The Mind Force Society has been organising and co-sponsoring scientific events since its founding in 2008 — from intimate residential retreats in Tuscany to international online symposia. Below is a record of our key activities, with the most recent event listed first.
✅ Recent Event — 28 March 2026
Bridging Minds — Seminario di Alta Formazione
La Complessità Emotiva dei Giovani — Comprendere e rispondere ai bisogni degli adolescenti e dei giovani adulti
Participants developed practical skills for identifying and responding to complex emotional presentations, and explored interdisciplinary frameworks applicable in clinical and educational practice.
✅ Recent Event — 22–24 May 2025
SPR Methods Workshop — Certosa di Pontignano, Siena
Investigating the Complexity of Rupture and Repair in Psychotherapy Research: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods
Held at the historic Certosa di Pontignano — the very birthplace of the Mind Force Society in 2008 — this three-day residential Methods Workshop brought together leading psychotherapy researchers from across Europe and beyond. Organised jointly with the Society for Psychotherapy Research (SPR), the workshop explored advanced methodological approaches to studying the therapeutic process.
Sessions covered Recurrence Quantification Analysis (RQA) and Recurrence Plots, Surrogate Synchrony (SUSY), meta-analysis, meta-synthesis, case study methodology, the Synergetic Navigation System, and research on alliance, rupture, and repair. Presenters included Wolfgang Tschacher, Svenja Taubner, Orya Tishby, Miguel Goncalves, Joel Vos, Biljana van Rijn, Fredrick Falkenstrom, Liz Forbat, Günther Schiepek, Nick Midgley, and Catherine Eubanks.
✅ Past Event — June 8–10, 2022
14th Summer School on Human Change Processes — Virtual Conference
Organized by Güenter Schiepek & Franco Orsucci. Co-sponsored by MFS–Institute for Complexity Studies, LMU Munich, and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. An international online summer school devoted to the science of human change processes, exploring complexity, dynamical systems, and therapeutic change across disciplines.
✅ Past Event — 11 September 2021
Connect Symposium — Human Change Dynamics
Co-sponsored by MFS–Institute for Complexity Studies, SPR Interest Section on Complexity Science in Psychotherapy, and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts
An online symposium exploring complexity science in psychotherapy, featuring keynote speakers including Klaus Mainzer, Claudi Bockting, Sander Koole, Rosa Michaelis, Mario Reda, and Günter Schiepeck. Chaired by Franco Orsucci and Wolfgang Tschacher.
✅ Past Events — 2020
Virtual Structured Discussions in Complexity Science
Explorations Through the Crisis: Respond, Recover and Change
A series of free online workshops held during the COVID-19 pandemic, covering topics including embodiment and physical distancing, technology-enhanced learning, social distancing and social support, and advancements in embodied synchronisation. Co-organised with Wolfgang Tschacher.
✅ Past Event — 24–27 April 2019
SPR Methods Workshop “Pathways of Change” — Certosa di Pontignano, Siena
Co-sponsored by MFS–Institute for Complexity Studies, University of Siena, IPI (Istituto di Psicologia Individuale), SITCC (Società Italiana di Terapia Comportamentale e Cognitiva), and SPR-SIG. A residential workshop at the historic Certosa di Pontignano exploring research methods for studying change processes in psychotherapy, with a focus on complexity and dynamical systems approaches.
🏛️ Founding — September 2008
Mind Force Society Founded — Certosa di Pontignano, Siena
The Mind Force Society was established at the Pontignano Charterhouse in Siena, Italy. The founding gathering brought together academics, researchers, and scholars committed to interdisciplinary complexity science — the beginning of an ongoing programme of international scientific events and collaborations.
Mind Force Society 