International Dialogue Initiative

The Erikson Institute’s effort to bring a psychological perspective to society’s problems led us to form the International Dialogue Initiative, which is now an independent organization.

This group of about twenty professionals from different disciplines and countries takes its inspiration from the work of Senior Erikson Scholar and now IDI President Emeritus, Vamik Volkan.

The IDI comes together at least annually to develop concepts and interventions aimed at helping overcome the psychological obstacles to conflict resolution.  In 2017 we developed a Training Workshop on Large Group Identity and Societal Conflict, which combines reflective, didactic and case study elements to provide an in-depth psychological understanding of societal conflict and a framework for intervention.  We built on that workshop to develop an annual Case Conference Workshop, in which a particular intervention into societal conflict is examined through the lens of historical trauma as it is being lived out in the present. We also developed a third, more experiential Workshop focusing on Large Group Identity in One’s Own Life.

I’m currently the IDI’s president. Reports of our meetings, a description of the Training Workshops as well as much more can be found at www.internationaldialogueinitiative.com. The IDI is very pleased to announce the publication of the first book about its work, We Don’t Speak of Fear: Large Group Identity, Societal Conflict and Collective Trauma, published by Phoenix Publishing House in 2023. Edited by Vamik Volkan, Regine Scholz and me, it’s available at www.firingthemind.com.