David I. Tresan (1937-2016)

David I. Tresan, M.D., who died 28 October 2016, was a man of passionate feeling and brilliant mind who encouraged individuality, creativity and self-expression in all those he touched. He fought cancer from December 2013 till his death, fighting as he lived his life: going deeper and deeper into layers of understanding and possible cures. Always the physician as much as patient, he would not settle for simple answers. He saw patients until his death, sharing about dying. David would remind his loved ones: ‘It's all a mystery…. You don't come to the essence’.

David was born in Memphis in 1937, the oldest son with two sisters. He married Sandra in 1962. They had three sons. Speaking at his funeral, each son connected to a passion of their father's: his love of animals, particularly dogs; his ardour for the outdoors, hiking, camping, fishing; and his endlessly questioning mind. He was psychiatrist, philosopher, author, musician.

David's contributions to the Jungian community were enormous. He joined the San Francisco Jung Institute in 1974 and subsequently served on many committees, including the Board of Governors. He was known as the analyst's analyst, treating many candidates for decades.

David's range of curiosity was wide: he delved into Kabbalah, Eric Voegelin, Bernard Lonergan, Xavier Zubiri and Wilfred Bion, relentlessly examining the human mind. After David wrote ‘Jungian metapsychology and neurobiological theory’ in 1996, Joe Cambray (personal communication) acknowledged that ‘David was the undisputed groundbreaker for bringing the concept of “emergence” to analytical psychology’. His collected writings encompass two volumes of published articles, book reviews and unpublished public lectures. Following two major works in the Journal (Tresan 2004, 2007a), David, when called to task for his embrace of long-term analysis, responded:

Ground rules of analysis include the highest, most tenacious, and most salutary degree of honesty, truth-telling, caring and loving, h