Irish Forum for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

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Irish Forum for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

The Irish Forum for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy IFPP) was founded in 1986 to advancing the study and practice of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in Ireland

About the IFPP

The Irish Forum for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (IFPP) was founded in 1986 to provide a focus for people with an interest in advancing the study and practice of psychoanalytic psychotherapy within Ireland. The Forum is one of the accrediting bodies in Ireland for psychoanalytic practitioners working with adults, and is a member of the Psychoanalytic Section of the Irish Council fo

r Psychotherapy (ICP). Membership (criteria for which may be found on www.ifpp.ie) is in line with European standards; it is restricted to those with an appropriate formal training in psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, or analytical psychology. All full members of the IFPP should be eligible to receive the European Certificate of Psychotherapy, which is awarded by the European Association of Psychotherapy. The Aims of the IFPP

The Forum aims

- to inform the public about psychoanalytic psychotherapy in order to bring it within the reach of a broader section of the community.

- to promote psychoanalytic psychotherapy in mental health and other settings so that the work of those involved in related areas such as social workers, psychiatrists, psychologists, care workers and teachers can be informed by psychoanalytic understandings of the human condition.

- to set and maintain ethical, academic and training requirements for the organization so that all levels of membership of the IFPP meet the expected international standards of professional competence.

- to encourage debate and discussion among psychoanalytic psychotherapy practitioners, thus promoting the professional skills and development of the membership. Organisation of the IFPP

The organisation of the IFPP is formed and run on the basis of the Articles and Objects of Memorandum; the organisation is a legally constituted Company, limited by Guarantee. It is led by a committee, which is currently (2013) comprised of:

Executive are:
• Donna Redmond, Chairperson
• Nessa Childers Vice Chair
• Evelyn Geraghty Treasure
• Catherine de Mare Secretary
• Olga Tsybulya Alexandrova
• Mary Margaret Brennan

All members, associate members and student members agree to the IFPP Code of Ethics.

04/08/2026

‘SUSAN: A CASE OF MILNER AND WINNICOTT THINKING TOGETHER’ BY DR MARGARET BOYLE SPELMAN

Dr Margaret Boyle Spelman’s presentation ‘Susan: A Case of Milner and Winnicott Thinking Together’ forms part of the Clinical Practice Panel, one of three themed panel discussions taking place during the ‘Object Relations in the Modern Era’ event on the 31st of October, 2026.

The Presentation: In this short paper I aim for a more balanced recognition of the legacy of both figures in this professional couple: I give glimpses of their shared way of thinking and their particular understanding of object relations based in the stage of the mother and baby dyad.

To illustrate their understanding of Marion’s patient Susan’s journey to becoming ‘real’, I use Marion’s own account of her work with Susan (The Hands of the Living God (1969) London: Hogarth.) in whose care both Marion and Donald were actively involved.

The conference brings together clinicians, academics and researchers to explore contemporary applications of object relations theory across arts and culture, global politics and clinical practice.

📅 31 October 2026
🕘 9.00 am - 5.15 pm
📍 In person & online

🎟️ Registration is now open. Tickets are now available via Eventbrite.

Attend IN PERSON: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-tickets-1991321800109

Attend ONLINE: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-online-attendance-tickets-1990660397837

30/07/2026

‘TWO BODIES IN A ROOM’ BY DR.JOHN O’CONNOR

Dr John O’Connor’s presentation ‘Two Bodies in a Room’ forms part of the Clinical Practice Panel, one of three themed panel discussions taking place during the ‘Object Relations in the Modern Era’ event on the 31st of October, 2026.

The Presentation: In this talk, I explore briefly a thread of interest I have had over the course of my psychoanalytic thinking and practice. This is specifically in relation to what is loosely, though usefully, called the mind-body problem.

I outline my more recently developed sense of the importance of our tending to this in our analytic work, including when it is and is not pressing. Our bracketing-off of the body, sometimes something that has been inherent in psyche-focussed fields, can leave one with a skewed sense of the human subject and also limit our access to this as present and thinkable material. I also draw loosely on the process and findings of a range of psychoanalytically-informed research projects in which I have been involved, bridging psychoanalysis and clinical psychology.

