When: Wednesday, April 1, 2026 | 13:30-14:30
Where: AC Auditorium, Deree – The American College of Greece

Organized by:
School of Science and Technology – The American College of Greece, Psychology Department

About the lecture

The historical divide between psychodynamic psychotherapy and neurobiology is increasingly replaced by integrative models recognizing the interdependence of subjective experience and brain function. This presentation explores the convergence between contemporary psychodynamic theory and advances in affective and cognitive neuroscience, focusing on trauma, memory, dissociation, transference, and the self.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy is supported by meta-analytic evidence as an effective treatment for depression, anxiety, and personality disorders, with enduring effects suggesting structural psychological change (Leichsenring et al., 2023). Neurobiological research indicates that psychotherapy is associated with functional modifications in limbic and prefrontal systems, as well as large-scale networks involved in emotion regulation and self-referential processing (Abbass et al., 2014; Menon, 2023).

Trauma represents a central point of convergence, as psychodynamic concepts of unmentalized affect parallel neurobiological models of dysregulated fear circuitry (Lanius et al., 2020). Memory reconsolidation provides a bridge between psychodynamic working-through and experimentally supported mechanisms of emotional memory updating (Lane et al., 2015; Schiller et al., 2010). Furthermore, transference may be conceptualized within predictive processing frameworks (Friston, 2010).

This integrative perspective supports a multi-level model in which meaning, affect, and relationship are understood as biologically embedded processes, positioning psychotherapy as a form of experience-dependent neuroplasticity (Kandel, 1998).

The event is free and open to the public.

About the speaker

Dr. Ilias Vlachos

 Associate Professor of Psychology, The American College of Greece (Deree)
Psychiatrist – Psychodynamic Psychotherapist, Private Practice, Athens, Greece
Secretary, Section of Psychopathology, Hellenic Psychiatric Association