The Milanese Weekend 2025
Winnicott and Bion.
The Birth of the Mind
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WINNICOTT AND BION
THE BIRTH OF THE MIND
Participate in the Milanese Days 2025
From 12 to 14 September 2025, the conference organized by the Milanese Center of Psychoanalysis "Cesare Musatti" entitled
"Winnicott and Bion. The Birth of the Mind".
An event in presence for Italian speakers and with simultaneous translation in English (online on zoom platform), for not Italian speakers, psychologists, psychoanalysts, psychiatrists and child neuropsychiatrists, healthcare professionals and enthusiasts of psychoanalysis and the functioning of the mind.
Focus on the topic
At the heart of contemporary psychoanalytic reflection, the imaginary dialogue between Donald W. Winnicott and Wilfred R. Bion continues to represent an inexhaustible source of inspiration and transformation.
The conference “Winnicott and Bion. The Birth of the Mind”, which will be held in Milan from 12 to 14 September 2025, intends to offer a lively opportunity for meeting, exchange and shared thought to deepen the work of these two great authors and their clinical and theoretical legacy.
We do not want to limit ourselves to retracing the main elements of the theories of two of the most influential psychoanalysts of the twentieth century, often considered the promoters of a real paradigm shift in the history of psychoanalysis, what many have defined as the emergence of ontological psychoanalysis. The main aim of the conference is to generate a space of tension, comparison and dialogue between the two theories, in which new thoughts can be born.
We propose to explore the intersection between the conceptual worlds of Winnicott and Bion as a threshold to cross. Not a point of arrival, but a lively, open and transformative field of work. We think it could be an opportunity for all participants to experience, in theoretical reflection, in clinical practice and in sharing, that process of birth of the mind that both authors were so profoundly able to think.
The program is divided into three parts: a first historical-theoretical and introductory section, dedicated to the genesis of Winnicott and Bion's thought and their mutual influences; a second part focused on the contemporary developments of their theories and on some possible integrations; and finally a third clinical section, in which thought can be measured against practice and its challenges, giving space to the sharing and discussion of clinical material.
Plan
FAST Congress Center - Piazzale Rodolfo Morandi 2, Milan
Explore the conference's thematic sessions to delve deeper into key aspects. A rich opportunity to engage with internationally renowned psychoanalysts on a central theme for the treatment of psychic suffering in the contemporary era.
Friday, September 12, 2025
The historical-theoretical section will introduce the political and cultural climate of the British Psychoanalytical Society in post-war London, marked by the Controversial Discussions. Through references to the figures of Winnicott and Bion and their little-known confrontation, we will explore how, in a context of tension, a new form of psychoanalytic thought could emerge. A reflection on the origins of a revolutionary change.
Saturday, September 13, 2025
In the section dedicated to contemporary developments , some of the protagonists of today's psychoanalysis will present their theoretical elaborations inspired by Winnicott and Bion. New conceptual and clinical languages that prolong and transform their legacy will be explored. An opportunity to grasp the current vitality of their thought.
Sunday, September 14, 2025
The clinical section includes the presentation of two cases, each discussed starting from the theoretical vertices of Winnicott and Bion. The analysts involved will put the two perspectives into dialogue, bringing out similarities, differences and creative tensions. A round table conceived as a space capable of stimulating clinical and theoretical comparison.
FRIDAY 12 SEPTEMBER
14.00 Registration of participants
14.30 Introduction by the President of the Milanese Center for Psychoanalysis – Giorgio Mattana
14.45 Presentation of the conference days - Monica Bomba , Scientific Secretary of the Milanese Psychoanalysis Center
15.00 – Chair: Lucio Sarno
Luisa Marino – A star is born. How a new theory is born. The transmission of traumas and theories in psychoanalysis. A “personal” reflection
Luca Di Donna - Winnicott and Bion. Past, Present and Future Prospects
16.45 - Discussion
18.00 Welcome cocktail
SATURDAY 13 SEPTEMBER
8.30 Registration of participants
9.00 Greeting from the Executive of the Italian Psychoanalytic Society
Winnicott - Bion
Chair: Stefano Bolognini
9.30 - Jan Abram - Holding and Containing: on the specificity of Winnicott's object relations theory
10.30 – Mauro Manica An oracle (perhaps a miracle) to the British Psychoanalytical Society: Winnicott's letter to Bion of 5 October 1967
11.10 - Break
11.40 - Discussion
13.00 - Lunch break
Bion – Winnicott
Chair: David Ventura
2.30 pm - Giuseppe Civitarese The original meeting: Psyche, Eros and the intercorporeal bond
15.30 – Violet Pietrantonio Born to be alive - Bion, Winnicott and the "Ontologic Revolution" in psychoanalysis. The discovery of the "mind renewing" effect of α stem cells.
