The Alliance Board is pleased to announce that the Annual Forum will happen on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at Bastyr University in Kenmore, WA. The Forum, one of our longest running events, is our annual conference that began the same year as our founding in 1989. For more than three decades the Forum has been an extraordinary opportunity to share in the experience, training, and expertise of our diverse psychoanalytic community.
Each year, the Forum committee -- who organize the conference -- alongside the Alliance Board of Directors, invite our members to submit papers to present on topics of their interest. As with any gathering of such remarkable minds, this has not been without controversy! Sending out this year’s call for papers inherently involves reflecting on last year’s Forum and the challenges that arose as we gathered to share and think together. We also bear in mind the fallibility evident in the bodies that govern our field, our organization, our city and beyond. Coming together this year holds significant importance. With that in mind, we invite presenters to consider this year’s theme -- Community, Mutuality, and Connection -- in submitting proposals.
(special thanks to Carol Poole for helping craft the language for our Call for Papers—her thoughtful work helped shape a compelling invitation to our community)
“For me to develop into a good-enough person, there must be enough goodness running through the world; it is this which I internalize…One of the deeper meanings of the idea of accepting responsibility is to recognize that I am, by my nature, a response to love.”
-Jonathan Lear, cited in Weintrobe, p. 95
Community, Mutuality, and Connection:
Psychoanalysis has been responding to the challenges of recent years by stretching into new formulations of the collective dimension of human psychology and development. From concepts ranging from the social unconscious, to collective trauma, to thinking about the psychopathologies of neoliberalism and the healthy need for shared frameworks for care, we are being invited to think beyond the bounds of the individual, toward understanding the role of community in human psychology.
How does community support—or undermine—mental health? What diverse forms may community take in people’s lives? How do we reckon with the volatility of community, and the need for reparation and repair? What does it mean to live—and dream—meaningfully with other people? Where are the boundaries between individual and community experience? We invite you to think about this vital, problematic, and necessary dimension of life, for psychoanalytic exploration.
Presentations may be in a variety of formats: papers, experiential (clinical demonstration, art, music, etc.), panels, facilitated group discussion, or mixed media. We welcome a diversity of presentation styles, recognizing that there are many ways to teach and learn.
We encourage new and seasoned presenters to share ideas "in process" as well as those that are more refined. We encourage those of you who have not yet presented to develop your professional identity and challenge yourself and submit your ideas.
Proposal Guidelines
- All sessions are 90 minutes long of which at least 30 minutes should be reserved for discussion and Q&A.
- All proposals must include the following:
- Proposal Title
- Abstract (Max 200 words)
- Description for Program (Max 100 words)
- 3 learning objectives (required)
- Minimum of 3 APA citations
- Lead Presenter information (including creditials)
- Additional presenters, as needed (Max of 3 additional)
- Please consider your audience’s accessibility needs in your presentation
Questions? Please email admin@nwaps.org
Proposal Review Process and Timeline*
All proposals submitted by January 7, 2026, will be reviewed by the Forum Review Committee.
* timeline subject to change