Statement of the President – Fall 2025
Dear members and friends of the IPhA,
I hope this message finds you well as we move into autumn.
In May, we gathered for our Annual Conference, which was attended by a vibrant and inspiring community. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to its success, including presenters, organisers and participants. Many of the sessions have now been recorded and are available online for members who wish to revisit or discover these rich exchanges (https://psychohistory.us/ipha-2025/).
If you cannot find your own presentation, please contact Inna Rozentsvit as soon as possible to request that it be uploaded ().
Looking ahead, I am pleased to announce the 49th Annual Conference of the International Psychohistorical Association, to be held 29–31 May 2026 (https://psychohistory.us/conference/). Under the theme “Breaking Cycles of Violence: Psychohistorical Perspectives on Individual and Collective Healing”, this conference will encourage reflection on the ways in which trauma and violence can affect generations, and how they can be transformed. We are now accepting proposals for papers and panels until 10 January 2026.
Plenary speakers will be announced soon, and I am looking forward to an exceptional lineup.
Prior to this, on 14 November 2025, we will hold a special thematic conference titled “Psychoanalysis under Conditions of War” (https://mindmendmedia.com/11-14-25-psychoanalysis-under-conditions-of-war/). Our speakers, the French psychoanalyst Françoise Davoine and the associate professor of literature Suzanne Lalonde, will offer powerful historical and clinical insights into how psychoanalysis emerges and evolves in the context of conflict. In her talk, “A New Paradigm of Psychoanalysis as Old as War”, Davoine will trace the enduring dialogue between catastrophe and the analytic encounter, from The Iliad to present-day Ukraine. Lalonde’s presentation, “The Dawn of Psychoanalysis: Belle Époque Paris, the Salpêtrière Hospital, and Traumatic Hysteria”, will revisit early trauma theories and their lasting resonance.
In January 2026, we will also host a special event on Non-Violent Communication, continuing to expand the scope of our discussions on the connection between psychohistory and contemporary practices of healing, dialogue and transformation.
I invite you to explore the resources available to our members and help enrich them. Our annotated bibliography (https://psychohistory.us/annotated-psychohistory-bibliography/) is a key part of our educational work and would benefit from your contributions. Friend publications The Journal of Psychohistory (https://psychohistory.com/the-journal-of-psychohistory/) and Clio’s Psyche (https://cliospsyche.org/) offer open access to a wealth of articles, while the Psychohistory Forum (https://psychohistoryforum.com/) hosts an abundance of psychobiographical and psychohistorical material. ORI’s courses with Paul Elovitz (https://orinyc.org/an-in-depth-understanding-of-famous-and-ordinary-people-through-the-art-of-psychobiography/) provide another valuable resource for our members and students.
As we grow, membership renewal remains essential to sustaining our community and its activities. I warmly encourage you to renew your membership by the end of 2025 (https://psychohistory.us/membership/) to support our joint efforts and ensure you continue to have access to all our programmes and resources and get a reduced rate for our 2026 May conference.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you who contribute to the IPhA with your energy, scholarship and commitment. In a world of uncertainty and unrest, our collective efforts to link psyche and history provide spaces for reflection, meaning and hope.
With warm wishes for a brighter future,
Marc-André Cotton
President, International Psychohistorical Association