Previous Offerings

The Center for Psychological Humanities & Ethics hosts and co-sponsors events to engage the public and academic community. Read more about our past conferences and events and email psychumanities@bc.edu with any questions.

    

Archived CE Offerings

We offer lectures and workshops that promote conversations on human identity, suffering, and potential, with particular concern for the enduring ethical questions at the heart of human existence.

Many of our offerings provide continuing education (CE's) for psychologists (APA), licensed mental health counselors (LMHC), and licensed independent/clinical social workers (LI/LCSW). 

The Vibrant Center: An Urgent Consciousness for Our Divided Times

The Vibrant Center: An Urgent Consciousness for Our Divided Times

Kirk J. Schneider, Ph.D.
October 2026
Melanie Klein: Theory and Practice

Melanie Klein: Theory and Practice

Jason Jones, MD
September 2026 - March, 2027
Poetry for Clinicians: Poems that Facilitate Emotional Connection

Poetry for Clinicians: Poems that Facilitate Emotional Connection

Sandra Buechler, Ph.D.
September, 2026
Recovering Humanism: Renaissance Perspectives on the Human Psyche

Recovering Humanism: Renaissance Perspectives on the Human Psyche

Matthew Clemente
June-July, 2026
Creative Writing For Clinicians

Creative Writing For Clinicians

William J. Hendel, JD
May-July 2026
Minding Our Stories, Storying Our Minds: Rachel Aviv on Stories That Heal and Stories That Constrain

Minding Our Stories, Storying Our Minds: Rachel Aviv on Stories That Heal and Stories That Constrain

Rachel Aviv and Justin Karter, PhD
April, 2026
Narrative Medicine for Clinicians

Narrative Medicine for Clinicians

Danielle Spencer, Ph.D.
April, 2026
The Transformative Landscape of Suffering: Concepts, Evidence, and Implications

The Transformative Landscape of Suffering: Concepts, Evidence, and Implications

Richard G. Cowden, Ph.D.
March, 2026
Stories of Redemption and Acceptance in American Lives

Stories of Redemption and Acceptance in American Lives

Dan P. McAdam
March, 2026
Writing Short Stories: Psychological Fiction and the Problems of Finitude

Writing Short Stories: Psychological Fiction and the Problems of Finitude

February to May, 2026
William J. Hendel, JD and Kyleigh Leddy, LMSW
Bearing Loss: Psychoanalytic and Literary Perspectives

Bearing Loss: Psychoanalytic and Literary Perspectives

Dr. Sandra Buechler
Jan to May, 2026
Creative Non-Fiction for Clinicians: A 2 Day In-Person Workshop

Creative Non-Fiction for Clinicians: A 2 Day In-Person Workshop

Derek Hook
January 2026
ATTENSITY! Human Attention, Solidarity, and Radical World-remaking

ATTENSITY! Human Attention, Solidarity, and Radical World-remaking

D. Graham Burnett
November 6, 2025
Riding with Oedipus: On the Other Side of the Middle Passage

Riding with Oedipus: On the Other Side of the Middle Passage

Hortense Spillers
September 18, 2025
Freud the Philosopher: Rethinking Psychology's Most Provocative Thinker

Freud the Philosopher: Rethinking Psychology's Most Provocative Thinker

Matthew Clemente
September, 2025 - May, 2026
Development, Therapy, and Ethics

Development, Therapy, and Ethics

Jason Jones, MD
September 2025 - December 2025
D.W. Winnicott: Development, Therapy, and Ethics

D.W. Winnicott: Development, Therapy, and Ethics

Jason Jones, MD
September 2025 - December 2025
Polyphonic Suffering: Reading Shakespeare to Respond to Illness

Polyphonic Suffering: Reading Shakespeare to Respond to Illness

Arthur Frank
March 12, 2025
Awakening Wonder: Teaching Philosophy to Teens and Tweens in Texas

