Sexuality is one of the fundamental human experiences – and yet it remains surprisingly marginal in the psychotherapeutic discourse. While we talk with our patients about intimate desires, fantasies, relationships and sexual conflicts, the sexual dynamics within the therapeutic space itself are rarely openly addressed. With this conference, we would like to create a space to explore precisely this gap. We invite psychotherapists, researchers and related professionals to engage with a topic that is as fascinating as it is taboo: the diverse manifestations of sexuality in
psychotherapy. We are interested in clinical and theoretical perspectives as well as personal reflections on the challenges, ambivalences and boundaries that may arise in therapeutic work.
Possible topics include:
Sexuality as a psychic and symbolic energy
Transference love and erotic transference and countertransference phenomena
Anima/Animus projections in the therapeutic process
Sexual attraction between therapist and patient
Boundary situations, ethical questions and indications for termination or referral
Dealing with one’s own sexual fantasies, impulses and inner images in therapeutic work
Shame, secrecy and the taboo of sexuality among psychotherapists
Kink, BDSM and other non-normative sexual expressions in the therapeutic context
Personal limits in understanding and accepting sexual practices
Jungian, psychoanalytic and psychodynamic perspectives on sexuality and the therapeutic relationship
Clinical case vignettes and practice-based experiences
We especially welcome contributions that have the courage to speak the unspeakable, to tolerate ambivalence and to make visible the human dimension of psychotherapeutic work. We would like to break the myth that psychotherapists stand outside their own drive and relationship history. Instead, we would like to foster an open, respectful and professionally grounded
dialogue about how sexuality in the therapeutic space can be experienced, understood and responsibly reflected upon. We look forward to contributions in the form of lectures, case presentations or discussion formats in digital small groups. Proposals for presentation topics in German or English may be submitted until 1
October 2026 via www.events-cgjung.at.
The event will take place exclusively online.
It is hosted by the Austrian Society for Analytical Psychology (ÖGAP).
