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Registration Opens 9/15/25

2025 ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC MEETING:

SOUL MURDER AND PSYCHOSIS

ABOUT THE PRE-CONFERENCE WEBINAR:

IS PSYCHOANALYTIC TREATMENT OF PSYCHOSIS POSSIBLE?

Freud concluded that psychoanalytic treatment of psychosis cannot bear fruit due to the nature and scale of the disturbance. Notwithstanding his pessimism, there has been an outpouring of writings and conceptualizations by psychoanalysts on psychosis over the past century. There now exists an extensive literature on its likely origins, its course according to its types, responses to treatment and, in particular, forms of clinical intervention that give rise to some hope that it may be possible to engage with the psychotic person in a way that facilitates collaborative engagement with the non-psychotic mental functioning of the patient. Through this engagement with the non-psychotic mental functioning of the psychotic patient it may become possible to examine and understand the aims and operations of psychotic thought which undermine change and growth. The purpose of this meeting is to consider these ways of working and their consequences for clinical practice.

Relevant References:

Bion, W. R. (1957) Differentiation of the Psychotic from the Non-Psychotic Personalities. International Journal of Psychoanalysis 38:266-275

Michael Conran (1999). Sorrow, vulnerability and madness. In Paul Williams (Ed.) Psychosis (Madness), pp. 27-43. London: The Institute of Psychoanalysis.

De Masi F. (2020) A Psychoanalytic Approach to Treating Psychosis (Routledge)

Williams P (2025) The Object of Psychosis in On Freud’s “Neurosis and Psychosis” and “The Loss of Reality in Neurosis and Psychosis” (The International Psychoanalytical Association Contemporary Freud Turning Points and Critical Issues Series). Routledge.

Williams P (2014) Orientations of Psychotic Activity in Defensive Pathological Organizations. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 95(3):423-440

Jackson M, Williams P. (1994) Unimaginable Storms: A Search for Meaning in Psychosis. London, Karnac

Jackson M (2001) Weathering the Storms: psychotherapy for psychosis (London: Karnac)

Richard Lucas (2009) The Psychotic Wavelength. London: Routledge

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE:

SOUL MURDER REVISITED

Soul murder is a term describing a confluence of several types of experience, predominantly isolation, deprivation, neglect and abuse, which are imposed on the subject over an extended period, damaging ego functioning, obliterating defenses and impairing the capacity for healthy identifications in the subject. The motivation of Soul Murder is the destruction of the core sense of self, or more plainly put, the integrity and uniqueness of the individual that is captured in the term ‘soul’. The identification of Soul Murder originated in literature long before it appeared in psychoanalysis. The first case of Soul Murder recorded in psychoanalysis was Freud’s study of Judge Daniel Schreber which was not an analytic treatment, but rather an attempt to describe and understand the internal world of the tortured and murdered soul as depicted in Schreber’s diaries. It is likely that Ferenczi had more direct experience of the treatment of Soul Murder than any other analyst of the early period. His innovative work could be seen as an attempt to delve beyond available psychoanalytic knowledge in search of an understanding of the relational catastrophe afflicting his most traumatized and alienated patients. In the 1980’s and ‘90’s, Leonard Shengold elaborated and delineated the clinical problem of Soul Murder in great depth, advancing our grasp of what can occur in childhood to annihilate the striving for relationship. This conference will define and explore the meaning, distinction and evidence of Soul Murder in our clinical work and demonstrate examples of successes and failures of treatment through case studies. 

Morning Program:

Soul Murder Defined

The morning session of this conference will involve a presentation of the nature and origin of the phenomenon of Soul Murder, the evolution and meaning of the term, and its pertinence within psychoanalysis. A conceptual framework will be considered to try to grasp the interlocking components of this extreme form of psychic destruction.  A theory of technique will be discussed which stems in part from the treatment of psychosis, and which allows for a psychoanalytic approach to think about this otherwise intractable condition and the disastrous consequences for victim and perpetrator. The relationship and differences between soul murder and psychosis will be considered, along with broader implications like its transgenerational transmission and contribution to the development of malignant narcissism.

Afternoon Program:

Psychoanalytic Treatment of Soul Murder

The afternoon session will illustrate three psychoanalytic treatments of soul murder, one successful, one in the early stages of addressing the structural changes necessary for psychic development notwithstanding the murder of the soul and the third, a failure. The third case will illustrate how the destruction of identifications with a potentially good object led to a ‘becoming’ the bad object as an enduring retreat based on a devouring of the infant self by a parasitic host, as occurs in cults, ritual molestation, satanic abuse and professional torture. Ample opportunity for discussion of these clinical situations will be available.  .