Hysteria, which is a founding focus for psychoanalysis, continues to be relevant today - including with the body in its physical reality, in its dynamics and movement, in its location as object and subject. The idea of ‘two bodies in a room’ comes from a sense of one of the realities of what we are engaged with psychoanalytically, when we strip back a great deal. A kind of totality of psyche and soma, which offers the potential for an integration in the direction of a total object-subject reality. I briefly consider the work with the client as one involving two bodies in a room, with what is carried consciously and unconsciously transacted both gently and forcefully in this.

The conference brings together clinicians, academics and researchers to explore contemporary applications of object relations theory across arts and culture, global politics and clinical practice.

📅 31 October 2026
🕘 9.00 am - 5.15 pm
📍 In person & online

🎟️ Registration is now open. Tickets are now available via Eventbrite.

Attend IN PERSON: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-tickets-1991321800109

Attend ONLINE: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-online-attendance-tickets-1990660397837

29/07/2026

MEET THE SPEAKER

We’re delighted to introduce Ann Murphy, who will be speaking on the Clinical Practice Panel at the Object Relations in the Modern Era event on 31 October 2026.

Ann Murphy, MSc. MICP; MIFPP; MECP; is a clinical psychologist, psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and Visual Artist.

She was a founder and Director of the MSc in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at Trinity College Dublin, and a founder member and first Chairperson of The Irish Institute of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. Her particular area of interest is in post-Kleinian psychoanalytic thinking, particularly the work of Wilfred Bion.

She has lectured for many years on post-graduate courses at Trinity College Dublin, as well as other universities and institutes. She is a training analyst and clinical supervisor, and has a private practice in Dublin. She has presented papers at psychoanalytic and interdisciplinary conferences throughout Ireland and in the UK. She served on the Boards of The Irish Council for Psychotherapy, and the Psychoanalytic Section of the ICP, and as Chair of the Irish Forum for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy.

About the event

Ann Murphy’s talk ‘Growing Pains’ forms part of the Clinical Practice Panel, one of three themed panel discussions taking place during Object Relations in the Modern Era.

The conference brings together clinicians, academics and researchers to explore contemporary applications of object relations theory across arts and culture, global politics and clinical practice.

31 October 2026
9.00 am - 5.15 pm
In person & online

Registration is now open. Tickets are now available via Eventbrite.

Attend IN PERSON: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-tickets-1991321800109

Attend ONLINE: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-online-attendance-tickets-1990660397837

24/07/2026

MEET THE SPEAKER

We’re delighted to introduce Dr Margaret Boyle Spelman, who will be speaking on the Clinical Practice Panel at the Object Relations in the Modern Era event on 31 October 2026.

Margaret Boyle Spelman PhD, AFPsSI, MIFPP, MICP, MEAP, is a chartered clinical and counselling psychologist, a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and an organisational psychologist in private practice in Dublin, Ireland.

Margaret completed her PhD by research at the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies at the University of Essex and has worked for more than four decades as a clinical psychologist in the Irish health services.

Over the decades, Margaret has spoken at home and abroad and lectured in several universities and institutes. Margaret is an (ex officio) member of the Psychological Society of Ireland, the Irish Forum for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, the Irish Council for Psychotherapy and its Psychoanalytic Section.

As well as many peer-reviewed papers, Margaret has published two monographs: Winnicott’s Babies and Winnicott’s Patients - psychoanalysis as Transitional Space (2013) and The Evolution of Winnicott’s Thinking – A Study of the growth of Psychoanalytic Thought (2013). She has also co-edited two volumes in the Lines of Development series: The Winnicott Tradition (2014), M Boyle Spelman and Frances Thomson-Salo (eds.) and The Marion Milner Tradition (2023), Boyle Spelman and Joan Raphael-Leff (eds.); both volumes in a book series on psychoanalytic giants originally published by Karnac and now by Routledge.

About the event

Dr Dr. Margaret Boyle Spelman’s talk ‘Susan: A Case of Milner and Winnicott Thinking Together’ forms part of the Clinical Practice Panel, one of three themed panel discussions taking place during Object Relations in the Modern Era.

The conference brings together clinicians, academics and researchers to explore contemporary applications of object relations theory across arts and culture, global politics and clinical practice.

31 October 2026
9.00 am - 5.15 pm
In person & online

Registration is now open. Tickets are now available via Eventbrite.

