In honor of Anton O. Kris

We cordially invite you to the first discussion of the roundtable series Refugees and Immigrants: Their Experience and Contribution to Psychoanalysis in North America by the Sigmund Freud Museum and the Erikson Institute for Education, Research and Advocacy of the Austen Riggs Center.

The opening roundtable After Vienna: A conversation with Otto Kernberg and Thomas Kohut examines the experiences of two prominent psychoanalysts, Otto Kernberg, MD and Heinz Kohut who were forced to emigrate from Vienna as the Holocaust approached. Dr. Kernberg will speak about his life and career considering his emigration experience, and Thomas Kohut, PhD will speak about how the emigration experience of his father Heinz Kohut influenced his personal and professional life and work. How both men have shaped American psychoanalysis will be examined.

This discussion will be moderated by Nancy McWilliams, PhD.

Click here for bios (under "Faculty")

Refugees and Immigrants: Their Experience and Contribution to Psychoanalysis in North America

This series of round tables, hosted by Thomas A. Kohut, President of Freud Foundation US and Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Professor of History at Williams College, will examine topics related to the influence of refugee psychoanalysts on the training and practice of psychoanalysis in the USA, genocide and the impact of loss and destruction on psychoanalysis, and the and the experience of contemporary immigrant analysts. The events will be set up and broadcast via Zoom, featuring different experts from Europe and the USA. Both institutions will make the recordings available on their online media sites.

Next dates: February 11, March 11 and April 22

The roundtable series is part of the project From Despair to Hope: The Holocaust, Immigration, and Psychoanalysis in North America

The cooperation serves to honor Anton O. Kris' legacy, as the Executive Director of the Freud Archives, and for his work building relationships across the ocean and across generations of psychoanalysis. These events will pave the way for a planned exhibition project at Austen Riggs in Stockbridge, MA (June–October 2023), based on the exhibition Organized Escape – Survival in Exile. Viennese Psychoanalysis 1938 and Beyond by the Sigmund Freud Museum in Vienna.

Have a look at our event program.

Watch a selection of our event videos on our YouTube channel.