Karachi: In a significant move to expand psychoanalytic thought in Pakistan, the Aga Khan University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences has joined forces with the University of Exeter’s Department of Psychology to host a conference titled “Journeying Beyond the West: Can Psychoanalysis Find New Roots in Pakistan?” at AKU’s Stadium Road campus in Karachi.

The three-day conference seeks to explore the future of psychoanalysis in a country with no formal history in the field, despite a growing interest among local practitioners and theorists. The event gathers clinicians, scholars, and artists to discuss the practice and potential of psychoanalysis in Pakistan.

“Psychoanalysis is often assumed to belong solely to the West,” noted Dr. Duane Rousselle, Associate Dean of Research at AKU and the conference’s lead organizer. “But its emphasis on speech, subjectivity, and the unconscious knows no borders.”

The conference featured speakers from Pakistan and members of the British Psychoanalytic Association and the New Lacanian School. Discussions focused on identifying traces of psychoanalytic thought in the country and the potential for establishing training programs to further the discipline’s reach.

According to Dr. Stephen Lyon, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the event addresses an increasing demand for intellectual forums on psychoanalysis, particularly in urban centers like Karachi. He emphasized the faculty’s commitment to fostering new discussions within the liberal arts in Pakistan.