Abstract
We invite you to experience one of the most pleasant, intense and unforgettable experiences in 2014
The 16th GASInternational European Symposium in Group Analysis “Art Meets Science: Exploring Challenges and Changes” will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, from 28 July till 1 August 2014. It’s organized by the Group Analytic Society International (GASI) with the collaboration of the Sociedade Portuguesa de Grupanálise e Psicoterapia Analítica de Grupo (SPG PAG).
Portugal is a country, founded in the 12th century, with a very diverse geography where you can find romantic mountains as Serra da Estrela or Gerês, Alentejo’s lowlands with magnificent golf courses. In the north, the city of Oporto is a wonderful city with its centre that became World Heritage, along the River Douro full of vineyards where the Port wine comes from. There are beautiful and wonderful beaches twenty to thirty kilometres away from the centre of Lisbon, beaches where you can have a refreshing dive in the ocean with the possibility to surf, paddle or kitesurf on the waves. In Nazaré, the biggest wave – 30m – was surfed in 2013 by Garry Mc Namara.
And finally the Algarve as the paradise of beaches and golf courses.
Portugal has 15 sites inscribed on the list of the UNESCO World Heritage (UWH) Sites.
Lisbon is a city surrounded by the River Tejo. The venue of the Symposium is close to the castle and other important monuments and places. Much of Lisbon’s early history is still evident in its collection of architectural buildings. Two of them have been classified by the U.W.H. Sites – Belém Tower and Jerónimos Monastery. Nearby - 27 Km – away from Lisbon you find Sintra, another spot of U.W.H., with its elegance and historic and natural land markers.
Lisbon is also the birthplace of Fado, which became Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (I.C.H.H.) in 2011:
http://www.rtp.pt/noticias/index.php?article=503874&tm=4&layout=121&visual=49.
And last but not the least, Mediterranean food became also I.C.H.H. in 2013:
http://www.publico.pt/cultura/noticia/nao-publicar-dieta-mediterranica-1614980.
According to a 2013 survey carried out by Lisbon’s Tourism Observatory, Lisbon appears on top of the list as conference destination and is recommended as tourist destination. In a 2011 study of the same Observatory, 91% of the interviewed visitors would visit Lisbon again and 78% included Lisbon among their personal top 10 destinations to discover. Furthermore, over 80% said that Lisbon is a multicultural, unique and romantic destination, as well as a peaceful city.
By participating in the 16th GASI Lisbon Symposium you will get a glimpse of this city that you will never forget.
The 16th Symposium will be an opportunity for open debate about challenging themes, through theory-based presentations, supervision and discussions on the experience of being in groups.
A wide range of themes and sub-themes can be addressed: “Is conducting groups an Art and/or Science?”; “the Disruptive Forces in Individuals, Groups, Organizations and in Societies” or “The Implication of Globalization”. The clinical wisdom theme is so diversified that goes from “questioning group analytic assumptions” to “Dreaming in Group Analysis”. Finally, under the theme Aesthetics and Ethics, discussions about the “Quality of Life and Well Being through Group Analysis” or “Sex and Gender in Group Analysis” will be of great interest. This is just a scent of the dynamic that will surely be created!
This Symposium may be a challenge not only for those who work in analytical therapeutic settings like group analysts or psychotherapists (individual/group/family) but also for those who engage in other therapies like art therapy or psychodrama. Furthermore there are many other applications of group analysis: either in medical settings (for medical doctors, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, social workers in inpatient or outpatient departments, day hospitals of institutions of public or private health), in educational settings (for teachers, educators, educational psychologists and other professionals in child care, schools or other educational facilities), in organisational settings (coaching, team building for managers, workers in business organisations) or in research about group processes and therapeutic outcomes.
In addition to keynote speakers in the area of Group Analysis, we rely on the presence of two invited speakers connected to the Art and Science: Professor Giacomo Rizzolatti, one of the neuroscientists who discovered the Mirror-Neuron System, which has been a fundamental contribution to clarifying and confirming some concepts in Psychology, Psychotherapy and Group Analysis and Architect Souto de Moura, the brilliant practitioner and researcher in Architecture who won several awards such as the Priztker Price in 2011 and the Wolf Price in 2013.
The other main speakers are experienced Group Analysts: Guilherme Ferreira (Group Analysis: The Different Approaches – the Portuguese Contribution. A tribute to E. L. Cortesão), Marina Mojović (Crisis: The Matrix Disrupted), Kristian Valbak (Clinical Wisdom), Dieter Nietzgen (Aesthetics and Ethics).
As is usual at these Symposiums, you may participate in small, median groups or Social Dreaming Groups, and the daily large group, conducted by two experienced group Analysts: Paula Carvalho and Thor Kristian Islands.
It is important to remember that Lisbon hosted the 1st GAS Symposium of Group Analysis in 1970.
Group Analysis was introduced in Portugal in 1956 by Eduardo Luís Cortesão, a psychiatrist and Full Professor of Psychiatry, who was trained in Group Analysis by S.H. Foulkes. He introduced specific concepts in group analytic theory and technique which are the basis of what we use to call the Portuguese School of Group Analysis.
English will be the official language but in case of language difficulties we will try to facilitate the communication and comprehension as much as possible.
Do not miss this excellent opportunity to get to know us and for us to get to know you.
For more information please find www.lisbon-symposium2014-gasi.com
On behalf of the Local Organizing Committee,