Professor Gary Winship addressed Pakistan’s first national psychotherapy conference which was held at the Aga Khan University in Karachi. Around 350 delegates attended across three days, mostly young people with an interest in psychoanalytic psychology, psychotherapy and mental health and coming from a range of backgrounds, some clinical, but many from education, philosophy, politics and literature. As well as presentations there were clinical demonstration and supervision workshops, giving a chance to bring theory alive with practice reflection.
Transgenerational trauma was a key theme throughout the conference, particularly with processing the impact of Partition, East Pakistan Secession and the on-going troubles in Kashmir, and there were powerful presentations and debates from key speakers and students about feminism, religion and empowerment.
In his conference address, Professor Winship shared his qualms about being an old white male editor of the British Journal of Psychotherapy (BJP), and the question of Britishness, colonial guilt and shame. He told delegates about considering changing the title of the journal to reflect something that was international. The discussion that ensued among delegates was that Britain had provided a safe haven and shelter for many psychoanalytic refugees and the general conclusion was that the British Journal of Psychotherapy represented something that was inclusive and welcoming.
Conference organisers have submitted a proposal to the BJP for a special edition capturing the landmark papers of Pakistan’s first national psychotherapy conference.
Psychoanalytic ideas and practices have been bubbling away below the surface in Pakistan, and they now have a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Association of Pakistan.
Posted on Wednesday 16th July 2025