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The French group was founded in January 2000. Since then we have had monthly meetings (the first Saturday of each month) at the Parisian hospital La Pitié-Salpêtrière, in the department of endocrinology, where Professor J. B. Stora, the acting chairman of the group, runs a consultation office for psychosomatics. The group consists of clinical psychologists, psychoanalysts, medical doctors, and researchers in many different fields of medicine. The neuroscientific approach is a shared concern, and we are interested in trying to link psychological, neurological, and somatic processes to each other.
In June every year, some members of the group present their research work at a conference. The main topic of last year's seminar, 2003, dealt with “Dreams of Somatic Patients: A Psychoanalytic and Neurophysiological Approach.” There were many presentations: Jean Benjamin Stora presented a case in which the role of sleeping and dreaming of a patient suffering from cardiovascular disease was highlighted; Irene Epelbaum, a clinical neuropsychologist, talked on the role of the death drive in the “syndrome de glissement” of old people, exemplifying with case material; Pascale Roy-Ferrand, a clinical psychologist, presented two cases, one on dependency and the role of narcissism in a food-addicted patient, and another on an alcohol-addicted middle-aged woman; Karina Maffi, a clinical psychologist, had done a study, using a psychosomatic approach, of the economic implications of addiction; Christiane Donati-Judet, a clinical psychologist and chairperson of the Vitoz Relaxation Therapy Association, talked on the role of relaxation therapy and body imaging in stress syndromes; Dr. Pierre Bonnardot, Associate Chairman of the Psychosomatic Medical Association, spoke on a global psychosomatic approach in everyday medical practice; Dr. Claude Benazeraf, a dermatologist and psychosomatician, presented a case with a generalized atopic eczema; Véronique Cohier-Rahban, a clinical psychologist