As a licensed psychologist, ISTDP therapist, and fine art photographer, I am interested in how people continue to live after loss—and how images, stories, and artistic expression can help us approach experiences that sometimes lie beyond words. My photographic work Broken Light, created following a personal loss, became a way of exploring questions of memory, identity, love, vulnerability, and the experience of time itself.

Within photography, memory and time are often represented as forms of history. In Broken Light, I am instead interested in the continuity of the self—the enduring experience of being a thinking, feeling, and acting person facing and integrating an irreversible loss —an experience that resonates closely with how we, as therapists, understand grief.

It is often tempting to turn away from grief. Yet in doing so, we may also lose touch with the depth and intimacy of what has been lost. Grieving can therefore become a form of care: a way of remaining in relationship with a shared life that once was.

I welcome you to an online seminar where I will share the artistic and personal journey behind Broken Light and reflect on grief as a psychological, emotional, and existential process. Together, we can explore questions - from a therapeutic and also personal view - such as: What happens to our sense of self when someone we love is no longer physically present? How does grief reshape our experience of time, identity, and meaning? What role do memory, imagination, and continuing bonds play in adaptation to loss? And how can art and creative expression help us approach dimensions of grief that may be difficult to access through words alone?

While grounded in clinical experience, this seminar is not primarily about therapeutic technique. Rather, it is an invitation to reflect on grief as a universal human experience and on what it means to remain alive, connected, and engaged with life in the aftermath of profound loss.

Date, September 19th, 2026
Time: At 9.30-12.00 am local time in both time zones, CEST Europe (UTC+2) and US East Coast (UTC−4) US
Duration: 2.5 hrs
Where: online

Participants will receive a post-seminar PDF containing a summary of key themes, reflection questions, and a curated reading list for further exploration.

Early-bird registration: USD 175 until June 30, 2026
Standard registration: USD 195 thereafter

Warm regards,
Maria Sandgren
Psychological Forum