Awakening Wonder: Teaching Philosophy to Teens and Tweens in Texas

Claire Katz
February 20, 2025
Human Strivings in William Shakespeare and Erich Fromm

Human Strivings in William Shakespeare and Erich Fromm

Sandra Buechler
January-May, 2025
Emerson for Clinicians: Forging the American Psyche

Emerson for Clinicians: Forging the American Psyche

Matthew Clemente
January-May, 2025
There is No Place For Us: Working and Homeless in America

There is No Place For Us: Working and Homeless in America

Brian Goldstone
Love & Ideology

Love & Ideology

Orna Guralnik
Kierkegaard for Clinicians: Finitude, Despair, and the Absurdity of Hope

Kierkegaard for Clinicians: Finitude, Despair, and the Absurdity of Hope

Matthew Clemente
The Hermeneutics of Attention

The Hermeneutics of Attention

D. Graham Burnett
Practical Wisdom in the Professions

Practical Wisdom in the Professions

Kristján Kristjánsson
Neo-fascism and the Unregulated Body: sites of persecution and resistance

Neo-fascism and the Unregulated Body: sites of persecution and resistance

Sue Grand
Law, Psychology, and Healing: Exploring Racial, Ethnic, and LGBTQ+ Representation in Education

Law, Psychology, and Healing: Exploring Racial, Ethnic, and LGBTQ+ Representation in Education

Hector Adames, Maryam Jernigan-Noesi, & Mary Kelly Persyn
The Fascist Turn: Race and Gender in Totalitarian Regimes

The Fascist Turn: Race and Gender in Totalitarian Regimes

Sue Grand, Komal Choksi
Flourishing in the Digital Age

Flourishing in the Digital Age

Tom Harrison
Melancholic Joy In An Age Of Despair

Melancholic Joy In An Age Of Despair

Brian Treanor
Erring Together: Some Notes On Distortion, Art, And Others

Erring Together: Some Notes On Distortion, Art, And Others

Ben Lerner
Non-Reductive Psychological Accounts of Religious Experience

Non-Reductive Psychological Accounts of Religious Experience

Ariel Glucklich
Navigating Inequity and Advancing Equitable Change at Scale

Navigating Inequity and Advancing Equitable Change at Scale

Kimberlyn Leary
On Care in Mental Health: Suffering, Healing, and the Human Condition

On Care in Mental Health: Suffering, Healing, and the Human Condition

Arthur Kleinman
Gender Transition Between Life and Death

Gender Transition Between Life and Death

Patricia Gherovici
Merleau-Ponty For Clinicians: Restorying/Restoring The “Body” And Incarnation Of Narratives

Merleau-Ponty For Clinicians: Restorying/Restoring The “Body” And Incarnation Of Narratives

M. Mookie C. Manalili
Dostoevsky for Clinicians: Murder, Madness, and the Conflicted Human Heart

Dostoevsky for Clinicians: Murder, Madness, and the Conflicted Human Heart

Matthew Clemente
Existential Ethics: Recovering from Narcissism

Existential Ethics: Recovering from Narcissism

Robin R. Chalfin, Robert Fox
And We Shall Be Changed: Radical Ethics for the Humanistic Disciplines

And We Shall Be Changed: Radical Ethics for the Humanistic Disciplines

Donna Orange
Unjustifying Pain: Levinas’s Philosophy of Useless Suffering

Unjustifying Pain: Levinas’s Philosophy of Useless Suffering

Eric Severson
International Academic Collaboration at a Time of Geopolitical Strife

International Academic Collaboration at a Time of Geopolitical Strife

Dr. Hans de Wit
Social Psychoanalysis: Theory and Practice

Social Psychoanalysis: Theory and Practice

Dr. Lynne Layton
Forgiveness, Gratitude and Hope: A Positive Psychological, Philosophical and Theological Examination

Forgiveness, Gratitude and Hope: A Positive Psychological, Philosophical and Theological Examination

