Continuing Education Course

We live amidst a global ecological crisis caused by human practices, with vast inequalities in its effects. In modern Western civilization, our way of living reflects an attitude of entitlement to the Earth’s resources, disregarding limits and our impact on the natural world. This has led to distraction and alienation from the part of ourselves that understands our dependence on the biosphere.

After describing the natural world from a historical perspective, we will explore how our inner worlds shape our understanding of external reality, encouraging psychoanalytic consideration of the complexity of our relationship with nature. We will discuss the factors that interfere with our ability to comprehend the ongoing destruction caused by the slow violence of environmental degradation. Together, we will examine the emotional factors that have led us to disavow our psychological and bodily connections to the natural world, thereby impoverishing ourselves. Using poetry and clinical material, we will highlight the vital role nature plays in our internal psychic balance and the internal strengthening that comes with an ecological perspective.