The 2026 Gubbio SeminarJuly 20-24, 2026
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“A soul-bending journey!!"
~A Former Seminar Participant
~A Former Seminar Participant
Beyond the Analytic Attitude
The Poiesis of Encounter and the Way of the Mystic
A Seminar for Psychotherapists and Psychoanalysts
A Seminar for Psychotherapists and Psychoanalysts
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Amelio A. D'Onofrio, PhD
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July 20-24, 2026
“In the beginning is relation."
~Martin Buber
“ All pathology is a forgetfulness of being."
~David Levin
“The poet [is one] who re-attaches things to nature and the Whole."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
“You've always looked at me with the gaze of freedom: ‘go, be free'.”
~A Patient
“The authentic greeting accords the one who is greeted the resonance of his own most being.
The authentic greeting occasionally is able to let the one being greeted shine in the light of his own most being,
so that he might lose his false way of being."
~Martin Heidegger
“I do not know if you have detected the secret link between the “Lay Analysis" and the “Illusion". In the former I
wish to protect analysis from the doctors and in the latter from priests. I should like to hand it over to a profession
which does not yet exist, a profession of lay curers of souls who need not be doctors and should not be priests."
~Sigmund Freud
~Martin Buber
“ All pathology is a forgetfulness of being."
~David Levin
“The poet [is one] who re-attaches things to nature and the Whole."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
“You've always looked at me with the gaze of freedom: ‘go, be free'.”
~A Patient
“The authentic greeting accords the one who is greeted the resonance of his own most being.
The authentic greeting occasionally is able to let the one being greeted shine in the light of his own most being,
so that he might lose his false way of being."
~Martin Heidegger
“I do not know if you have detected the secret link between the “Lay Analysis" and the “Illusion". In the former I
wish to protect analysis from the doctors and in the latter from priests. I should like to hand it over to a profession
which does not yet exist, a profession of lay curers of souls who need not be doctors and should not be priests."
~Sigmund Freud
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It begins with an encounter.
A turning of one soul toward another in reverence and beholding. A greeting — humble yet luminous — awakening the dignity that already dwells within the other and granting permission for their being simply to be. It begins with an inner gesture of welcome, an unseen bow toward the mystery of the other, inviting emergence and unfolding, allowing meanings long buried to take root once more in the depths of the soul and quietly transform.
Such an encounter opens a clearing — a sheltered space where a supplicant’s silent anguish may find voice and be heard. It reconciles and liberates. It widens the horizon of relational possibility and ushers in trembling contact with the ineffable within oneself in the fragile hope for a movement toward greater w/holeness.
The 2026 Gubbio Seminar calls clinicians to re-envision the therapeutic vocation: to reclaim the poetic, the relational, and the mystical as essential dimensions of human transformation. We have inherited from the Enlightenment an epistemological austerity that prizes observation, objectivity, and control — confining experience to the measurable and taming the psyche to what can be named. Though this legacy has yielded scientific gains, it has narrowed our imagination and estranged us from depth, wonder, and our ontological ground. We have forgotten Being — and in that forgetting we have become reified, exiled from the fullness of our own humanity.
In this seminar, we propose another way: not the path of mastery, but the poiesis of encounter — the creative unfolding of personhood that arises when Being is allowed to come into presence in the relational. Drawing from Heidegger’s aletheia (unconcealment), Bion’s reverie and “O,” Buber’s I–Thou, Winnicott’s transitional space, Odgen's ‘analytic third', Fonagy's ‘we-mode', and the mystic’s way of knowing, we describe a clinical posture that moves from investigation to encounter, interpretation to participation, and epistemological greed and willful grasping to willingness. The therapeutic relationship becomes a field of psychic overlap, where a created “we” — neither mine nor yours, but ours — offers a site for mutual mentalization, and for being to reveal itself and transform both patient and therapist.
Central to this vision are the primacy of relationship; poiesis as a path toward w/holeness; a receptive, non-objectifying gaze; silence and listening as ontological openness; the “third” as shared becoming; and an epistemology of faith — Bion’s “becoming O” — grounded in Gelassenheit, a letting-go and letting-be.
Finally, we explore how these poetic modes of presence may be woven into the fabric of clinical practice — not as aesthetic ornamentation but as a disciplined fidelity to the mystery at the heart of healing.
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Join us in Gubbio this summer for a deep dive into the paradoxes of the human condition reflected so powerfully in the poetic movements of the therapeutic process. Our venue, a magnificently restored seventeenth century Franciscan monastery—now a hotel & spa—nestled in the idyllic Umbrian countryside, will serve as the clearing for our retreat from the busyness of the everyday world. This most hospitable and grace-filled setting will beckon us to deeper interiority that will liberate our collective therapeutic wisdom. Join us in exploring new possibilities for being-in-the-world with our patients in ever more spacious, generous, and life-affirming ways. Be part of a growing community of depth psychotherapists committed to pursuing clinical truth, expanding personal horizons, and who are willing to share themselves in the service of fostering mutual growth. You'll be challenged and inspired to broaden your understanding of the therapeutic process and to deepen your participation in the renewal of your patients’ lives.
A turning of one soul toward another in reverence and beholding. A greeting — humble yet luminous — awakening the dignity that already dwells within the other and granting permission for their being simply to be. It begins with an inner gesture of welcome, an unseen bow toward the mystery of the other, inviting emergence and unfolding, allowing meanings long buried to take root once more in the depths of the soul and quietly transform.
Such an encounter opens a clearing — a sheltered space where a supplicant’s silent anguish may find voice and be heard. It reconciles and liberates. It widens the horizon of relational possibility and ushers in trembling contact with the ineffable within oneself in the fragile hope for a movement toward greater w/holeness.
