Opening Plenary1

Professor Charles Hanley convened the 47th Congress of the IPA in Mexico City. Luisa Marino welcomed participants on behalf of the IPSO. Governor Marcelo Luis Ebrard Caubon extended the good wishes of the people of Mexico City. Professor Hanley reviewed the goals of the IPA and the work of the 100th anniversary year. Steven Ellman discussed the organization and goals of the proceedings in his capacity as chair of the Scientific Program Committee. The Committee had opted for a plenary format with associated discussion groups to maximize the opportunity for the exchange of ideas. The program was designed as a group inquiry into the core concepts of sexuality, dreams and the unconscious with the aim of furthering the conceptual integration of psychoanalytic theory.

Consistent with the anniversary theme that looking back is a precondition for moving forward, the first paper illuminated the birth of psychoanalysis. Seeds of core psychoanalytic concepts by Use Grubrich-Simitis is based on the recently published letters between the lovers Sigmund Freud and Martha Bernays. The author studied the letters in search of the seeds of ideas that would later develop into the core concepts. She was able to isolate passages in which Freud described the rudiments of such concepts as sublimation and unconscious identification. In other passages Freud's comments on his own dreams indicate an awareness of the contribution of the day residue and, in one instance, the role of displacement in disguising Martha's dream image. Large sections of the letters read like an intellectual dialogue and not the love letters of a genius to his muse. Grubrich-Simitis concludes that Martha's contribution has been overlooked and her intellect underestimated.

The Opening Plenary concluded with the announcement that Bernardo Bertolucci was the recipient of this year's Award for Extraordinarily Meritorious Service to Psychoanalysis. Andrea Sabbadini accepted the award on behalf of Bertolucci and read a commen