We are happy to present the speakers of our conference:
Steinar Lorentzen is a professor emeritus in psychiatry at the University of Oslo. He is trained as psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and group analyst and is a founding member of the Institute of Group Analysis, Norway. His research covers several areas, but he has mainly worked with psychotherapy and Group Analysis, and has published two books and numerous papers within this area. He is an Honorary Member of the Lithuanian Group Analytic Society and EGATIN.
He and three other Scandinavian group analysts contributed to the establishment and development of a group analytic training program in the Baltic States, in cooperation with the Group Therapy Section of the Lithuanian Society for Psychotherapy. By means of economic support from the Norwegian Medical Association, a one-year introductory training course was initiated in Lithuania in 1995, for professionals from the three Baltic States. Gradually, and with further economic support from the Nordic Council, the project developed into a five-year program consisting of introductory, advanced and qualifying courses.
Steinar was the coordinator (in cooperation with the local arrangement committee) and on the staff of this program until 2003, when Lithuanian Group Analytic Society took over full responsibility for the program. Subsequently, he stayed on for some years as supervisor for the Lithuanian staff.
Eugenijus Laurinaitis is a psychiatrist, individual psychoanalytic psychotherapist and group analyst in private practice. Graduated from VU Faculty of Medicine, Heidelberg Group Analysis Programme in Warsaw, Individual Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Programme (VU, Dutch Institute of Psychoanalysis).
He was an Associate Professor at the Department of Psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine of Vilnius University and now he is a Partnership Professor of same department, and he is also involved in politics of the profession, was a President of European Association for Psychotherapy and a General Secretary of EAP.
Eugenijus is an Honorary Member of the Lithuanian Group Analytic Society for his contribution to the organisation of the group analytic training in Lithuania and founding of LGAS. He has coordinated an international GA training project carried out by Vilnius University, Lithuanian Society for Psychotherapy, Norwegian Institute of Group Analysis and Copenhagen Institute of Group Analysis. The programme is still ongoing at Vilnius University in cooperation with Lithuanian Group Analytic Society.
He is a leader and teacher of Group analytic qualifying training program in Tallinn, Estonia, and an Honorary Member of the Estonian Society of Group Analysis and Latvian Society of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, and also EGATIN and EAP.
Linde Wotton is a retired group analyst who formerly worked in the NHS in London as a Specialty Doctor in Psychotherapy. She was formerly the London Courses Director at the Institute of Group Analysis (IGA) in the UK and she continues to act as a dissertation supervisor for qualifying course students but her main involvement is now in the international group analytic community.
Having trained initially as a psychiatrist, her career took a change of direction while she was bringing up her three children and she became more involved in education – training this time as a teacher with a special interest in dyslexia. She also deepened her love of music by undertaking a music diploma with the Open University before returning to clinical work as a group analyst.
Until the autumn of 2023 she was, for 6 years, a member of the management committee of the Group Analytic Society International, chairing the scientific program committee, and co-chairing the scientific program committee for the GASi Symposia – online in 2020 and in Belgrade in 2023.
Linde continues to chair the International Courses Committee at the IGA (UK), which supports the development of GA trainings in countries where none exist and in this role, she is also the EGATIN delegate, where she is now a member of the committee, responsible for international liaison.
Gerhard Wilke is an organisational and leadership development consultant. He is an internationally renowned Group Analytic Training Analyst and Supervisor. He studied Social Anthropology at King’s College, Cambridge and is a qualified member of the Institute of Group Analysis in London. He also holds a diploma in Further and Higher Education from London University and is an associate of Ashridge Business School. He is a member of the Institute of Group Analysis, London, Group Analytic Society International, and he is an Honorary Fellow of both the Royal College of General Practitioners and the International Association of Group Psychotherapy.
His consultancy work with client organisations is rooted in practical anthropological inquiry and in group analysis, he is an expert on how leaders, executive groups and the whole organisational culture interact, attain better performance and learn to move on.
Gerhard believes that relating to the people you work with and facing up to the real difficulties in the moment of a meeting is the key to performance, change and creativity. He sees himself as the ‘outside’ ear that can listen at a deeper level and help identify and circumnavigate the obstacles to change and innovation in your executive group and organisation.
Kristian Valbak, M.D., Ph.d. is a psychiatrist, consultant psychotherapist and group analyst working as a teacher and supervisor in the Mental Health Service in Denmark.
He is co-founder and first chair of IGA-Aarhus and teacher in the training in Aarhus.
He is delegate, honorary member and former chair of EGATIN. He is member of GASi, and has spent time in the management committee and the editorial committee of the International Journal of Group Analysis.
He is still engaged in research and has written several articles about assessment and group analytic psychotherapy.
Tomas Vilius Kajokas, M.D., Ph.D.
Training Analyst of the Vilnius Society of Psychoanalyst (IPA), Training Psychotherapist of the Lithuanian Society of Psychoanalysis (EFPP), in private practice. A staff member of the European Psychoanalytic Institute (IPA/EPF) (2016-2023). Areas of interests: addictions and social discourse in psychoanalysis.
Heribert Knott, MD, is a Group Analyst, Training Analyst (SGAZ / D3G), Group Analytic, Supervisor, and Management Consultant (D3G), as well as a Psychoanalyst and Training Analyst (Stuttgart / DGPT).
Since 1988, he has been working in private practice as a group analyst, psychoanalyst, supervisor, and management consultant.
He is the head of the outpatient service of the psychoanalytic institute for 12 years and is a committee member of EGATIN for 11 years.
Join us at the conference for a Social Dreaming Matrix workshop led by the following conductors:
Boaz Gesthalter (Israel)
Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Organisational Consultant, Private clinic in Tel-Aviv. Supervisor in Clinical Psychology, Manager at AMCHA (A mental health provider for Holocaust Survivors), member of The Committee for Clinical Psychology in The Israeli Ministry of Health. Member of the scientific committee at OFEK (The Israeli Group Relations Organisation), working as a consultant in Group Relations conferences, working with organizations, teams and managers across the Mental Health, Social care, Educational and Law sectors in Israel and abroad.
Erika Speičytė Ruschhoff (Lithuania)
Organisational consultant and Gestalt practitioner across the health, social care and educational sector in Lithuania and abroad. Lecturer and researcher at the University of Vilnius, Institute for Sociology. Co- founder and former board member of Lithuanian Group Relations Society Vilnius. Group Relations practitioner and staff member of international Group Relations Conferences in Lithuania and abroad. PhD candidate Essex University and Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust London (UK).
Cosmin Chita (Switzerland)
Psychiatrist, Psychoanalyst and Group Analyst (Seminar for Group Analysis Zurich, Group Analytic Society International), Training Group Analyst (German Society of Group Analysis D3G), clinical supervisor, lecturer on group dynamics and group work at the Frankfort university of Applied Sciences. Former board member in the Swiss section of the European Federation for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (EFPP), working in his own practice in Zurich.