University of Essex Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies

26/08/2026

🎓 Kegerreis Bursary – £1,000 available

Are you entering Year 2 or Year 3 of the MA Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy at the University of Essex?

You may be eligible to apply for the Kegerreis Bursary, which provides £1,000, paid in three instalments throughout the academic year, to help with clinical supervision costs.

📅 Application deadline: 31 August 2026

Applications are submitted to the Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies ([email protected])

https://www.essex.ac.uk/departments/psychosocial-and-psychoanalytic-studies/scholarships-and-funding

If you’re eligible, don’t miss the deadline! 🌟

Discover scholarships, studentships, funds and prizes to help you apply and study in the Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies.

21/08/2026

Registration is now open for the New Imago Forum 2026: Trust.
Join clinicians, researchers and scholars for an interdisciplinary weekend exploring the theme of Trust through psychoanalytic, social, political and artistic perspectives.

📅 11–13 December 2026
📍 University of Essex

Book your place today: https://www1.essex.ac.uk/online_shop/conference/default.aspx?conference=new-imago-forum-2026-trust

19/08/2026

Explore the Foundations of Jungian Psychology – Online Course at Essex

Are you curious about C.G. Jung’s analytical psychology and its key ideas? We are pleased to announce that we will once again offering our online seminar series titled Basic Jungian Concepts – designed for anyone with an interest in Jung’s thought and its contemporary applications.

This intensive and unique course provides a firm grounding in the essential concepts that distinguish Jungian theory from traditional psychoanalysis. Participants will explore central elements such as the collective unconscious, archetypes, complexes, psychological types, individuation, the Self, active imagination, unus mundus, and synchronicity. Seminars are built around key texts and include real-time discussions with expert lecturers.

We are recognised internationally for our expertise in Jungian and post-Jungian theory – making this online course an excellent opportunity for students, professionals, and lifelong learners alike to deepen their understanding of analytical psychology.

When: 28 September – 2 October 2026 (daily sessions, mornings and afternoons)
Where: Online
Cost: £375
Lecturers: Dr Ann Addison, Dr Orsolya Lukács, Professor Roderick Main, Dr Christian McMillan, and Dr Steve Myers

Whether you are beginning your journey into Jungian psychology or preparing for advanced study (e.g., the MA Jungian and Post-Jungian Studies at Essex), this course offers valuable insight into analytical psychology’s core ideas.

For more details and to book your place see:

Essex is a leading member of a small handful of universities in the world that provides cutting-edge expertise in Jungian and post-Jungian theory and applications. This intense and unique online course will give you a firm grounding in the key concepts of C.G. Jung’s analytical psychology. It will...

17/08/2026

Enormous congratulations to Dr Denise Tilson for the award of Professional Doctorate for her Thesis 'An Exploration of the use of the Telephone in Telephone Counselling with Offenders within the Probation Service', the project was supervised by Dr Deborah Wright.

Denise’s project involved researching these innovative and important counselling approaches and services for the probation service, as well as formulating original theory on phone usage that goes beyond the probation setting to be psychodynamically and psychosocially widely applicable.

https://doi.org/10.5526/ERR-00043435

14/08/2026

Delighted to share that Dr Monica Luci's article, "Individual and Group Psyche Against the Wall: Psychic Skin and the Politics of Borders," has been published Open Access in Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society.

The article examines the unconscious dynamics of border walls, bringing together psychoanalytic perspectives on individual development, group psychology, and the politics of borders.

It is freely available at:

This article examines the global proliferation of contemporary border walls as a psycho-political phenomenon. Despite limited practical efficacy in regulating migration or security, walls continue to multiply across the world. The article argues that their persistence cannot be fully understood with...

12/08/2026

Congratulations to Professional Doctorate Year 1 student Ann Hardy, whose paper, Looking for Merope: Some Ways in Which Experiences of Second Mothers Impact on Couple Relationships, has been published in the Journal of Couple and Family Psychoanalysis.

Members of the AICFP are entitled to an exclusive 30% discount on the purchase price of print and digital versions of this issue, and on the individual subscription rate for the journal. To purchase, go to www.firingthemind.com and at checkout input coupon code: IACFP20. 

10/08/2026

Congratulations to Department alumna Kate Beckwith on the publication of her new article, Beyond the Room: Psychoanalysis, Freedom, and the Defense of Childhood in Authoritarian Times, in Studies in Gender and Sexuality (Vol. 27, Issue 2).
Drawing on her work with children and families, Kate explores how the conditions of psychotherapy shape children’s opportunities for play, agency, and psychological development. The article also considers how psychotherapy can help protect the developmental conditions children need to flourish in an increasingly structured and digitalised world.

The article is available via Taylor & Francis Online. Anyone unable to access it is welcome to contact Kate directly for a free-access link.

Congratulations, Kate, on this important contribution to the field.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15240657.2026.2668780

Psychoanalysis has always wrestled with the tension between freedom and authority. Yet its practice has often been confined to bounded rooms where movement, play, and spontaneity are constrained. T...

07/08/2026

Congratulations to Anne Marie Allen, Professional Doctorate in Analytical Psychology Year 3 student, whose paper The Training Complex: Shattering of the Coniunctio, Boundary Violation, and Sibling Turbulence on the Horizontal Plane has been published in the Journal of Analytical Psychology.

Click on the title to browse this journal

05/08/2026

A neuroscientist dares to argue that old-fashioned psychoanalysis holds the key to curing mental illness.

05/08/2026

We are delighted to announce the Freud Memorial Lecture 2026 to be held on Friday 11 December 2026, featuring Professor Josh Cohen, who will join us to explore contemporary questions through a psychoanalytic lens.

Josh Cohen is a psychoanalyst, Fellow of the British Psychoanalytical Society, and Emeritus Professor of Literary Theory at Goldsmiths, University of London. His work spans psychoanalysis, culture and modern thought, and his recent book All the Rage: Why Anger Drives the World examines the role of anger in contemporary society.

The annual Freud Memorial Lecture is a flagship event hosted by the Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies at the University of Essex, bringing together students, staff, alumni, clinicians and the wider psychoanalytic community for a public exploration of key ideas in psychoanalysis.

We look forward to welcoming our community for this special event and to continuing the tradition of thought-provoking lectures inspired by Freud’s enduring legacy.

"The Compromised Unconscious: Ambiguity and Shame in Psychoanalysis, Art and Politics"