Living and Containing Psychoanalysis in Institutions

Encompassing diverse perspectives on the psychoanalyst as individual, social being, and member of psychoanalytic institutions, this book provides practical and informed answers to the question of how psychoanalysts can take care of their psychoanalytic institutions. The book draws urgent attention to concerns about how the field of psychoanalysis can be sustained into the future, and sets out several studies in institutional dynamics as a form of provocation for psychoanalysts to reflect on their position as members of the institution and to act courageously in their collective efforts. Correlations between institutional dynamics and familial relationships are emphasized, alongside varied and detailed accounts of the styles of leadership required to facilitate improved cooperation in psychoanalytic institutions. The authors draw on their experiences as group participants, leaders and observers at both local and supranational levels, to investigate the historical context underpinning the disillusion among psychoanalysts, offering readers richly informed perspectives on how to nurture collegial ethics. With an emphasis on a shared ethics of responsibility, and the work involved in building secure professional relationships among psychoanalytic groups of all kinds, this book will prove essential to those engaged in understanding the work involved in psychoanalysis, whether in training or in practice.

Gabriele Junkers, PhD, is a psychologist, analyst and training analyst of the German Psychoanalytic Association (DPV). She can look back on 40 years as analyst and 25 years as training analyst in private practice. She has experience of institutional counselling in various clinical settings, in addition to ethics and gerontology, having worked with psychiatric in-/outpatients and in private practice for 35 years. She was previously a member of the EPF Executive for 15 years and has worked for IPA as a sponsor for developing a new group. She has published books and papers in the field of psychoanalysis, gerontology, and institutional matters.

How this book came to be... 1. The Institutionalisation of Psychoanalysis 2. The Psychoanalyst and his Society 3. Development and Care for a Containing Institution: a Challenge for Psychoanalysts? 4. The Sibling Complex and Sibling Attachment: Implications for Conflict and its Resolution in Psychoanalytic Institutions 5. Reflections on the Institutional Family of the Analyst and Proposing a "Fourth Pillar" for Education 6. Curiosity, Facing Reality, and Resistance Against Structuring Psychoanalytic Organisations 7. Some Dark Sides of Institutional Life and of Institutional Intimacy 8. Psychoanalytic Institutions and How They Will Help Psychoanalysis - If We Let Them 9. Developing, Holding and Containing New Psychoanalytic Groups Looking Ahead