Published: October 2025

Keywords:
Therapy, experimental process, psychoanalysis, systemic thinking, language, client, trauma, love, care, capitalism, justice, community.

Maria Nichterlein

Clinical Psychologist, Counselling Psychologist and Family Therapist, specialising in complex presentations, including complex trauma. Enjoys teaching and supervising.

m.nichterlein@bigpond.com

Abstract

The discussion that followed Maria Nichterlein’s lecture brought to light crucial questions concerning therapy, language, and the social role of the therapist.

It initially revolved around therapy as an experimental and collective process, the relationship between psychoanalysis and systemic thinking, and the position of the self within the world. Participants reflected on the language of therapy—particularly the use of the term “client”—on the recognition of trauma, and on the role of love and care as acts of resistance to the capitalist discourse. The conversation concluded with reflections on social chaos and uncertainty, and on the need to view justice as a collective negotiation.

Ultimately, Nichterlein’s lecture acted as a catalyst for encounter, where therapy, politics, and community converged in a shared space of thought and emotion.

_