Dr. Liz Gulliford
Anger Gaslighting and Affective Injustice

Anger Gaslighting and Affective Injustice

Dr. Shiloh Whitney
Guilt and Shame in the City: On the Necessities of Moral Legislation

Guilt and Shame in the City: On the Necessities of Moral Legislation

William J. Hendel, J.D.
Unruly Therapeutic: Black Feminist Space-making and Living the Change We Want to Be

Unruly Therapeutic: Black Feminist Space-making and Living the Change We Want to Be

Foluke Taylor
Ars Vitae: A Dialogue On Psychological Humanities

Ars Vitae: A Dialogue On Psychological Humanities

Dr. Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn
Camus For Clinicians: Morality, Meaning, And Justice In Confrontation With The Absurd

Camus For Clinicians: Morality, Meaning, And Justice In Confrontation With The Absurd

Matthew Clemente
Biopolitics: Foucault And Beyond

Biopolitics: Foucault And Beyond

Ann Pellegrini
Theory As A Stone: The Decolonial Now

Theory As A Stone: The Decolonial Now

Dr. Stephen Sheehi
Liberal Political Theory and Radical Ethics: Revisiting Rawls and His Critics

Liberal Political Theory and Radical Ethics: Revisiting Rawls and His Critics

Donna Orange
Climate Emergency and Radical Ethics: Colonialism, Racial Injustice, and Climate Justice

Climate Emergency and Radical Ethics: Colonialism, Racial Injustice, and Climate Justice

Donna Orange
Responsibility and Burnout: Toward a Sabbatical Philosophy of Time

Responsibility and Burnout: Toward a Sabbatical Philosophy of Time

Eric Severson & Rosemary Mulvihill Hybrid Lecture
Only Connect: Friendship, Suffering, and Character

Only Connect: Friendship, Suffering, and Character

L. Gregory Jones
Workshop 4: Deepening Life Meaning and Purpose

Workshop 4: Deepening Life Meaning and Purpose

Erika Prijatelj and Tone Stevelj
Workshop 3: Moving from Loneliness to Connection

Workshop 3: Moving from Loneliness to Connection

Erika Prijatelj and Tone Stevelj
Workshop 2: Cultivating Positive Self-Talk

Workshop 2: Cultivating Positive Self-Talk

Erika Prijatelj and Tone Stevelj
Workshop 1: Overcoming Distractibility

Workshop 1: Overcoming Distractibility

Erika Prijatelj and Tone Stevelj
Burnout And Rejuvenation: Inner Balance For Mental Health Clinicians

Burnout And Rejuvenation: Inner Balance For Mental Health Clinicians

Erika Prijatelj and Tone Stevelj
Bilingual Literacy and Literature

Bilingual Literacy and Literature

Patrick Proctor, Silvia Fomin, and Jasmine Alvarado
Sustaining Lives of Meaning and Purpose in the Healthcare Industry

Sustaining Lives of Meaning and Purpose in the Healthcare Industry

David Goodman, Erik Owens, Kerry Cronin, Kate Jackson-Meyer, Andrea Vicini, Colleen Simonelli, and Katherine E. Gregory
Nietzsche for Clinicians: Learning to Live Between Trauma and Tragedy

Nietzsche for Clinicians: Learning to Live Between Trauma and Tragedy

Matthew Clemente
#racialtraumaisreal: Assessment and Treatment of the Psychological Consequences of Racism

#racialtraumaisreal: Assessment and Treatment of the Psychological Consequences of Racism

Dr. Maryam Jernigan-Noesi

Division 24 of the APA Spring Meeting 2023

Boston College was honored to host the annual Spring Meeting of the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology (STPP – APA Division 24) in 2023. This gathering brought together scholars, practitioners, and students to build community and exchange ideas around the theory, practice, and reimagining of psychology as both a discipline and a force for social change. ​The conference's presidential theme was “Constructing the Psychological Humanities.”