Attend IN PERSON: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-tickets-1991321800109

Attend ONLINE: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-online-attendance-tickets-1990660397837

23/07/2026

MEET THE SPEAKER

We’re delighted to introduce Dr John O'Connor, who will be speaking on the Clinical Practice Panel at the Object Relations in the Modern Era event on 31 October 2026.

John O’Connor, PhD, is Course Director of the MPhil in Psychoanalytic Studies, and Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology in the School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin. He is a Board member of the Irish Council for Psychotherapy.

John is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalytic psychotherapist with decades of experience in public and private practice, clinical training, and supervision. His interests include the psychodynamics of mental distress, the training of clinicians, the relationship between individual and cultural pressures, and the development of contexts for addressing psychological suffering.

He has published widely and works to foster dialogue between psychoanalysis and allied disciplines, collaborating with organisations including the HSE, the Irish Prison Service, the National Rehabilitation Hospital, Beaumont Hospital, and St Patrick's Hospital.

He co-chairs a group of clinical psychology trainers across the UK and Ireland engaged in psychodynamically-leaning work and is a member of a special interest group concerned with the sustaining of psychoanalytic teaching within psychology curricula in the United States and beyond. He has been involved in advocating, lobbying, and engaging with policy and practice in the field of mental health. Since 2023, he has been actively involved in advocating for psychotherapy as a profession in the face of threats to this.

About the event

Dr John O’Connor’s talk ‘Two Bodies in a Room’ forms part of the Clinical Practice Panel, one of three themed panel discussions taking place during Object Relations in the Modern Era.

The conference brings together clinicians, academics and researchers to explore contemporary applications of object relations theory across arts and culture, global politics and clinical practice.

31 October 2026
9.00 am - 5.15 pm
In person & online

Registration is now open.
Tickets are now available via Eventbrite.

Attend IN PERSON: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-tickets-1991321800109

Attend ONLINE: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-online-attendance-tickets-1990660397837

21/07/2026

MEET THE CLINICAL PRACTICE PANEL

The Clinical Practice Panel is one of three panel discussions taking place as part of Object Relations in the Modern Era on 31 October 2026.

This panel focuses on Object Relations as they show up in the consulting room, and examines how they are played out in the clinic today, and through the narrative of a case from the psychoanalytic literature.

Panel Speakers:

• Dr. John O’Connor
(Irish Forum for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy)
‘Two Bodies in a Room’

• Dr. Margaret Boyle Spelman
(Irish Forum for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy)
‘Susan: A Case of Milner and Winnicott Thinking Together’

• Ms.Ann Murphy
(Irish Forum for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy)
‘Growing Pains’

Object Relations in the Modern Era, a full-day event featuring presentations, panel discussions and Q&A across three themes:

• Arts and Culture
• Global Politics
• Clinical Application

31 October 2026
9.00am–5.15pm
Attend in person or online

Registration is now open. Tickets are now available via Eventbrite.

Attend IN PERSON: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-tickets-1991321800109

Attend ONLINE: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-online-attendance-tickets-1990660397837

18/07/2026

Dr Niamh Callaghan’s presentation 'Murals as Psychic Objects' forms part of the Arts and Culture Panel, one of three themed panel discussions taking place during the 'Object Relations in the Modern Era' event on the 31st of October, 2026.

The Presentation: This presentation draws on my doctoral research into the emotional and unconscious impact of mural art in the North/Northern Ireland. I will explore murals not only as political symbols or visual texts to be decoded, but as affective public objects that organise feeling, memory, identity, and belonging before meaning is fully available in words.

Using Donald Winnicott’s concept of holding and Wilfred Bion’s concept of containment, I consider how public art such as murals can hold unresolved communal anxieties, histories, and identifications, while not necessarily transforming them. I suggest that containment takes place not in the mural itself, but in the research encounter. The presentation will reflect on how murals continue to mediate complex emotional landscapes in a society marked by conflict, and how psychoanalytic and psychosocial methods can help make saturated public images thinkable without simplifying or sanitising them.

The conference brings together clinicians, academics and researchers to explore contemporary applications of object relations theory across arts and culture, global politics and clinical practice.

31 October 2026
9.00 am - 5.15 pm

In person & online

Registration is now open. Tickets are now available via Eventbrite.

