IoPT Conference 2025

This year's IoPT conference

Our compassion in sharing knowledge about the intricate landscape of the human mind and soul, empower professionals within all kind of social, health or welfare systems, to offer their clients to put into motion their own innate healing power- by the knowledge of the IoPT theory and the Intention-method, in all its aspects.

Welcome by Marta Thorsheim (IoPT Norway – Institute for Traumawork) and Victoria Eek (NTF)

Kamzy Gunaratnam “What creates a good life”

A personal and political perspective on trauma as a cause of alienation – Kamzy Gunaratnam – Member of the Standing Committee on Health and Care Services, Norwegian Parliament.

Dr. Prof. Franz Ruppert “Trauma and Identity – also in the light of transgenerational trauma”

A theoretical approach and why knowledge about transgenerational trauma is important when meeting people exposed to trauma. «When we know how trauma influences our identity, we may know how to support our clients out of identifications and back to their own identity» Founder of IoPT, retired professor in psychology at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich.

Maria-Magdalena Macarenco “Internalization of the Aggressor: A Perspective on Psychotraumatic Mechanisms”

Internalization of the aggressor represents a profound psychological mechanism through which victims of trauma internalize the voice, beliefs, and attitudes of their aggressors as a survival strategy. This process, first explored by Sándor Ferenczi (1933) and later expanded by Melanie Klein, Otto Kernberg, and Franz Ruppert, plays a crucial role in shaping the long-term psychological effects of trauma.

This presentation examines the dynamics of perpetrator introjects from a psychotraumatological perspective, emphasizing their role in the fragmentation of identity and the development of self-destructive patterns. Using Franz Ruppert’s Identity-Oriented Psychotrauma Therapy (IoPT) as a framework, we will explore how trauma survivors unconsciously maintain internalized messages of abuse, leading to self-criticism, self-sabotage, and difficulties in emotional regulation.

The discussion will also address therapeutic approaches to recognizing and resolving these introjects, offering insights into how individuals can regain their psychological autonomy. Through theoretical analysis and clinical examples, the presentation aims to provide a deeper understanding of the mechanisms through which trauma victims internalize their oppressors and how this process can be reversed through therapeutic intervention.

Internalization of the aggressor

Prof. Cristina Archetti “IoPT beyond the therapy room: Trauma, invisible racism and Norway’s forgotten past”

Trauma theory is not only useful in a therapeutic setting. It can also help us better understand the politics of a troubled world and what is currently happening in our society as a whole. This talk outlines the role of trauma in maintaining hidden and often denied, yet systemic, discrimination in Norway. Understanding trauma can help us build a more cohesive society by shedding light on the silent suffering of both victims and perpetrators, and by showing us that discrimination stems from "forgotten" pasts—ghosts that still haunt our present and which we can choose to face and resolve.

Vivian Broughton “Understanding the Impact of the Narcissistically Traumatised Mother in IoPT Theory & Practice”

This presentation builds on a lecture Vivian shared at the online IoPT Café last November. While many of us may have mild narcissistic tendencies, in this presentation Vivian will look at the more extreme end of the spectrum of narcissism, in the hope of helping IoPT practitioners and other practitioners and interested people understand what they are seeing, why, and how to move forwards. We will look at the DSM-5 Narcissistic Personality Disorder diagnostic category, and expand from this to form an IoPT theoretical understanding and a greater understanding of narcissism generally, as it occurs in the mother-child relationship, and the transgenerational system. This presentation is based on Vivian’s book, Trauma and Identity (Trauma en Identiteit, Trauma und Identität).

Lill Heidi Patriksson “A practical case: Couple relation – how transgenerational trauma affected our couple relationship and the way out”

In the light of IoPT theory and the Intentionmethod for couple therapy. Patriksson works as family advisor in the Stockholm county, Sweden