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Due to his sharp curiosity and his openness to new ideas, Durval Marcondes understood and valued Freud’s theories, becoming one of his loyal disciples. With tireless energy, Marcondes introduced psychoanalysis in São Paulo, taking all the complicated steps for the organization of a Psychoanalytic Society. His enthusiastic leadership easily brought him followers, and by the 1920s he had already created the first Brazilian Psychoanalytic Society, the embryo of our current society.
In 1937, the first training analyses were beginning, conducted by Dr. Adelheid Lucy Koch, who was recommended by the International Psycho-Analytical Association. During the 10 years between his first contact with Freud’s work and Dr. Koch’s arrival, Durval worked intensely to break down the antagonism of the medical establishment.
Restless and alert, Durval lived through the entire development of psychoanalysis and embodied its very history in Brazil. He was loyal to tradition, yet very sensitive and with a thirst for new contributions. The society in São Paulo inherited this spirit from him, becoming acquainted early on with Melanie Klein’s work, which was studied and accepted in European countries long afterwards. He disliked dogmatism and preferred the risks of questioning and innovation.
Broadly cultured, he was interested in all themes – ethical, artistic, literary and political – and often contributed to these sectors of human knowledge.
His knowledge had an effect on those who spent time in his company and who attended his seminars and conferences, which enriched and broadened horizons.
He encouraged the development of the next generations with extreme generosity. He always kept a deep belief in the value of psychoanalytic thinking and the vigor of the institutions and associations he founded. In his clinical work his main concerns were his patients, whom he helped generously and with compassion.
In 1928, he founded and edited the Brazilian Review of Psychoanalysis (Revista Brasileira d