Welcome to
Analysis & activism
What is the aim of A&A?
The special aim of A&A is to facilitate both open activism and analyses of activism by those presently non-active. It was accepted that any contemporary clinical therapist might wish to engage in political actions that were, as is usual in politics, passionate and partisan.
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The aim of A&A is to inform, to stimulate, (sometimes) to educate, and to foster dialogue and praxis of considered thoughts from all sectors of the globe regarding concerns and ideas that relate to the intersection of psychosocial issues and the political. A&A wishes to further understanding and promote meaningful political action among those interested in the relationship between the human psyche and expression in political life (although not to promote any specific political agenda nor to identify with any political party or political orientation).
The beginnings of
Analysis and Activism
Emilija Kiehl (2016) recalls:
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Andrew Samuels and me started an exchange of e-mails about giving a talk on a political theme at British Jungian Analytic Association (BJAA). Soon after, we both attended the XIX Congress of the International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP) in Copenhagen where some of our colleagues´ presentations inspired our renewed interest in pursuing the idea of a talk on politics in London. After the Congress, Andrew and I met in London to make a plan”. The first “Analysis and Activism Conference under the auspices of IAAP, was already being generated. […] We drew a list of those we knew were interested and engaged in political matters, and came up with about thirty names, many from abroad. […] We had no funds for the endeavour, anyone presenting would have to cover all their travel and accommodation expenses and there would be no fee! […] Within a day or two, the replies started to pour in and our absolutely packed conference programme testified that almost everyone we invited said, yes! […] Furthermore, once the word was out, more colleagues were contacting us offering to participate […].
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We informed IAAP of what was happening, and they gave us seed money to secure a venue for the conference. The five IAAP London Jungian training organisations – AJA, BJAA, GAP, IGAP, SAP – delegated representatives for the conference organising team, and, only a year or so later, there we were, in the elegant nineteenth-century venue built by the British General Medical Council, partaking in an inspiring weekend of thinking, discussing and questioning together.