Attend IN PERSON: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-tickets-1991321800109

Attend ONLINE: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-online-attendance-tickets-1990660397837

17/07/2026

Dr Noreen Giffney's presentation 'At the Breast of Culture' forms part of the Arts and Culture Panel, one of three themed panel discussions taking place during the 'Object Relations in the Modern Era' event on the 31st of October, 2026.

The Presentation: I will talk about the making of ‘Cultural Encounters’ (2026; dirs. Noreen Giffney and Allen Fatimaharan; 5 mins, 15 secs), an animated short film about the emotional and psychological nourishment and protection provided by our experiences with the arts and culture. While we might be aware of the short-term impact of a cultural object – how it makes us think or feel in the moment – we are usually unaware of how the ephemeral aspect of this experience stays with us and becomes part of us; the unconscious aspect of the experience in other words. ‘Cultural Encounters’ invites us to reflect on what our encounters with, attachments to and psychological uses of cultural objects might tell us about ourselves. It is underpinned by Kleinian psychoanalytic ideas, particularly the culture-breast, a new psychoanalytic concept I formulated and developed in my book, ‘The Culture-Breast in Psychoanalysis: Cultural Experiences and the Clinic’

The conference brings together clinicians, academics and researchers to explore contemporary applications of object relations theory across arts and culture, global politics and clinical practice.

📅 31 October 2026
🕘 9.00 am - 5.15 pm
📍 In person & online

🎟️ Registration is now open.
Tickets are now available via Eventbrite.

Attend IN PERSON: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-tickets-1991321800109

Attend ONLINE: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-online-attendance-tickets-1990660397837

16/07/2026

Dr Mary Pyle's presentation 'Object Relations and Fictional Characters' forms part of the Arts and Culture Panel, one of three themed panel discussions taking place during the Object Relations in the Modern Era event on the 31st of October.

The Presentation: Rules about how critics may work with fictional characters have changed through the decades, from Professor A.C. Bradley, a contemporary of Freud, who embraced psychoanalysis in his examination of Shakespearean characters, to contemporary criticism, which posits that characters should not be thought of as real people. This poses a problem as unless readers can relate to fictional characters as real, there can be no identification with them. Psychoanalyst Igněs Sodré explores how great writers create ‘true false characters’. In this presentation, I look at the difficulty of combining the rules of current literary criticism with Object Relations theory when exploring readers' reactions to and identifications with characters who they know to be fictional but to them are real while they are in the liminal space in which author, reader and fictional characters exist.

The conference brings together clinicians, academics and researchers to explore contemporary applications of object relations theory across arts and culture, global politics and clinical practice.

31 October 2026
9.00 am - 5.15 pm
In person & online

Registration is now open. Tickets are now available via Eventbrite.

Attend IN PERSON: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-tickets-1991321800109

Attend ONLINE: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-online-attendance-tickets-1990660397837

11/07/2026

MEET THE SPEAKER

We're delighted to introduce Dr Niamh Callaghan, who will be speaking on the Arts and Culture Panel at the Object Relations in the Modern Era event on the 31st of October, 2026.

Dr Niamh Callaghan’s work explores how public images shape feeling, memory, and belonging in societies marked by conflict. She was awarded her PhD in Psychoanalysis and Culture from Ulster University, where her doctoral research examined the emotional, unconscious, and embodied impact of mural art in the North/Northern Ireland.

Drawing on object relations, her research considers murals as affective public landscapes that hold unresolved memories, anxieties, attachments, and forms of belonging. She is currently the Research, Impact and Communications Officer with EastSide Partnership and Queen’s University Belfast. Niamh has previously worked in trauma support, co-facilitating group workshops on trauma, and takes an ardent interest in painting and drawing.

About the event

The conference brings together clinicians, academics and researchers to explore contemporary applications of object relations theory across arts and culture, global politics and clinical practice.

31 October 2026
9.00 am - 5.15 pm
In person & online

Registration is now open. Tickets are now available via Eventbrite.

Attend IN PERSON: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-tickets-1991321800109

Attend ONLINE: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/object-relations-in-the-modern-era-online-attendance-tickets-1990660397837

Address

C/o 73 Quinn's Road, Shankill
Dublin
18

Website

http://www.ifpp.ie/

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