SAPA 2024 German-South African Conference

During the last weekend in October, a group of clinicians from Germany met with South African colleagues for an exchange of our experiences in our respective contexts. Titled ‘Similarities and differences in psychoanalytical work’, this conference was attended by psychoanalysts (DPG) and psychotherapists from Germany - one of them a psychiatrist and neurologist - and psychoanalysts, candidates and psychotherapists from SAPI and SAPA. 

A rapport was quickly established on the first day when we introduced the history of our organisations and compared the conditions under which we work, whether the presence of trauma and alienation in both countries or the different models of funding for psychoanalytic work within the medical insurance schemes, and the onus on the clinician to hold the frame under these variable conditions. 

We devoted a whole day to clinical presentations, which confirmed the unifying nature of a shared praxis, in spite of the different conditions in which the treatments take place. These open and thoughtful discussions paved the way for the accounts of our ITTA groups by three of our colleagues, which also afforded insights into the ways in which these group experiences can flow into our clinical work. 

The shared coffee breaks and mealtimes meant informal social time as well - in all an intense but very rewarding experience. Further meetings with other societies could be a welcome fixture in our calendar, fostering and enriching connections between colleagues.