16.10 - Break
16.40 - Discussion
19.00 - End of the day
8.30pm - Dinner + dancing at 55 Milano (65eu per person)
SUNDAY 14 SEPTEMBER
8.30 Registration of participants
Chair: Carlo Brosio and Giovanni Foresti
9.30 – Presentation of the clinical material: Marinella Linardos
Discussing the case: Gabriella Giustino , Anna Oliva De Cesarei
Concluding thoughts: Carlo Brosio
10.45 - break
11.15 - Presentation of the clinical material: Gabriele Cassullo
Discussing the case: Diana Norsa , Gianni Beglia
Concluding Reflections: Giovanni Foresti
12.30 – discussion with participants
13.00 – M. Bomba - Closing of proceedings
Introduce and present the Conference
Art Director
Giorgio Mattana
Milan - Italian Psychoanalytic Society
President of the Milanese Center for Psychoanalysis
Graduated in philosophy and psychology, he is a full member of the Italian Psychoanalytic Society (SPI) and the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA). He is president of the Milanese Psychoanalysis Center, European representative of the Confidentiality Committee of the IPA, and a contract professor at the Master's Degree in Philosophy and Psychoanalysis at the University of Calabria. He was editor of the Rivista di Psicoanalisi and Spiweb. He has published works in Italian and international journals on the comparison between models, on the epistemology of psychoanalysis and on the relationships between psychoanalysis, philosophy of mind and neuroscience.
Tech Lead
Monica Bomba
Milan - Italian Psychoanalytic Society
Scientific Secretary of the Milanese Center for Psychoanalysis
Medical doctor, child neuropsychiatrist and psychoanalyst in Milan, member of the Italian Psychoanalytic Society and IPA. Since 2025, she has been the scientific secretary of the Milanese Center for Psychoanalysis "Cesare Musatti". Since 2023, she has been the editor in chief of L’Annata Psicoanalitica Internazionale, the Italian edition of the Annuals of the International Journal of Psychoanalysis. She is a member of the IPA and the EPF Communication Committee. From 2019 to 2023, she was the European Vice President of IPSO. She has published articles and book chapters on child and adolescent psychoanalysis, and numerous works published in international journals on severe psychopathology in adolescence.
Friday, September 12
Presenters and chairs of the historical-theoretical section
Luisa Marino
London - Italian Psychoanalytic Society
British Psychoanalytical Society (guest member) PINC (community member)
A star is born. How a new theory is born. The transmission of traumas and theories in psychoanalysis. A “personal” reflection
Friday, Sept 12 - afternoon
Clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst of the Italian Psychoanalytic Society, guest member of the British Psychoanalytic Society, and community member of PINC, Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California. She lives and works in London where she moved from Italy in 2011. She was President of IPSO, the International Psychoanalytic Students Organization; she is currently chair of the IPA committee for the emigration and relocation of psychoanalysts in the world. In addition to her private practice as a psychoanalyst, she has worked for a long time in Italy as a group and individual psychotherapist for adult and adolescent patients, dual diagnosis in various rehabilitation communities. Among the various publications, she is co-author of the book Reading Italian Psychoanalysis, (Borgogno, Luchetti, Marino-Coe), 2016, published by Routledge which was awarded the prestigious Best edited book Award of 2016, by the American Board and Academy for Psychoanalysis. Since 2011, she has been involved, among other things, in the adaptation of psychoanalytic and psychotherapeutic work to new technologies that allow remote treatments. Passionate about art, she published a book of poems in 2009 entitled Angolo di-stanza.
