| SPEAKERS OF THE 12TH SYMPOSIUM
PROFESSOR ANASTASIIA SKLIARUK
Head of Department of Practical Psychology of Psychology, Zaporizhzhye Private University.
Lecture
“The Little Match Girl, Or The Reverse Side of Adaptation in the Psychodrama Tradition.”
The presentation introduces an original approach to studying the phenomenon of adaptation under conditions of "abnormal normalcy." The author combines academic analysis with the psychodrama method to explore the psychological price a person pays to adjust to crisis conditions of life.
The primary conceptual focus is directed at the "dark sides" of adaptation—situations where successful survival and the suppression of pain become destructive and lead to psychological exhaustion. The fairy tale "The Little Match Girl" by H.C. Andersen, adapted to a contemporary context, serves as a metaphor for this state, where attempts to "warm oneself with illusions" draw a tragic finale closer. The presentation combines scenic action for the audience's emotional processing of this experience with a theoretical block dedicated to methods of psychological prevention and correction.
Anastasiia Skliaruk, Professor, Doctor of Sciences, researcher, certified psychodramatist. Affiliation: Head of the Department of Practical Psychology at the Classic Private University, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.
UTA BLOHM
Psychotherapist in Private Practice,
Lecture
“Growing up in West-Germany in the Seventies and Eighties: An Example of Living in Abnormal Normality.”
This is a personal reflection on abnormal normality, which may or may not resonate with people in Germany or beyond. Born 1967 in Western Germany I learnt about the Shoah at school in different subjects such as German Literature, Religious Education or History often divorced from the wider context of the war or the Weimar Republic. On some level it felt like the most important theme. This recurrent theme was though strangely unrelated to my own personal family history. It was only at university that I started to make sense of some fragments from my childhood but still in a somewhat limited way. I studied protestant theology and spent a great deal of my time researching anti-Jewish teachings in Christian tradition. It was perhaps an attempt to make a positive contribution and a journey of discovery. This talk will explore some of the fragments from my childhood and show how limited my understanding still is since I never found an opportunity to speak in a meaningful way with my parents or grandparents, perhaps due to a lack of courage on my side or an agreed silence or defensiveness in the light of unbearable feelings of shame and actual guilt. I am intending to explore inappropriate and out of control emotions; references to the Shoah in everyday language; references to Jewish people and persecution that were made in passing. Finally I will connect my personal experience with some events in Germany today, speculating how the past may impact the present.
Dr. Uta Blohm is an integrative psychotherapist who trained at the Minster Centre in London. She has worked in private practice in Hannover, Germany, since 2015. She also holds a doctorate in Christian theology, with a thesis on Christian-Jewish relations and feminist theology. Her work experience includes roles in Christian churches and as a hospital and mental health chaplain, in both the UK and Germany.
OLEKSANDR MIRONENKO
Senior Lecturer Ukrainian Catholic University.
Lecture
“Living in Abnormal Normality and Dissociation: Normal Reactions to Abnormal Events.”
This presentation explores the experience of living in “Abnormal Normality” and its connection to humanness and existential meaning. It examines the relationship between abnormal normality and dissociation, considering dissociation both as a defence mechanism and as a mental disorder. Particular attention is given to the spectrum from normative, everyday dissociation to dissociative disorders. The presentation also explores ways of preserving a sense of normality, humanness and existential meaning in abnormal times.
Oleksandr Mironenko, psychotherapist working in Person-Centered and Experiential Approach. Member of the UUAP, EAP and WAPCEPS. Registrar of the National Awarding Organization of the UUAP. For more than 30 years worked as Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy for postgraduate training, Lviv National Medical University. Now is a lecturer of the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Ukrainian Catholic University.
TOM WARNECKE
General Secretary of the European Association for Psychotherapy.
Lecture
“Psychological effects of warped or twisted "normalties" on our orientation abilities.”
Orientation is the art of finding one’s ways successfully in new situations, rooted in patterns that operate beneath awareness, and informed by our constant observation, predictions, and negotiations of the realities we are immersed in. And orientation is not only external. Both Winnicott and Rogers already stressed the significance of orientation to bodily signals for mental and physical health. Disorientation can undermine the experience of our bodies as safe entities. Longer duration of exposure, or severity of disorientating situations or environments, may lead to a higher orientation impairments. What might this mean for our clinical practice?
Tom Warnecke is the EAP General Secretary. He maintains a psychotherapy and supervision practice in London and has worked in statutory mental health services, as an educator for various psychotherapy and supervision diploma courses in Europe, and developed a relational-somatic approach to Borderline trauma. His work is grounded in psychophysiological and psychodynamic perspectives and his publications include book chapters, journal articles, and the book 'The Psyche in the Modern World - Psychotherapy and Society' (Karnac 2015).
PROFESSOR BARBARA VON MEIBOM
Communio Institut für Führungskunst, Germany.
Lecture
“Abnormal Nomalities – A Shared Space of Discovery.”
As the closing contribution to our symposium, Dr Barbara von Meibom, Professor Emerita, will offer an impulse inspired by the symposium’s theme and grounded in the spirit of psychosynthesis: an openness to the whole person, a welcoming of different perspectives, and trust in our capacity for awareness, connection and growth.
Rather than offering ready-made answers, Barbara will invite us to explore an open question together, taking it into small breakout groups as spaces for shared discovery. What happens when we meet uncertainty not simply as something to overcome, but as an opportunity for curiosity, reflection and new possibilities? What might emerge when we allow ourselves to stay with questions, welcome contradictions and encounter differences without rushing to judgement?
Returning to the plenary, we will share reflections and allow new questions to unfold. There is no need to resolve every tension or reach a single conclusion. The unspoken – and perhaps even silence – can also be part of the process. A closing contribution that invites us to embrace uncertainty, remain open to one another and make room for something new to emerge.
Barbara von Meibom is a former Univ. Prof. at the University Duisburg – Essen Germany, teaching political science and communication. She concentrated on political and social conflicts and on the impact of the upcoming technical revolution by digitalization and global telecommunication. To reach a deeper understanding of the human impact, she got trained in Psychosynthesis, Depth Psychology, Psychodrama, Body Therapy. Since 1992 she visits India annually for spiritual retreats and studies. In 2004 she left University to concentrate on one-to-one counselling and training. Together with Kristina Brode, Circadian Institute, she implemented training in Psychosynthesis Counselling. With the Swiss Zen-Master Anna Gamma, she developed a three-year training program on Spiritual Coaching, implemented in Switzerland and in Germany. She was president of the German Psychosynthesis Society from 2003-2009. In 2016 and 2018 she co-hosted with Bence Ganti the Integral European Conference in Hungary. She is internationally known as lecturer and workshop leader. She has published more than a dozen books. Presently she lives with her husband close to a spiritual community near Leipzig in East Germany.
