Editorial Note

The First Contribution to the following Symposium was offered to the Journal by Dr A. Plaut in the form of a ‘Short Communication’. It was then decided to invite a number of supervisors, working mainly in countries other than England, to write briefly to the title which had been selected by Dr Plaut. Each has written as an individual and not as representing the group or society to which he, or she, belongs. No contributor has seen any of the other contributions. This Symposium is, therefore, a collection of short articles on the same special topic, presented in alphabetical order, with the exception of Dr Plaut's contribution which, as it initiated the series, has been placed first. A true Platonic Symposium, a discussion at a convivial meeting, has not been possible.

In 1960 the Clinical Section of the Society of Analytical Psychology, London, under the chairmanship of Mrs M. Williams, held a symposium on training. The speakers were Mrs K. Newton, Dr M. Fordham, and Dr A. Plaut. What they said was subsequently published in this Journal along with invited contributions from Dr E. F. Edinger, J. Hillman and K. W. Bash, together with an editorial comment. That Symposium will be found in The Journal of Analytical Psychology, Vol. 6, No. 2 (1961), Vol. 7, No. 1 and Vol. 7, No. 2 (1962). Over twenty years have passed since that discussion, and experience has accumulated; yet many of the issues raised then in respect of the general subject of training are still very much alive. In the present Symposium only one part of the training of an analyst is concentrated upon, but as it is receiving considerable attention in many training centres, as well as at national and international meetings, I hope the publication of this Symposium is opportune.

Comment in the form of ‘Letters to the Editor’, will be, as ever, welcome, whether from supervisors or from those who have perhaps fairly recently started working without supervision.