Luca Di Donna
San Francisco - Psychoanalytical Institute of North California
Winnicott and Bion: Past, Present and Future Prospects
Friday, Sept 12 - afternoon
Supervisor and training analyst at PINC (Psychoanalytic Institute Northern California). For the University of California he is the Course Director for the Emergency Psychiatric Intervention Program. He is an “emergency psychologist” at the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Zion. Founder of the Fort Da psychoanalytic journal, Co-Editor of the PINC newsletter, Co-Editor of the PINC journal, Critique.
Lucio Sarno
Milan - Italian Psychoanalytic Society
Chair
Friday, Sept 12 - afternoon
Born in Palermo in 1948, he is Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan. Graduated cum laude in Psychology and Philosophy at the University of Palermo, he continued his academic training in Switzerland, obtaining a PhD in Genetic and Clinical Psychology. He then specialized in Clinical Psychology, immediately integrating his academic path with clinical practice. He has carried out research and teaching activities in various universities, becoming Full Professor in 1990. He has taught in Palermo, was Visiting Professor in Lyon and, since 2002, has been a permanent professor at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, where he also directed the Clinical and Health Psychology Service, the School of Specialization in Health Psychology and currently the Counseling Service for university employees. Psychoanalyst since 1980, he is an Ordinary Member with Training functions of the Italian Psychoanalytic Society (SPI) and the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA). He is also a Teaching Member of the Italian Institute of Group Psychoanalysis, of which he was founder and president. He has held numerous institutional roles in the psychoanalytic field and is the author of over two hundred scientific publications. He lives and works in Milan.
Saturday, September 13
Presenters and chairs of the section dedicated to the developments of contemporary psychoanalysis
Jan Abram
London - British Psychoanalytical Society
Holding and Containing: On the Specificity of Winnicott's Object Relations Theory
Saturday, Sept 13 - morning
Jan Abram is a training and supervising analyst of the British Psychoanalytic Society and is in private practice in London. He is President of the European Psychoanalytic Federation and Visiting Professor at the Psychoanalysis Unit, University College London. Jan Abram has published numerous books and articles, in particular: The Language of Winnicott, first published in 1996 (Outstanding Academic Book of the Year in 1997) (second edition in 2007 and translated into several languages; Classic Book PEP); Donald Winnicott Today (2013) for the New Library of Psychoanalysis series (Gradiva Award finalist); The Clinical Paradigms of Melanie Klein and Donald Winnicott: comparisons and dialogues (co-authored with R.D. Hinshelwood, Routledge 2018); The Surviving Object: psychoanalytic clinical essays on psychic survival-of-the-object for the New Library of Psychoanalysis, Routledge (2022); and the second book with R.D. Hinshelwood: The Clinical Paradigms of Donald Winnicott and Wilfred Bion: comparisons and dialogues (2023) (finalist for the Gradiva Award).
Mauro Manica
Milan - Italian Psychoanalytic Society
An oracle (perhaps a miracle) to the British Psychoanalytical Society: Winnicott's letter to Bion of 5 October 1967
Saturday, Sept 13 - morning
Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, full member with training functions of the Italian Psychoanalytic Society and the International Psychoanalytic Association. He is an honorary member of the Italian Association of Analytical Psychology. In addition to various contributions to scientific journals, he has published several volumes on the psychoanalysis of serious pathologies, on the theory and the analytical technique. He received the Tycho award of the IPA. He was editor of the Rivista di Psicoanalisi.