The 2026 Gubbio Seminar calls clinicians to re-envision the therapeutic vocation: to reclaim the poetic, the relational, and the mystical as essential dimensions of human transformation. We have inherited from the Enlightenment an epistemological austerity that prizes observation, objectivity, and control — confining experience to the measurable and taming the psyche to what can be named. Though this legacy has yielded scientific gains, it has narrowed our imagination and estranged us from depth, wonder, and our ontological ground. We have forgotten Being — and in that forgetting we have become reified, exiled from the fullness of our own humanity.
In this seminar, we propose another way: not the path of mastery, but the poiesis of encounter — the creative unfolding of personhood that arises when Being is allowed to come into presence in the relational. Drawing from Heidegger’s aletheia (unconcealment), Bion’s reverie and “O,” Buber’s I–Thou, Winnicott’s transitional space, Odgen's ‘analytic third', Fonagy's ‘we-mode', and the mystic’s way of knowing, we describe a clinical posture that moves from investigation to encounter, interpretation to participation, and epistemological greed and willful grasping to willingness. The therapeutic relationship becomes a field of psychic overlap, where a created “we” — neither mine nor yours, but ours — offers a site for mutual mentalization, and for being to reveal itself and transform both patient and therapist.
Central to this vision are the primacy of relationship; poiesis as a path toward w/holeness; a receptive, non-objectifying gaze; silence and listening as ontological openness; the “third” as shared becoming; and an epistemology of faith — Bion’s “becoming O” — grounded in Gelassenheit, a letting-go and letting-be.
Finally, we explore how these poetic modes of presence may be woven into the fabric of clinical practice — not as aesthetic ornamentation but as a disciplined fidelity to the mystery at the heart of healing.
~~~~~~~~~~
Join us in Gubbio this summer for a deep dive into the paradoxes of the human condition reflected so powerfully in the poetic movements of the therapeutic process. Our venue, a magnificently restored seventeenth century Franciscan monastery—now a hotel & spa—nestled in the idyllic Umbrian countryside, will serve as the clearing for our retreat from the busyness of the everyday world. This most hospitable and grace-filled setting will beckon us to deeper interiority that will liberate our collective therapeutic wisdom. Join us in exploring new possibilities for being-in-the-world with our patients in ever more spacious, generous, and life-affirming ways. Be part of a growing community of depth psychotherapists committed to pursuing clinical truth, expanding personal horizons, and who are willing to share themselves in the service of fostering mutual growth. You'll be challenged and inspired to broaden your understanding of the therapeutic process and to deepen your participation in the renewal of your patients’ lives.
Come Join Us. Dive Deep. Be Amazed by the Adventure.
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“After transformation, you seldom feel you have found anything. It feels much more like someone has found you."
~Richard Rohr
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What participants of the 2025 seminar said:
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“This seminar, I think, has emboldened me to speak
more easily the sometimes hard truth." “What was not relevant to my practice was relevant to my life!" “Thoroughly informative and transformative." “A good balance between offering information and allowing room for discussion." “Excellent. Amelio facilitates discussion and creates an atmosphere for connection and authentic disclosure." “Amelio's humble wisdom and intellectual giftedness brought a deeper expansion of the subject." “He lives what he teaches." “It has been years since I've attended an event like this and felt so inspired! Absolutely exceeded my highest expectations." |
“A truly transformative, nurturing and nourishing experience. Feeling replenished and rejuvenated both professionally and personally. A sustaining experience as always!"
“My inspiration has been renewed!" “I had an inspired, meaningful, rich experience. Thank you deeply." “Amelio had a way of making the seminar both challenging and digestible. He had a way of expressing his vast knowledge while staying humble. I also appreciate Amelio's presentation of a vast array of thinkers." “I may have left with more questions than answers --which is exactly the point." “The facility was calm, spacious, quiet, beautiful, walkable to town, luxurious, and deep." “A wonderful setting--a beautiful retreat to complement the seminar." |
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“Every time I've come, I know preaching to the choir you are, but the choir seems to go to higher and higher places,
in their soul and professional qualities. That's your doing for sure."
“Your organization facilitated a structure and environment capable of generating an exceptional
degree of depth and connection. A rare achievement in academic seminars/conferences!"
“It is impossible to ever really repay a true teacher, except by turning to teach others. I feel less alone to continue
with this most urgent task to live well, and face this finitude with the most humility, truth, and existential integrity I can."
“Thank you for this nourishing, cup-filling, stimulating, thought-provoking, confusing (in a good way!) opportunity.
This was such a “treat"-- an unusual and incredible way to spend a week in Italy."
“Thank you for your kindness, your preparedness, your serenity, your humor,
and your ability to contain us all and be so attentive and attendant to us all."
in their soul and professional qualities. That's your doing for sure."
“Your organization facilitated a structure and environment capable of generating an exceptional
degree of depth and connection. A rare achievement in academic seminars/conferences!"
“It is impossible to ever really repay a true teacher, except by turning to teach others. I feel less alone to continue
with this most urgent task to live well, and face this finitude with the most humility, truth, and existential integrity I can."
“Thank you for this nourishing, cup-filling, stimulating, thought-provoking, confusing (in a good way!) opportunity.
This was such a “treat"-- an unusual and incredible way to spend a week in Italy."
“Thank you for your kindness, your preparedness, your serenity, your humor,
and your ability to contain us all and be so attentive and attendant to us all."
The 2026 Seminar will be held at:
Park Hotel ai Cappuccini
Gubbio, Italy
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The Gubbio Seminars
Gubbio, Italy
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