Dr Michael Fordham: Father of the Developmental Jungian School – Anniversary Tribute
On Saturday 6 June 2026, this one-day hybrid conference will be held in the SAP Library and online to honour the work and legacy of Dr Michael Fordham (1905–1995) and to mark the 80th anniversary of the Society of Analytical Psychology.
Fordham was the driving force behind the establishment of the first formal Jungian analytic training in the world. In 1946 he founded the SAP, developed its adult and child training programmes, and secured C. G. Jung’s approval, with Jung subsequently becoming the Society’s first Honorary President.
Fordham’s theoretical contributions were equally influential. Drawing on his work with infants and children, he reformulated the Jungian concept of the Self as present from the beginning of life, introducing the idea of the “primary self” and the developmental processes of de-integration and re-integration. These ideas enabled Analytical Psychology to engage more directly with early development and object-relations thinking, placing Fordham in a productive dialogue with both Winnicott and Klein while maintaining a distinctly Jungian framework.
Fordham also played a major role in the wider dissemination of Analytical Psychology. He co-edited the English translation of Jung’s Collected Works, founded the Journal of Analytical Psychology, and was a founding member of the Royal Institute of Psychiatry.
Presenters:
Mr James Astor
Dr Francesco Bisagni
Dr Christine Driver,
Professor Jean Knox
Professor Richard Mizen
Mr William Meredith Owen
Dr Barry Proner(video presentation)
Ms Marica Rytövaara
Conference Chair: Professor Richard Mizen
Conference Convenor: Jay Barlow
Bookings
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