Giuseppe Civitarese
Pavia- Italian Psychoanalytic Society
The Original Encounter: Psyche, Eros and the Intercorporeal Bond
Saturday, September 13 - afternoon
Psychiatrist, PhD in Psychiatry and Relational Sciences, and psychoanalyst with training functions at the SPI, IPA and APsaA, he lives and works in Pavia. He was a member of the executive committee of the SPI in the role of director of the Rivista di Psicoanalisi. He is part, among others, of the board of the American Journal of Psychoanalysis, Psychoanalytic Quarterly, Jahrbuch der Psychoanalyse (until February 2025), and was a member of the College of the International Journal of Psychoanalysis (until 2024). He edits the Field Theory Series for Routledge. He carries out clinical supervision activities in Italy and abroad and was a keynote speaker at the IPA congress in Mexico City and at numerous international congresses. He has more than 400 publications to his credit, many of which in major international journals where the peer-review rule applies. He is the author of sixteen books as an author, almost all translated into English (and some into Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Hungarian, Polish, and Japanese), and five books as an editor. The latest titles in Italian are: The Hour of Birth: Psychoanalysis of the Sublime and Contemporary Art, 2020 (Gradiva-Lavarone Prize); On Arrogance: An Essay on Psychoanalysis, 2023; Introduction to the Theory of the Analytic Field, 2024; The Limits of Interpretation: Essays on Bion and the Analytic Field, 2025; The Horse Will Come into the Room: Animality, Humanity, and the Unconscious in Renaissance Art, 2025 (in press). In 2022 he received the Sigourney Award.
Violet Pietrantonio
Bologna - Italian Psychoanalytic Society
Born to be alive - Bion, Winnicott and the "Ontologic Revolution" in psychoanalysis. The discovery of the "mind renewing" effect of α stem cells.
Saturday, September 13 - afternoon
Psychologist, specialized in Clinical Psychology, psychoanalyst, associate member of S.P.I. and I.P.A. She lives and works in Bologna, as a psychoanalyst, with children, adolescents, adults and couples. She is particularly interested in the study of the development of dream work and the dream functions of the mind in the psychoanalytic process. On this topic she has presented papers at S.P.I., I.P.A and BION conferences and has written some articles and contributions to collective books. Since 2016 she has been a teacher in the course Field Theory in Contemporary Psychoanalysis, at the specialization school in psychoanalytic psychotherapy A.P.A., Chieti.
Stefano Bolognini
Bologna - Italian Psychoanalytic Society
Chair Saturday 13-09 morning
Psychiatrist, analyst with Training Functions of the Italian Psychoanalytic Society, he was Scientific Secretary and then President; from 2001 to 2004 IPA Board Member, and from 2013 to 2017 he was President of the International Psychoanalytical Association. From 2002 to 2012 he was a member of the European Editorial Board of the “International Journal of Psychoanalysis”; since 2013 he has been part of the Advisory Board of the International Psychoanalytic University (IPU) of Berlin. He is an Honorary Member of the New York Contemporary Freudian Society (CFS); of the Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies (LAISPS); and of the Centro Psicoanalitico di Firenze (CPF). Founder and first Chair of the “IPA Inter-Regional Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychoanalysis” (IRED). He has published 290 psychoanalytic works in the main specialized journals and in numerous volumes in Italy and abroad. He has published 8 books, later translated into various languages, dealing with empathy, inter-psychic relationship, institutional problems and training. His book “Vital Flows between Self and Non-Self” won the American Gradiva Award (Best Book 2023). He lives and works in Bologna.
David Ventura
Rome - Italian Psychoanalytic Society
Chair Saturday 13-09 afternoon
Psychologist specialized in Clinical Psychology, Psychoanalyst Associate Member of the SPI and of the IPA, he is a member and current Scientific Secretary of the Centro di Psicoanalisi Romano. For the SPI he was Reader of the Rivista di Psicoanalisi and member of the National Commission ‘Psicoanalisi e Giustizia’, also dealing with the cycle ‘Arte e Psicoanalisi’ in collaboration with the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome. Teacher at various Schools of Specialization in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, for years he has cultivated an interest in the thought of Winnicott, Bion and the post-Bionian tradition.
Sunday, September 14
Presenters, discussants and chairs of the clinical section
Anna Oliva De Cesarei
Brescia - Italian Psychoanalytic Society
Discussant
Full-time psychoanalyst with training functions of the SPI and IPA, vice-president of the SPI 2001-2005, secretary of the advanced course in psychoanalysis of children and adolescents 2002-2007 and secretary again starting from March 2025. Lives and works in Brescia. He has published numerous works on the theme of early trauma and related problems on the sense of existence, on the bipolarity narcissism-autism, and on the difficulty in structuring a psychic scene. He has published "Alla ricerca del filo con la vita" Franco Angeli editore and "Umano, troppo umana" in the psychoanalytic clinic Franco Angeli Editore (April 2025).
