You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
In November 1988, the APP initiated and hosted a three-day conference on “Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Services in Europe”. Some 160 participants attended from fifteen countries and some of the papers appear in this number in full. After considerable thought it was decided to summarise for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy the nine formal presentations. The lengthy discussions that followed the papers would be impossible to précis, but a number of points stood out.
Firstly, in a number of countries, psychoanalytic psychotherapy is emerging as a distinct profession and therapy in its own right, complementary to psychoanalysis but beginning to evolve its own organisational frameworks and high standards for training. This seems to stem from (a) an increasing ability to face the reality that there will never be enough psychoanalysts to offer psychoanalysis to the large number of patients suffering from neurotic and non-psychotic character disorders, (b) a preparedness to try and meet the public need in as efficient and quality-conscious way as possible. This has involved (c) a less paranoid and more collaborative relationship with third-party agencies, e.g. government and health administration, insurance companies, and psychiatric colleagues.
Secondly, British participants must have been acutely aware of how far behind some other countries we are, as psychoanalytic psychotherapists, in taking the initiative in these matters. This contrasts starkly with our history, when, particularly following the World Wars, pioneers founded such institutions as the Tavistock Institute, Portman Clinic and Cassel Hospital.
The third issue is the question of how we can build on the knowledge that we possess and of the additional knowledge that we have gained from our overseas colleagues. It was clear that several countries, because of a shortage of time at the Conference, had a lot of experience that they were unable to share in full. One, partial solution was expressed by the hope t