I have just arrived back home to Sweden after an intense and enriching week in Newcastle, alongside many other IPT therapists. In previous posts on our blog, I have briefly reported on the first two days of the conference. To briefly summarize some other events, I want to mention Paula Rawitz’s award, which she received on Thursday. She delivered a moving speech about her IPT journey, which is also a part of mine since Paula is a person who has meant a lot to many.
Unfortunately, I could only attend the conference’s final day until shortly after lunch. However, my morning began with listening to the important work being done at the Anna Freud Center, presented by Roslyn Law and Alexander Lloyd, as well as Emily Taylor’s group intervention with traumatized youth. What impressed me the most, though, was listening to my quiet Scandinavian neighbor, Klaus Ranta, and the tremendous work done in Finland to implement IPC for youth in school health care. It’s impressive to me, and I also feel a sense of competitiveness awakening in me. Sweden and Finland have a history of competing in sports like hockey, so seeing their fantastic success in spreading IPC-A motivates me as a Swede to want to do the same 🙂
Fortunately, I managed to attend when Myrna Weissman (via recording) and Jennifer J Mootz spoke about the new book “Interpersonal Psychotherapy – a global reach.” When those of us who had contributed to the book stood up in the main hall and saw how many we were, I felt proud to be part of such a fine community. It’s an immense effort that Myrna and Jennifer have put into making this book happen. You find it here https://global.oup.com/academic/product/interpersonal-psychotherapy-9780197652084?cc=se&lang=en&
In the car on my way home to Sweden, I could follow the emails on the ISIPS listserv in the following days. It’s evident that the attendees of the conference were very pleased and grateful to have met in person. To quote John Markowitz;
Dear ISIPTers, Those of you who have spent the past few days in Newcastle don’t need to be told, and I expect your feedback will be similarly positive: this has been a great meeting! Liz Robinson, Fiona Rose, and others kept a packed conference running smoothly. Some 200 people showed up from all over the world. The program was crammed with excellent presentations, and the first Klerman & Weissman Awards were awarded, to Dr. Kelly Rose-Clarke as Outstanding Rising Investigator and to Dr. Paula Ravitz for Outstanding Training and Dissemination. People had fun! The atmosphere was warm. It was really wonderful not only to see old friends but to meet in the flesh people I had known only by email or Zoom. Alliances were bolstered, projects moved forward. Most of all, it was exciting to hear about IPT developments all over the globe. I hope you will all be able to attend our next biennial meeting!
John
