For more than forty years, Pat Ogden has been reshaping how clinicians understand trauma and the role of the body in therapeutic change. As the creator of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy method, she has shown that movement, posture and physiological states often carry the imprint of early relational experiences and survival responses that never fully enter language. Her work gives therapists a clearer way of understanding the implicit patterns that sit beneath symptoms, especially in patients whose histories are fragmented or held in the nervous system.

In this live online Legacy Interview, Pat is joined by psychiatrist, Bessel van der Kolk and developmental psychologist Ed Tronick. Their dialogue brings together somatic psychotherapy, developmental science and psychoanalytic thinking in a way clinicians seldom have the opportunity to witness.

Together with interviewer Jane O’Rourke, they will explore the clinical realities of working with the body in psychotherapy: how to track somatic cues, how to respond when the nervous system becomes the primary communicator and how the therapist’s own embodied presence shapes the work.

The event includes a clinical video from Pat’s practice, which she will pause and discuss as it plays, giving insight into her therapeutic decisions as they unfold.

For clinicians wanting to deepen their understanding of working with body states, this is an opportunity to learn from the field’s most influential figures.

After five decades of practice, clinical psychologist Jon G. Allen has a striking message for our field. Working alongside Peter Fonagy and Anthony Bateman, he helped shape our understanding of the importance of mentalizing in psychotherapy. Today, he argues that the most transformative aspects of therapy are not found in treatment manuals but in the context of a trustworthy, caring relationship.

With the publication of his latest book, Bringing Psychotherapy to Life Through Caring Connections, Jon Allen returns to a fundamental truth: we matter to each other. He explores what he calls “the experience of feeling connected” – the embodied, felt sense of relationship that brings psychotherapy to life.

In this live online Legacy Interview, Jon Allen will reflect with his special guests Arietta Slade, Jeremy Holmes and Anthony Bateman on what truly transforms lives in therapy. Jane O’Rourke, psychotherapist and broadcaster, will guide this conversation between colleagues who have each shaped the fields of attachment theory, psychoanalysis and relational psychotherapy.

Join Ed Tronick, Bruce Perry and Claudia Gold for a live Legacy Interview exploring the Still-Face Experiment, rupture and repair, and how early experiences shape relationships across the lifespan. Psychotherapist and broadcaster Jane O’Rourke will be in conversation with Ed Tronick, one of the most influential figures in psychology. Ed will be joined by Bruce Perry, internationally recognised psychiatrist and trauma expert, and Claudia Gold, a paediatrician who brings developmental science to life in everyday clinical practice. Together, they will explore how insights from infant development and early relationships provide a foundation for therapeutic work with adults, couples, families and children across the lifespan.

Join us for a special Live Legacy Interview exploring the life and work of Dr Stephen Porges and Dr Sue Carter, pioneering researchers whose theories have deeply influenced our understanding of how our nervous systems impact mental health, emotional regulation, and human connection. They will be joined by Deb Dana and Suma Jacobs. Deb is a leading clinician and author whose work has brought Polyvagal Theory into the heart of therapeutic practice. Suma Jacob’s research on neurodivergence builds on Sue Carter’s work on the biology of social bonding. Stephen, Sue, Deb and Suma’s work bridges the gap between neuroscience and therapeutic practice, offering us powerful frameworks for understanding trauma, attachment, and the biological foundations of social engagement that can transform clinical approaches to mental health treatment.

Join us for our live Legacy Interview with Dr Margot Sunderland, a pioneering figure in integrative child psychotherapy whose career has bridged psychotherapy, neuroscience, arts and education. In this interview, Margot will share her innovative therapeutic approaches with children and young people which integrate the arts with the latest developments and research in neuroscience. We'll explore her courageous journey challenging established orthodoxies in the field, the professional controversies she navigated, and how her determination to create new therapeutic approaches in child psychotherapy has influenced practice in the UK and beyond.

Join us for our live Legacy Interview with Jeremy Holmes, a pioneering figure in Attachment-informed psychotherapy whose career has bridged medicine, psychiatry, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, and neuroscience. This interview will explore how Jeremy has contributed to making Attachment Theory both accessible and clinically relevant to practitioners worldwide.

Join us for a special Live Legacy Interview exploring the life and work of Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, a pioneering anthropologist and primatologist who has revolutionised our understanding of the origins of attachment and maternal behaviour. Sarah’s work bridges the gap between evolutionary science and therapeutic practice, offering us powerful tools for challenging caregiving stereotypes and enhancing our clinical work with children and their families.