Why focus on the “here and now”?

The here and now is the foundation of Yehia Rakhaw School. It is where emotions emerge, relationships unfold, conflicts surface, creativity appears, and meaning is co-created. It is both a clinical stance and a human position, one that connects inner experience with social and cultural realities.

What do you mean by “legacy”?

Legacy is not something frozen in the past. It is what we carry forward: schools of thought, mentors’ voices, cultural memory, collective trauma, and shared hope. This conference explores how legacies can be honored without becoming rigid, and how they can stay alive through dialogue, creativity, and responsibility.

How does media fit into a conference on mental health, group therapy and group work?

Media shapes how stories are told, silenced, distorted, or amplified.Cinema, storytelling, and digital media influence identity, belonging and collective imagination, and trauma. The conference creates a space to work on the area where media intersects with mental health, group processes, and social responsibility.

Is this a clinical conference, an academic one, or a cultural event?

It is intentionally all three, and also something in between.Alongside theoretical reflections and clinical practice, the conference welcomes experiential learning, artistic expression, and cultural dialogue. Knowledge here is not only presented; it is lived and shared.

gist – Page 2 – The Second International Conference On Mental Health and Media

Social Media and Psychic Trauma: The Risks of Retraumatization and Secondary Traumatization

Psychic trauma refers to experiences that overwhelm an individual’s ability to cope, producing psychological and physiological consequences. With the expansion of social media, new environments have emerged where trauma can be experienced and amplified. Individuals may encounter trauma online through cyberharassment, hate speech, or public humiliation, leading to hyperarousal, avoidance, and emotional distress. Social media […]

How art psychology and the unconscious can come to the rescue of organisations

With a mix of theory plus examples we will build unexpected bridges connecting Art Psychology with Systems Psychodynamics and Organizational Development work. Group work can benefit from artistic and creative processes by fostering deep insights and transformative mindsets. While often most attention is given to the creator’s role and experience, those of the spectator are […]

From Anxiety to Integration: Working in the Here-and-Now through the Expressive Therapies Continuum

This workshop introduces an experiential application of the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) as a living framework for working with anxiety in the here-and-now. Grounded in clinical practice, it demonstrates how shifting across kinesthetic, sensory, perceptual, affective, cognitive, and symbolic processes can support regulation and emerging integration. Through guided art-making and reflective dialogue, participants will observe […]

Perfect Present: Finding Meaning in the Here and Now, a Practical and Neuroscience Approximation

Regaining control of our life begins in the present moment. The brain operates in the immediate now, yet our experience is often shaped by past pain and future fear. This session explores the neuroscience of present-moment awareness and the brain’s bias toward threat, memory, and prediction. Participants will examine how fear-driven circuits become reinforced and […]