What to expect at the Sligo Balint Symposium

The symposium runs over two days, structured around facilitated Balint groups in which participants work in the same small group for the duration of the event.

The format allows for the kind of trust and depth that develops only over sustained time together

Each year, alongside the group work, we invite a guest contributor from outside medicine — a writer, sociologist, artist, archivist — whose work opens onto themes that resonate with clinical practice. Past speakers have ranged across the humanities and the arts, and their contributions have often shaped the conversations of the symposium long after the formal programme has ended.

Two types of group run in parallel at the symposium:

• Classic Balint groups, for participants who wish to experience the method as members.

• Leadership groups, for those on the Balint leadership accreditation pathway or interested in leading groups themselves. These run alongside the classic groups and offer the opportunity to practise leadership under supervision.

The programme also includes a Fish Bowl session, plenaries, and a symposium dinner on the Friday evening — a part of the event many participants come to value as much as the formal sessions.

Who attends

The symposium is intended for doctors and for clinicians working in hospital and mental health settings. It attracts participants from general practice, hospital medicine, and psychiatry, drawn from across Ireland and from overseas.

Colleagues from allied disciplines — nursing, psychotherapy, psychology, and other healthcare professions — are warmly welcomed at our Autumn Workshop, which serves as the broader, single-day introduction to Balint work.