Gabriella Giustino
Milan - Italian Psychoanalytic Society
Discussant
Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst with Training Functions of the SPI and the IPA. She was National Secretary of the SPI. She has published numerous scientific works in national and international journals and is the author, in the International Journal of Psychoanalysis, of works on dreams, the concept of fantasy and hallucinations in the psychotic state. She is co-author of the book: "La mente sensoriale e lo fantasmagorico" Franco Angeli publisher, Rome 2022. She is currently the Representative for Europe in the IPA Board.
Marinella Linardos
Rome, Italian Association of Psychoanalysis
Clinical material presenter
Clinical Psychologist, Psychotherapist. Ordinary Psychoanalyst of the Italian Association of Psychoanalysis (A.I.Psi) Full member of the International Association of Psychoanalysis (I.P.A). President of the Working Parties Commission of the I.P.A. Moderator and Coordinator for Europe of the psychoanalytic research group CCM, Clinical Comparative Method. Lecturer of “Medical and Health Psychology”, at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Catholic University, Rome. Member of the Ad Hoc group of the European Federation of “Psychoanalysis and Literature” where he presented works on Boccaccio, Pirandello and Cervantes. This year he will present at the next European conference of psychoanalysis a work on “The Tin Drum” by G. Grass. Member of the “Psychosomatics” Commission at the European Federation of Psychoanalysis. He has been collaborating with the poetry prize “Fino in fondo” in the hospital for several years where he is a member of the jury and commentator on the importance of poetry with cancer patients. He works as a Hospital Psychologist at the Integrated Center for Senology, Fondazione Policlinico A. Gemelli, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome Member of the Italian Association of Classical Studies, Ancient and Modern Delegation for which every year since 2018 he has presented a contribution for the World Day of the Greek Language and Culture. In the latest editions he has presented works on Dream and Myth (2021), The Places of Oedipus (2022), Medea (2023), Therapeia (2024), Pothos, the god of nostalgia (2025).
Gabriele Cassullo
Turin, Italian Psychoanalytic Society
Clinical material presenter
PhD, psychoanalyst associated with the Italian Psychoanalytic Society and the International Psychoanalytical Association. He is also Co-Director of the International Forum of Psychoanalysis, member of the editorial board of the International Psychoanalytic Journal and of the Committee "Psychoanalysis and the University" of the International Psychoanalytical Association.
Diana Norsa
Rome - Italian Psychoanalytic Society
Discussant
Psychoanalyst, full member of SPI, expert in B/A, works as a freelancer in Rome. She was a member of the “Couple and Families Psychoanalysis Committee” of the IPA from 2007 to 2017, currently an additional member. She was a member of the Commission for Psychoanalysis of the Couple and the Family of the SPI (Italian Psychoanalytic Society) from 2017 to 2021. She is currently president of the Centro di Psicoanalisi Romano (CdPR). She published the volume “Equivoci di coppia” in 2007. With G.C. Zavattini “Intimità e Collusione” in 1997, with Giuliana Bruno (edited by) “La psicoterapia psicoanalitica madre-bambino” in 2009.
Giovanni Beglia
Pavia - Italian Psychoanalytic Society
Discussant
Psychiatry and ordinary psychoanalyst SPI IPA
Carlo Brosio
Turin - Italian Psychoanalytic Society
Chair
Psychoanalyst, full member with training functions of the Italian Psychoanalytic Society and full member of the IPA. He was honorary judge at the Court of Appeal of the Juvenile Court of Turin. Former scientific secretary of the Turin Center for Psychoanalysis, local branch of the Italian Psychoanalytic Society. Past President of the Turin Center for Psychoanalysis, local branch of the Italian Psychoanalytic Society. He has published works in Italian and foreign journals on psychoanalytic topics. He has taught and teaches in various schools of specialization in clinical psychology. He is a teacher at the Training Institute of the Italian Psychoanalytic Society. He is a contract professor at the School of Specialization in Clinical Psychology of the University of Turin. He is a contract professor at the School of Specialization in Clinical Psychology of the Catholic University, Brescia branch.
