Memorandum of participants of discussion on the destiny of MIEK at the Agora during the 3rd World Congress on Existential Therapy in Athens
On May 7, 2023 in Athens on the way to the Parthenon, near the Temple of Asclepius, where ancient Greek medicine was practiced, and then on the ruins of the Agora, where Socrates once conducted his conversations, discussion of the further fate of MIEK in the modern world began.
In the context of the unfolding global cold war and, at the same time, the unfolding “hot” war between Russia and Ukraine, in conditions of absolute impossibility ensure confidentiality when communicating online, as well as legislative threats, which emerged for citizens of warring states who communicate with each other, it was necessary to find a way for MIEK to exist in such a world.
During the 3rd World Congress on Existential Therapy, held in Athens from 3 to May 6, 2023 graduates, students and teachers of MIEK living in the UK, Israel, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, France, Sweden, Estonia closely cooperated with each other each other, supported each other, communicated frankly. Although for frank communication on evening discussions of the results of the past day, smartphones had to be taken away from the room where the discussions took place.
Based on the results of the Congress, we could be state that representatives of the MIEK school deservedly appeared on the world professional stage. Our presentations, round tables and workshops were professional and aroused interest among professionals from different countries — from Australia to Costa Rica, and from China to Israel.
Existential therapy, which is practiced and developed at MIEK, has many features that make it original, different from the therapies of other schools, and interesting for colleagues who practice other approaches. Tis was confirmed to us by our colleagues from different countries, including the leaders of Chinese and Italian existential therapy.
Today students and graduates of MIEK live in 15 countries of the world. The readers of our magazine live in 106 countries of the world.
Our proposal to start a dialogue between different schools of existential therapy, expressed for the first time in 2019 at the 1st European Congress of Existential Therapy in Vienna, was finally heard and started to get implemented. Thus, at our suggestion, there was a demonstration of the work of representatives of three different schools of existential therapy with the same client at the Congress.
Leader of existential therapists in Latin America Susanna Signorelli donated MIEK her book on existential palliative medicine and offered to organize it translation and edition.
At the Congress, the creator of Intensive Therapeutic Life, one of our main teachers in the profession, Alexander Efimovich Alekseychik often showed himself as Socrates — he tried problematize colleagues, encourage them to act “here and now” and express yourself in this action. Unfortunately, this contrasted with the very form of Congress, where there was a minimum number of workshops, demonstrations of professional work and a huge number of stories “about”. Provoking and responding to the “here-and-now” does not belong today to what is customary to do at conferences and congresses.
Negotiations were held on the sidelines of the Congress and immediately after the Congress at a meeting of the Board European Federation for Existential Therapy (FETE) at the urging of MIEK FETE priority for 2023-24 was defined as receiving a FETE from European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP) the right to issue European Certificates in existential therapy.
At the Congress Yesselson S.B. conducted a workshop about the future and existential therapy. And, naturally, there was a discussion about the future of MIEK. It is symbolic that this happened in the place where Plato founded the Academy, which existed for 800 years (!), despite any political twists and turns of the ancient world.
Initially, it was proposed to establish MIEK.world in the neutral waters of the oceans. And so to become the first training program of a new type, not associated with the place of establishment and with any states.
As a result of the discussion, it was considered expedient to create the MIEK.world institute in independent cyberspace.
The MIEK website is expected to exist in the six official languages of the UN and, if necessary, the official languages of those countries in which there are MIEK therapeutic sites.
It is also expected that at the annual European Existential Therapy Congresses, MIEK students, alumni and faculty from different countries can meet face to face and discuss whatever they see fit, without the Internet, in full confidentiality.
Participants of discussion, 7 May 2023 (Athens):
- Alexey Bolshanin, Kislovodsk
- Natalya Gladkaya, Brighton
- Semyon Borisovich Yesselson, Rostov-on-Don
- Anastasia Zinevich, Beersheba
- Lydia Kasyanchuk, Stockholm
- Oksana Kuzina, Kyiv
- Anna Lelyk, Kyiv
- Victoria Mikhailova, Odessa
- Dmitri Ometsinsky, Sevastopol
- Maria Synenka, Kyiv