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"Trauma and Its Discontents" Public Offerings

The rise of psychological discourse as one of our culture’s dominant approaches to self-understanding has yielded undeniable benefits. Our increased awareness of psychological suffering has provided us with a fuller, more authentic picture of human life and helped us to respond to the needs of those weighed down by life’s tragedies. Along with such benefits, however, come losses and distortions that contribute to the loneliness and despair felt throughout contemporary American life. There are few examples of this ambiguity more glaring than the sudden pervasiveness of “trauma” and “trauma-informed” language systems. The rapid rise of trauma as an interpretive lens through which to understand human behavior has brought with it both advantages and costs. The purpose of this unique gathering is to open the space for interdisciplinary dialogue–including disciplines from across the humanities such as history, philosophy, theology, psychology, sociology, and literature–to interrogate and draw out the underlying assumptions of today’s trauma discourse. With an aim of assisting the field of psychology to take seriously more sophisticated notions of human flourishing, this critical engagement will offer both insights and critiques of one of contemporary society’s most ubiquitous concepts.

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Justice Related Events

"Hosting Earth" Initiative

The "Hosting Earth" initiative brings together a group of psychologically sophisticated thinkers to speak on the topic of the psyche’s relation to the earth and how we both consciously and unconsciously play guest and host to the world in which we live. From Marjolein Oele’s reflections on the dirt at our feet to Sean McGrath’s speculations on the future of our species, from James Morely’s humanistic ecology to Donna Orange’s unearthing of our most inhuman practices, from Ed Casey’s artistic hospitality to Matthew Clemente's aesthetical musings, these dialogues are rife with insight, openness, imagination, and hope.

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2024 Annual Meeting for Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology

The Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology (SQIP) was thrilled to host their annual meeting in 2024 at Boston College. The society invited scholars, practitioners, and students to contribute to a vibrant discussion that challenges the status quo and reimagines psychological knowledge. The field of psychology stands at a critical juncture, where the imperative to reflect on and address its historical underpinnings in racism and colonialism is undeniable. The conference encouraged submissions that engage critically with psychology's racist and colonial past, offer reflexive qualitative research, and propose paradigms or methods that foreground knowledge from historically underrepresented or marginalized communities.

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Toward the Psychological Humanities International Conference

In June 2026, scholars, artists, colleagues, and friends gathered in Paris to celebrate the life and work of Mark Freeman and to explore the possibilities of the psychological humanities.

Toward the Psychological Humanities brought together an international community of scholars to honor Mark Freeman’s remarkable career and his contributions to psychology and the human sciences. Across nearly four decades as Professor of Psychology at the College of the Holy Cross, Freeman’s work has explored narrative, memory, identity, ethics, aesthetics, and the relationship between psychology and the humanities. The conference took his work as both an occasion for celebration and a point of departure for thinking about the future of psychological inquiry.

Inspired especially by Freeman’s Toward the Psychological Humanities: A Modest Manifesto on the Future of Psychology (2023), participants considered what becomes possible when psychology enters more sustained conversation with literature, philosophy, art, ethics, and other humanistic traditions.

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"Hosting Art" Video Series

"Hosting Art" with Diana Boros is an original online video series created and hosted by Diana Boros, which is supported by a joint venture of the Guestbook Project and the Center for Psychological Humanities & Ethics at Boston College. Hosting Art employs the medium of dialogue to bring together the greatest minds making, promoting, theorizing about, and educating about, public and social practice art today.

Specifically, the series focuses on discussions about the transformative capacities of art-the ability of art to encourage critique and introspection-and accordingly, the value of art in society and democracy. It explores how artistic communication and collaboration can create and deepen ties between people and within communities, and how socially engaged, or social practice, projects can serve as vehicles for “hosting” interactions, dialogues, and relationships. This project aims to become a resource for all those interested in these ideas by creating a collection of conversations that each tackle different dimensions of the complex relationship between art and political life.

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