Online Seminars - Stefano Bolognini

Two thought-provoking online seminars

presented by

Dr Stefano Bolognini

Thursdays 17 September & 15 October

Join internationally renowned psychoanalyst Stefano Bolognini for two thought-provoking online seminars exploring contemporary developments in psychoanalytic theory and practice. The first examines the transformative potential of dreams as lived experiences, while the second explores emerging understandings of the hidden, implicit, and unrepresented dimensions of the unconscious mind.

Seminar One - 17 September
The Dream as an Experience

A new perspective on dreaming

This paper explores a fascinating idea: dreams do more than simply reflect our wishes, fears, or unresolved conflicts. At times, dreams can provide genuinely new psychological experiences that help us grow and change.

Drawing on psychoanalytic theory and clinical examples, the author suggests that certain dreams occur when unconscious aspects of the mind temporarily work together in a particularly harmonious way. In these moments, the dreamer may experience parts of themselves that have previously been inaccessible—such as confidence, intimacy, courage, or personal strength.

Unlike traditional views that focus on dreams as symbolic messages to be interpreted, the paper highlights the importance of the felt experience of the dream itself. These dreams can leave a lasting impression because they are experienced as emotionally "true", even though they are not literally real.

Through two clinical case studies, the author demonstrates how transformative dreams can help individuals connect with neglected aspects of their personality, overcome emotional limitations, and move towards greater psychological integration and development.

The paper invites analysts to listen carefully not only to what dreams mean, but also to how dreams are experienced, recognising them as potential catalysts for personal growth and change.

Seminar Two - 15 October
Hidden unconscious, buried unconscious, implicit unconscious

Expanding Our Understanding of the Unconscious Mind

Traditional psychoanalytic theory focused largely on the repressed unconscious—thoughts, feelings and memories pushed out of awareness. In this presentation, Stefano Bolognini explores a broader and increasingly influential view of the unconscious, encompassing experiences that were never fully represented, symbolised, or integrated in the first place.

Drawing on contemporary psychoanalysis, attachment theory and neuroscience, Bolognini examines how early developmental experiences, trauma, and disruptions in emotional connection can leave traces in what is now described as the implicit unconscious. These experiences may shape a person's emotional life and relationships without ever becoming fully accessible to conscious thought.

Through compelling clinical examples, the paper illustrates how psychoanalytic treatment can help patients reconnect with these hidden aspects of experience—not simply by interpreting them, but through a shared emotional process that allows previously unformulated experiences to acquire meaning and integration.

This presentation offers a rich exploration of how contemporary psychoanalysis is extending our understanding of the unconscious and deepening our appreciation of the transformative possibilities of the analytic relationship.

Biography

Stefano Bolognini, M.D. is a psychiatrist and training analyst of the Italian Psychoanalytic Society, of which he was Scientific Secretary and President. After serving as a Representative on the first IPA Board, he became its President in 2013 and served in that role until 2017. He also founded the "IPA Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Psychoanalysis" and is a member of the Advisory Board of the International Psychoanalytic University Berlin (IPU), Honorary Member of the New York Contemporary Freudian Society (NYCFS), and of the Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies (LAISPS). Bolognini was a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Psychoanalysis for 10 years, and has published over 300 psychoanalytic works, both books and papers. His book “Vital Flows between Self and Non-Self. The Interpsychic” (Routledge, 2022) won the North- American Gradiva Award 2023.

Details

When: 8.00 - 9.30pm (Sydney time)

Where: Online via Zoom

Cost: $88 individual seminar, $140 for both seminars (GST included)

Discounts available for IPA members & candidates, and full-time students. Contact apasconnect@outlook.com for details

Bookings remain open until 11.00pm the day before each seminar

Recordings will be available for two weeks following each seminar