Giovanni Foresti
Pavia - Italian Psychoanalytic Society
Chair
Degree in medicine and specialization in psychiatry. PhD in relational sciences at the University of Milan. Psychoanalytic training at the Milanese Psychoanalytic Center and, in 2012, assignment of the functions of analyst with teaching functions. Representative for Europe in the IPA Committee for Psychoanalytic Training (PEC), he is currently President of the Psychoanalytic Center of Pavia.
During the days of the conference, the photo exhibition ‘Psychoanalytic Portraits’ by Giovanni Sinico will be open to registered participants
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Registrations
early bird:
06/30/2025
Are you a professional and want to follow the conference in person?
By June 30th : 190 eu
From 1st July to 8th September : 220eu
Are you an SPI candidate, a student or a specialist and would you like to follow the conference in person?
By June 30th : 90 eu
From 1st July to 8th September : 110eu
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Do you want to participate in the dinner&dancing on Saturday 13th September?
+ 65eu per person
Are you a professional and want to follow the conference online?
By June 30th : 210 eu
From 1st July to 10th September : 240eu
Are you a SPI candidate, a student or a specialist and would you like to follow the conference online?
By June 30th : 100 eu
From 1st July to 10th September : 120eu
Cena + dancing
Per gli iscritti al Convegno e per eventuali accompagnatori, sabato 13 settembre alle ore 20:30 ci ritroveremo per un momento di convivialità presso il “55 Milano” (Via Piero della Francesca, 55).
Il locale, noto anche come Fifty-Five, è uno spazio accogliente e ampio, situato in zona Sempione, caratterizzato da un’atmosfera informale ma curata, ideale per trascorrere del tempo insieme dopo i lavori congressuali.
La serata prevede una cena seduta, seguita – per chi lo desidera – da un momento di musica e ballo. Sarà un’occasione per incontrarsi e condividere qualche ora in un contesto più rilassato.
Costo della cena: €65 a persona.
A breve sarà disponibile il link per confermare la partecipazione e procedere con l’iscrizione.
FAST Congress Center
How to get there
The FAST Congress Center is located in Piazzale Rodolfo Morandi 2, 20121 Milan, in the heart of the city, a short distance from the Duomo and the Central Station. It is easily accessible by various means of public transport. Public transport to reach the FAST Congress Center Metro: Line M1 (red), Palestro stop Line M3 (yellow), Turati or Montenapoleone stops Istituto Besta Bus: Lines 43, 85, 94, NM3, N94 Tram: Line 1, Piazza Cavour stop Suburban train: Lines S1, S5, S6 The Piazza Cavour (tram 1, bus 85 and 94) and Turati (metro M3) stops are among the closest, about 3-5 minutes on foot from the congress center. How to get there from Milan Central Station By subway: Take the M3 line (yellow) towards Comasina and get off at the Turati stop. From there, the FAST Congress Center can be reached on foot in about 5 minutes. By tram: Take tram 1 towards Greco and get off at the Piazza Cavour stop. The congress center is about a 3-minute walk from the stop. On foot: The distance is about 2 km, which can be covered in 15-20 minutes. How to get there from Milan Linate Airport By bus and subway: Take bus 73 (or line X73) to San Babila. From there, take the M1 line (red) towards Sesto 1° Maggio and get off at the Palestro stop. The FAST Congress Center can be reached on foot in about 9 minutes from the stop. By taxi: The journey takes about 20-30 minutes, depending on traffic. For further information, you can consult the official website of the FAST Congress Center: www.fast.mi.it
Hotel in agreement
Hotel Marconi - Via Fabio Filzi 3, Milan - www.marconihotel.it). For reservations: tel. 0266985561 - info@marconihotel.it In Milan, the cost of hotels is often quite high. We are pleased to have established an agreement with Hotel Marconi, located in a relatively close position to the Congress Center. The means of transport in the city are very functional and efficient, including trams, subway and buses, which offer direct connections to the FAST Congress Center. Therefore, it may be advantageous to consider accommodations further away, easily reachable in a short time.
Contacts
