

The Interplay Between Culture and Analytical Psychology: Research, Practice and Reflections

14 00 – 14 30 Prof. Gražina Gudaitė (VU, LAAP, Vilnius) Role of culture and engagement with unconscious in Jungian psychoanalysis

14 30 – 15 00 Suzanna Wright (SAAP, London) Identity confusion and the cultural other - experiencing the “me" and "not me" in oneself

15 00 – 15 20 Discussion

15 20 – 15 50 Coffee break

15 50 – 16 20 Prof. Verena Kast (CGJIZ, Zurich) Emotional creativity and cultural differences

16 20 – 16 50 Algirdas Petronis (LAAP, Vilnius) Cultural imagery as a transitional space: bridging inner and outer divisions

16 50 – 17 10 Discussion

17 10 – 17 20 Break

17 20 – 17 50 Lizbeth Myers Zacho (DSAP, Copenhagen) The role of women’s anger in different cultures

17 50 – 18 20 Svitlana Shevchenko (UDG, Zaporozhe) Ukrainian women and war: cultural aspects and historical perspective

18 20 – 18 40 Discussion

19 00 Reception

12 April, Saturday

Exploring Cultural Identity and Manifestation of Cultural Complexes

09 00- 09 30 Prof. Danutė Gailienė (VU, Vilnius) Cultural trauma as a violation of cultural identity

09 30 – 10 00 Catherina Vezzoli (CIPA, Milano) Navigating between transgenerational trauma and idealization. Building complex and inclusive cultural narratives in therapy

10 00 – 10 20 Discussion

10 20 – 10 50 Coffee break

10 50 – 11 20 Valentina Samus (UDG, Kyiv) Facing death: traditional and modern ways to cope with fear and grief

11 20 – 11 50 Malgorzata Kalinowska (PSJP, Krakow) To be able to approach the Future as a friend. Cultural complex and healing.

11 50 – 12 10 Discussion

12 10 – 12 20 Break

12 20 – 12 50 Dr. Jörg Rasche (DGPA, Berlin)The issue of cultural complexes in the context of the Russian war against Ukraine.

12 50 – 13 00 Discussion

1300 – 14 30 Lunch

14 30 – 15 00 Arthur Niesser (AJA,London) Meeting the culturally other in the consulting room

15 00 – 15 30 Ramona Gredzena (LAAP, Riga) Reflections on the role of literature in engagement with the unconscious in Jungian analysis

15 30 – 15 50 Discussion

15 50 – 16 20 Coffee break

16 20– 16 50 Linas Stankevičius (LAAP, Vilnius) Hidden layers of  culture: exploring cultural complexes in psychotherapy

16 50 – 17 20 Rūta Juzūlėnaitė (FEGAP, Tallin) Navigating cultural unconscious in search for cultural identity. Role of sound and music in approaching otherness

17 20 – 17 40 Discussion

19 00 Gala Dinner

13 April, Sunday

Understanding Culture as a Complex, Multidimensional Process in Today’s World

09 00 – 09 30 Marianne Muller (CGJIZ, Bern) Living democracy- inside and outside

09 30 – 10 00 Prof. Audrius Beinorius (VU, Vilnius) Psychoanalysis and culture: some postcolonial and anthropological reflections

10 00 – 10 20 Discussion

10 20 – 10 50 Coffee break

10 50 – 11 20 Prof. Jolanta Kowal (AJAP, Wroclaw University) The role of culture in shaping identity in a changing world: A Jungian perspective

11 20 – 11 50 Dr. Dovilė Petronytė Kvedarauskienė (VU, LAAP, Vilnius ) Culture confronts destruction: split, relatedness, solidified identity

11 50 – 12 10 Discussion

12 20 – 12 50 Prof. J. Cambray(CGJUNGENE, California) Cross-cultural Cyber-therapy: Opportunities and Challenges

12 50 – 13 10 Discussion

13 10 – 13 30 Closing of the conference