WHAT WE ARE UP TO

On February 27, at the Likeside Theatre, at the University of Essex, Professor Raluca Soreanu delivered her inaugural lecture titled ‘The Psychic Life of Fragments’.

On the 15^th of January 2024, we had the joy of inaugurating yet another FREEPSY project initiative, the Free Clinics Working Group. Gathered at the Freud Museum, in North London, as an intimate group, we counted with the presence of two important researchers and clinicians at the forefront of the free clinic’s movement in Latin America: Dr Carolina Besoain from Chile and Anderson Santos from Brazil. Over the whole afternoon and into the evening, we heard from their work on the ground, their radical and innovative research and their vibrant web of collaborative practices, alive across Argentina, Brazil and Chile. 

This book shines a light on the social and professional factors on the life and work of the first women psychoanalysts in Budapest, examining documentary evidence of their lives and drawing upon the literature of psychoanalysis, social history, and gender studies. Through their life stories, not only the history of psychoanalysis, but also the processes of 20th-century women’s history and social-political developments in Hungary and the region can be reconstructed. Key psychoanalysts explored include Lilly Hajdu, Edit Gyömrői, Alice Bálint, Vilma Kovács, Lillián Rotter and twelve further women analysts.

The article discusses the intersection of psychoanalysis and socialist politics, exploring the historical relationship between the two and the challenges faced in balancing political commitments with psychoanalytic work. It delves into the early aspirations of psychoanalysis to be accessible to all through free clinics. It discusses how this vision was briefly realized before being overshadowed by conservative strands of psychoanalysis. The article introduces the Red Clinic, a contemporary initiative formed by anti-capitalist clinicians aiming to provide accessible psychotherapy while intertwining personal struggles with political realities. This article offers a glimpse into the clinic’s vision, challenges, and global outreach efforts. 

What is trauma? When and how are traumatic experiences formed? How does trauma manifest in individuals and across societies? How can trauma be addressed, acknowledged or responded to? Join us for this fascinating discussion on Wed, 17 Jan 2024 13:00 – 15:00 GMT

Tuesday 30 January 2024, 5.30pm University of Essex, Colchester Campus

Join the International Consortium of Critical Theory Programs for a virtual event in a series of interventions organized by the Critical South book series. Spheres of Insurrection: Notes on Decolonizing the Unconscious by Suely Rolnik, a conversation with Suely Rolnik (Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo), Ramsey McGlazer (UC Berkeley), and Raluca Soreanu (University of Essex).

In December 2024, this edited collection is published by Routledge, in the History of Psychoanalysis Series, directed by Peter L. Rudnytsky.

Ana Tomcic, Postdoctoral Researcher in History, discusses the FREEPSY conference held in October 2023, at The Freud Museum London and online.