Revisiting the Bion–Bohm Connection in Light of the Therapeutic Third

Dr. Sara Ekenstierna’s presentation offered a rare synthesis of analytic depth and philosophical reach. Her rigorous conceptual work illuminated the living parallels between Bion’s analytic imagination, as the capacity to think in the presence of emotional truth, and Bohm’s vision of dialogue as a shared unfolding of meaning. She traced the evolution of these ideas to their convergent points, where both thinkers meet in viewing thought as a relational and creative process, the very ground of the therapeutic third.

Dr. Ekenstierna spoke from within the movement of these ideas rather than merely about them. She gave language to those moments in analytic work where meaning takes shape at the edge of silence and uncertainty, where thought itself becomes a medium of connection. With candor, passion, and depth of insight, her talk transformed theory into lived experience, inviting participants to engage in thinking as a shared, unfolding act of discovery.

Catalina Y., PhD, LPC

Otto Rank’s Dynamic Psychotherapy and a Therapeutic Third: 6-Week Study Group

Dr. Ekenstierna guides, with strong group process, a long overdue revival of psychoanalytic pioneer Otto Rank, whose work anticipates Klein, Mahler, Bowlby, Bion, and, in technique, the entire tradition of short-term therapy.

Dr. Ekenstierna builds on Rank’s theoretical and technical vision in relation to the phenomenological (anti-positivist) philosophical tradition, in a fresh methodological framework, and its cultural significance.

Robert Sandgrund, LCSW

Otto Rank’s Dynamic Psychotherapy and a Therapeutic Third: 6-Week Study Group

The online Rank series was a well-balanced hybrid of a course, incorporating lecture and participatory discussion, psychoanalytic readings and visual art, and a review of key concepts together with an invitation for in-the-moment reflections. 

Using integrated, creative, and embodied interventions, as well as here-and-now presence (processes characteristic of therapy in the 21^st century), participants will have opportunity to enhance their therapeutic skills to meet culturally diverse clients where they are subjectively, guided by human universals or questions of being, including transcendence, overcoming, growth, and consciousness raising. 

Dr. Ekenstierna is erudite in her theoretical knowledge of Rank. Course subject matter is unique in its far-reaching implications for myriad of applications, with special themes of growth, connection, and creativity contributory to a well lived life. This series would particularly interest psychoanalytic and existential-humanistic therapists, as well as philosophers and artists seeking to enhance their reflections.

Julie Kostrey, LCPC, PhD

Otto Rank’s Dynamic Psychotherapy and a Therapeutic Third: 6-Week Study Group

In the study group, Dr. Sara Ekenstierna guided participants through a richly layered exploration of Rank’s evolving ideas on will, separation, and creativity as essential forces in psychic life. Her teaching reflects a sustained and deeply informed engagement with Rank’s corpus, combined with a sensibility for how conceptual systems breathe and shift across analytic traditions and existential-humanistic thought. She traced the progression of Rank’s thinking with clarity and nuance, showing how his ideas anticipate later conceptions of the therapeutic third and the co-creative field. 

The series was especially compelling for the balance Dr. Ekenstierna maintained between intellectual depth and experiential immediacy. She facilitated a generative space of shared inquiry where Rank’s vision of the analyst as a fellow creator – one who participates in the patient’s becoming – took shape through a conceptually rich, clinically resonant, and quietly transformative learning experience.

Catalina Y., PhD, LPC