Series of Public Lectures "Personal, Cultural, and Symbolic Sources of Resilience in Life's Turmoil"
- LAPA
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 8 hours ago
Happy New Year, 2026!
We believe and hope that light will prevail over darkness, truth over lies, and life over destruction.
Our Ukrainian colleagues wrote in their Christmas greeting letter: Facing darkness,
violence, and cruelty, we choose light, humanity, and hope every day, again and again.
Let's do what‘s in our hands.
Jungian analysts are concerned about today's crisis-ridden, unpredictable, and unsettling
world. In 2026, the Lithuanian Association for Analytical Psychology is organizing a series
of public lectures entitled "Personal, Cultural, and Symbolic Sources of Resilience in Life‘s
Turmoil“. The lectures will take place at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library. During
the lectures, we will invite you to join us in searching for external and internal sources of resilience – those that lie within the personal and collective psyche. The lectures will take place at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library in the „Renginių erdvė“. Participation is free of charge. The coordinator of the lecture series is Elona Lovčikienė, e-mail: elona.lovcikiene@gmail.com.
Dovilė Petronytė Kvedarauskienė, President of LAAP
Lina Gudaitienė, Secretary of LAAP
Series of public lectures of LAAP
"Personal, Cultural, and Symbolic Sources of Resilience in Life's Turmoil"
The lectures will take place at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library, 6:00-7:30 p.m., in the “Renginių erdvė“
January 8, 2026
Irma Skruibienė. Feeling Safe at Home: Within Walls or Within Oneself?
During this lecture, we will explore the connections between our inner and outer homes. We will discuss the resources needed to create a safe home, which we can draw from our personal, cultural, and collective human experience. We will look at the home through the prism of Carl Gustav Jung's analytical psychology and environmental psychology.
Irma Skruibienė is a psychologist and Jungian psychotherapist with a private practice. She leads seminars on environmental psychology and grief psychology, is the creator of the blog “Namų terapija” (Home Therapy), co-author of the book “Namų psichologija” (Home Psychology), and author of the book “Bilietas į senio besmegenio laidotuves” (Ticket to the Funeral of a Snowman).
February 5, 2026
Elona Lovčikienė. Imagination Against Trauma in the Lives of Prominent Lithuanian Cultural Figures.
In analytical psychology, imagination is seen as an opportunity to connect with archetypes and, thus, with their transformative powers. Back in the Romantic era, imagination was considered the highest human ability, because the mind is limited by its own structures. Archetypal imagination, using symbols and metaphors, creates a world and gives it meaning, allowing us to endure and grow after trauma. The lives of important Lithuanian cultural figures—artists, writers, poets, spiritual leaders—bear witness to the power of imagination. In this lecture, we will draw on these testimonies to show that even in the face of crisis, they can inspire creativity and further growth.
Elona Lovčikienė is a Jungian psychoanalyst, teacher and supervisor at the Lithuanian Association for Analytical Psychology, coordinator of public lectures, author of articles and conference presentations on the treatment of depression, the symbolism of dreams and fairy tales, archetypes that determine development, and the phenomenon of synchronicity.
March 5, 2026
Dr. Dovilė Petronytė-Kvedarauskienė. "Go to the Center and Sing": Culture as a Source of Resilience.
Living connection with their culture helped the people of Lithuania survive crises, acute transitional periods, and overcome cultural trauma consequences. Lithuanians stood holding hands and sang for their freedom on the Baltic Way in 1989, at Sąjūdis rallies in 1988-1990, and on January 13, 1991, when the Soviet tanks came to Vilnius. The life-changing events with the unarmed people defending their country have been called “The Singing Revolution”. In 2022, when Russia attacked Ukraine, cultural resources helped the people of Lithuania withstand their anxiety. Important cultural symbols in times of crisis cannot be artificially invented, imposed, or bought. Symbols, as the assistance of the Self, emerge when we create a connection with ourselves, with our past, and with others. Symbols help when we share them.
Dr. Dovilė Petronytė-Kvedarauskienė is a Jungian psychoanalyst, president of the Lithuanian Association for Analytical Psychology, teacher and supervisor of Analytical psychotherapy. Author of a Doctoral thesis on "Development of Relationship with Authority and the Problem of Narcissism in Psychotherapy". Author and co-author of articles and conference presentations on Analytical psychology.
April 2, 2026.
Egidija Šeputytė-Vaitulevičienė. Transformation According to Oskaras Milašius – the Path of Enduring of Opposites.
On December 14, 1914, poet Oskaras Milašius experienced a mystical vision – an extremely powerful spiritual experience, which he described in his 1915 poem "Pažinimo giesmė" (The Song of Knowledge). During this lecture, we will examine this work from the perspective of Jungian psychology. What does it mean to discover, as the poet says, "the key to the world of light" and "the key to the world of darkness"? What inner path must a person take in order for a transformation to occur and for deep knowledge to be revealed?
Egidija Šeputytė-Vaitulevičienė is a Jungian psychoanalyst, long-time editor of the magazine "Aš ir psichologija" (Me and Psychology), and co-author of the book "Namų psichologija" (Home Psychology).
April 30, 2026
Jelena Guseva. From Dissociation to Transformation: The Birth of the Divine Child.
People who have experienced emotional neglect and sexual abuse in childhood often reach a point where suicide seems to be the only way out of their suffering. However, thanks to dissociation, it is possible to avoid the "final death of the soul," and loneliness then becomes a safe place for a person in a treacherous and unreliable world. In the long run, however, such self-preservation becomes disastrous. In this lecture, I will tell a short story about "loneliness and the immortal soul." It was created by a man who, in his psychotherapy process, struggled with suicidal tendencies and other consequences of early trauma and emotional neglect. By observing his symbolic life—his dreams, images of active imagination, worlds created in the sand—we will see the possibilities for transformation unfolding. In this lecture, based on this and other psychotherapeutic cases, we will discuss the significant role played by the symbol of the divine child in this process.
Jelena Guseva is a Jungian psychoanalyst and co-author of the methodological material „Savižudybių prevencija mokykloms“ (Suicide Prevention for Schools) and the book ”Įskaudinta meilė. Skyrybos: išgyventi ir kilti“(Hurt Love. Divorce: Survive and Rise).
May 28, 2026
Goda Rukšaitė. Familiar and Hidden Sources of Resilience.
When surrounded by destruction, chaos, and uncertainty, it is important to look for sources of resilience. Is resilience innate, or can it be developed, and where can it be found? How can Carl Gustav Jung's analytical psychology and the example set by its founder contribute to the search for resilience? How does art serve, in the words of Liudas Truikys, "the restoration of cosmic balance"? I will discuss these questions using the image of a stone as a symbol of resilience, illustrating my points with examples from the work of Vilius Orvidas and other artists.
Goda Rukšaitė is a Jungian psychoanalyst, president of the Lithuanian Association for Analytical Psychology for 2018-2025, teacher and supervisor of Analytical psychotherapy. Author and co-author of numerous articles and conference presentations on core identity, the father complex, the effectiveness of psychotherapy, the competencies of psychotherapists, and the role of art in overcoming trauma.
