Activities of British Psychoanalysts During the Second World War and the Influence of their Inter-Disciplinary Collaboration on the Development of Psychoanalysis in Great Britain

The first part of the paper describes some of the activities of members of the British Psycho-Analytical Society during the Second World War, including the reception of the refugee psychoanalysts from Europe, preparations for dealing with casualties and the gradual involvement of psychoanalysts in various branches of the Emergency Psychiatric Services, both civilian and military. Some of the conflicts that were taking place in the British Society are considered alongside discussions of plans for the reconstruction of health and psychiatric services after the war.

The second part of the paper discusses the development of the role of psychiatric and psychological services in the army during the Second World War and the contribution and influence of psychoanalysts in interdisciplinary collaboration in the armed forces and its effects on the later development of psychoanalysis in Britain. It also describes examples of the part played by psychoanalysts, psychiatrists and other colleagues with whom they worked during the war in the development of training facilities in military psychiatric hospitals, in the design and administration of War Office Selection Boards (WOSBs), in the design and setting up of