Maria Giovanna Bianchi – Advocates of the soul
February 20, 2024 at 09:12AM
ABSTRACT
Are there parallels between the work of analysts and that of human rights practitioners or activists? What methods do they use to help distressed clients, especially victims of human rights violations? Maria Giovanna Bianchi’s presentation will explore common tools and guiding principles through examples. Jungian psychoanalysts often encounter the profound psychological effects of human rights violations, such as gender violence, domestic violence, discrimination based on race, religion, sexual orientation, the consequences of war and forced migration. The devastating and pervasive psychological effects inflicted on individuals and societies require an interdisciplinary approach to address these issues.
BIO
Maria Giovanna Bianchi, PhD, is a Jungian psychoanalyst (CGJIZ-IAAP and ASP) in private practice in Geneva, Switzerland. She obtained a Masters degree in Political Science from the University of Bologna, a PhD in International Relations from the University of Padova, and a Diploma in Jungian Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapist specialized in adults, adolescents, and children from the C.G. Jung Institute in Zürich. She worked as a human rights officer at the United Nations for almost three decades. Since 2019, she is a member of the Board of Directors of the C.G. Jung Foundation, Zürich. She is Training Analyst and Supervisor in training at the C.G. Jung Institute in Zürich and Supervisor for analyst trainees pursuing the Router Training of the International Association for Analytical Psychology. She authors articles, speaks at international conferences, and lectures in academic and professional contexts on the trans-disciplinarity and complementarity between human rights and analytical psychology. She recently co-edited Psychoanalytic, Psychosocial and Human Rights Perspectives on Enforced Disappearance (Routledge, 2024).
ABOUT PSYCHOSOCIAL WEDNESDAYS
Every Wednesday evening, Sigmund Freud convened with colleagues in the waiting room of his Viennese practice at Berggasse 19, uncovering and debating profound ideas within the realm of psychoanalysis. C.G. Jung extended this idea by establishing a Psychological Club in Zurich, a clubhouse that became a similar setting to share ideas and offer a space where the inner, often isolating work of the soul could find harmony through exchange with others. Since 2020, Psychosocial Wednesdays, a digital salon, has integrated the concepts developed by these pioneers by offering a global platform for colleagues from diverse psychological disciplines to share their ideas and creative works.
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