Event: In the Beginning Was the Transference

On 28 September 2026, I will be moderating a conversation with Natalie Wülfing of the NLS Initiative Berlin as part of the FPD 2026 Talks.

Taking Lacan’s formulation that “in the beginning of psychoanalysis is the transference” as a point of departure, the conversation will open questions around the place of transference at the beginning of an analysis, the position of the subject supposed to know, and the analyst’s relation to the position assigned to them within the transference.

One question that particularly interests me is what it means to speak of the management of transference. If the analyst is already implicated in the transference, the issue cannot simply be how to manage the analysand’s feelings. It also concerns how the analyst makes use of the position given to them without identifying with the one who is supposed to know.

I am very much looking forward to discussing these questions with Natalie and to the conversation that will follow.

Speaker: Natalie Wülfing — NLS Initiative Berlin

Moderator: Mert Akyol

Date: 28 September 2026

Time: 21:00

Format: Online via Zoom

Language: English

Participation: Free of charge

Registration and access information are available on the event poster through the FPD WhatsApp group.