IMSP - Conference

Sexual Health and the Internet

Lecture by Prof. Dr. Dr. E. Haeberle, President of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für sozialwissenschaftliche Sexualforschung

In his lecture "Sexual Health and the Internet", Prof. Haeberle demonstrated the possibilities and capacities the Internet can offer in the vast field of sexuality. As the head of the "Archive of Sexology" in Berlin, he presented the website of this archive, which is www.sexology.cbj.net. According to him, this website covers nearly all sexual topics, sexual dysfunctions as well as tabu-themes such as rape , transvestism or masturbation. Prof. Haeberle was also glad to present the internationality of his website, e.g. that it is possible to pick out a sexual disease and to compare the disease rate between distinct countries. Refreshingly, the professor understood well how to communicate with his audience, questions were welcome and he often included his listeners in the presentation. This lecture gave the audience an impression of what the Internet can offer in sexual questions, but unfortunately, they got to know only this specific website instead of receiving a deeper idea of what "Sexuality and the Internet" can mean.

(Eike H‰ssler, 2nd semester) :: back to top

There was a workshop lead by the lecturer in the afternoon, too. We tried to find interesting questions we could look up on the huge website of Prof. Haeberle (www.sexology.cbj.net). Our section leader stressed the important role of the internet transferring information very easily and very quickly. We had a quite controversial discusssion about the dangerous aspect that all kind of right and wrong information can be transmitted through the internet and there is a need to have such quality based websites like the one of the archive of sexology. Is it possible to control and evaluate the websites? Is it possible for the user to find out which homepage is worth looking at? We find out that the internet user must be educated in the way that she or he is able to find out about the reliability of the information which we get from the internet.

We later discussed the role of the internet or especially of Prof. Haeberle´s website regarding education on a large scale, especially education on sexual topics. We came to the conclusion that it could work well because of the fact that the handling is quite easy and that we can trust the information.

(Jörg Moritz Heil, 4th semester) :: back to top

Sensuality and Sexuality

Lecture by serDr. med. Dr. phil. Klaus von Ploetz, psychiatrist, senior consultant and director of the Fachklinik am Kyffhäu, Kelbra, student of Walter Lechler

In his lecture about sensuality and sexuality Dr. Dr. von Ploetz emphasized the importance of sensuality for a healthy sexual life; he defined sexuality as a part of a whole, of sensuality, like the "dessert to a good meal".

As a very basic part he stressed the value of communication and good relations. These are very basic experiences, and the first contact of a baby with the world usually is a very warm and loving, being held by the mother. The capability of relating, bonding, is regarded as one of four basic needs which have to be fulfilled for a healthy development. The others are self-esteem and bodily wellness as well as autonomy.

Mr. Ploetz then mentioned the American psychoanalyst Dan Casriel who in the 1960`s discovered the positive influence of openness in emotions and bodily closeness on his work with drug addicts. But not only working on the basic emotions - which according to him are love, fear, anger, pain and enjoyment - can lead to a successful therapy and a change of behaviour. There is an emotional "script" for behaviour in people which also needs to be changed. This "script" can be compared with the grammar of our language an is used unconsciously. The typical "script" of western culture - according to Mr. Ploetz is "I'm not lovable". This finds its expression in bodily reactions towards closeness that are mixed with fear - fear of intimacy, fear of separation or a lack of confidence. To overcome these types of anxiety it is essential to find and establish a sense of security and to live one`s own sensuality.

To sum up, one can say that the lecture providing a wide psychological view on our topic "Sexuality as a constitutional element of being human", was a very interesting and enriching contribution to the IMSP Spring conference. It gave reason to some very fruitful discussions in the workshop and even in the evening, which was very nice.

(Bettina Marks, 2nd semester) :: back to top

In the evenings and during the breaks

Although the official scientific program of the conference wasn´t to start until Saturday morning, the welcome at St. Jacobi`s tower on Friday evening was the first "constitutional element" of this meeting. The arrival of the guests from Lund and Szczecin was "business as usual": spotting new faces, recognizing old acquaintances and, of course meeting well-known friends characterize the beginning of every IMSP meeting. At a self-prepared salad bar everyone took the chance of recreation after a long day of studies and travelling. Singing together and the designing of a name tag for every participant helped to get more familiar with each other. Later on the guests could get known to Greifswald's night-life. For example there was "northern electronic"-music at the Alte Druckerei such as a "Bob-Marley-Party" at the Mensa-Club.

On Saturday, the night of the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 in Kopenhagen, we carried out our own version of this contest in Wieck in Greifswald. Of course, there was no real competition, but after dinner each group presented more or less classical songs in their own language. Singing was great fun and it is known to be a traditional part of every IMSP meeting, too.

Our dining-room in the "Utkiek" restaurant offered a wonderful view over the Greifswald bay of the Baltic Sea. In a luxurious as well as comfortable atmosphere everyone enjoyed the buffet and took part in international conversation. Additionally there was a chance of getting into a more personal contact with the guest lectrers, for they were also present. Later at night the students went to the Mensa-Club-Disco to finish the day and start the next with laughing, dancing and drinking together.

During the meeting the splendid weather accounted for a feeling of summer and holiday. On Saturday students and lectors spent the lunch break outside with coffee and sandwiches: The yard of the university with its little park was a sunny place to relax and to continue discussions on our official topic. A group of sweating students climbed the tower of the cathedral St. Nikolai. They were rewarded with a fantastic view of the city and the surrounding countryside.

On Sunday morning instead of a closing lecture we went outside for a picnic. That offered the chance to have a reflexion of this weekend and to exchange adresses. Soon enough the time of departure had come and once more the IMSP had shown its importance as an institution of international contact and friendship among medical students.

(Gesine Hunstig, 4th semester) :: back to top