Learning objectives: Participants at this Workshop will be able to:

1. Describe the meaning and implications of the term soul murder in the context of severe traumatization and loss of the self.
2. Identify key obstacles to identification with a good object that prevent evolution and development of the self.
3. Identify some of the techniques required to work effectively with individuals suffering from the experience of soul murder as a psychological crisis that is beyond words.
4. Identify distinctions between soul murder and psychosis and the implications of these for psychoanalytic experiences and forms of intervention.

Relevant References

D. W. Winnicott (1974). Fear of breakdown. International Review of Psycho-Analysis, 1, pp. 103-107.

Henri Rey (1994). The schizoid mode of being and the space-time continuum (before metaphor). In Universals of Psychoanalysis in the Treatment of Psychotic and Borderline states: factors of Space-Time and Language, pp. 8-30. London: Free Association Books.

Leonard Shengold (1991) Soul Murder: The Effects of Childhood Abuse and Deprivation 

Random House Publishing Group

Leonard Shengold (1978) Kaspar Hauser and Soul Murder: a Study of Deprivation. Int. Rev. Psychan. (5) 457-476

Williams P (2010) ‘The Fifth Principle’ (Routledge).

Williams P (2019) Isolation, Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 29:1, 1-12.

Thomas H. Ogden (2023) Ontological Psychoanalysis in Clinical Practice.The Psychoanalytic Quarterly 

Volume 93, 2024 -Issue 1.

About the Presenter: 

Dr. Paul Williams trained as a psychoanalyst with The British Psychoanalytical Society where he was a Training and Supervising Analyst. He was awarded the Rosenfeld Essay Prize for the treatment of severe disturbance. He was Joint Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Psychoanalysis with Glen Gabbard between 2001 and 2007 and a Consultant Psychotherapist in the British National Health Service in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where, with John Alderdice, he directed an out-patient clinic and worked in a medium secure Forensic Unit. He lives and works in private psychoanalytic practice in Northern California and has published many papers and books on the subject of severe disturbance and psychosis, including ‘Invasive Objects: minds under siege’ (Routledge) and, with Murray Jackson, ‘Unimaginable Storms: a search for meaning in psychosis’ (Karnac). He is joint editor of American Psychiatric Publishing’s ‘Textbook of Psychoanalysis’ and recently produced an experimental trilogy on the literary depiction of severe disturbance from the inside: The Fifth Principle (Routledge, 2010). Scum (Routledge, 2013), and The Authority of Tenderness (Routledge 2021). A psychoanalytic novel, ‘Nothing Happened’ will appear in 2026 (Sul Books).

3 continuing education credits (CEs) are available for the Pre-conference webinar and 6 CEs are available for the Scientific Meeting for licensed Psychologists, Social Workers, Psychoanalysts, and Mental Health Counselors when the programs are attended in their entirety.  Upon completion of the program evaluation by participants, a certificate of attendance will be issued indicating the number of credits earned.  The certificate serves as a document of attendance for all participants.  Psychologists will have their participation registered with SPPP (Division 39). 

Confidentiality:

VAPS and SPPP (Division 39) are committed to accessibility and nondiscrimination in CE activities and will conduct all activities in conformity with the APA’s Ethical Principles for Psychologists.  Participants are asked to be aware of the need for privacy and confidentiality throughout the program. 

Disclaimers and Notifications:
There is no commercial support for this program nor are there any relationships between the CE Sponsor, presenting organization, presenter, program content, research, grants, or other funding that could reasonably be construed as conflicts of interest.

Participants will be informed of the utility/validity of the content/approach discussed (including the basis for the statements about validity/utility), as well as the limitations of the approach and most common (and severe) risks, if any, associated with the program’s content. 

If program content becomes stressful, participants are encouraged to process these feelings during discussion periods.

Accommodations:
If participants have special needs, we will attempt to accommodate them. Please address questions, concerns, and any complaints to Gerri Oppedisano at goppedis@comcast.net or 802-660-2939.

Pre-conference and Conference Registration Information:

Lodging:

For those interested in staying overnight, VAPS has reserved a group of rooms at a discounted rate. To receive this discount, make room reservations by calling the front desk at (800) 826-7000 and mention that you are with “VAPS”.