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The third symposium of the E.P.F. was held in Stockholm on the subject of Construction and Reconstruction. These symposiums are always held on controversial subjects concerning the theory and practice of psychoanalysis (the previous symposium was on the death instinct). The formula of the meetings has met with great success, as only a restricted number of analysts (two from each society) meet, all of whom are particularly competent in the chosen field because of their specific interest in that area and the research they have done.
Three main papers were presented respectively by Mrs. R. Riesenberg Malcom (Great Britain), Dr. Pasche (France) and Prof. Loch (Germany). Two discussion sessions followed them which were presided over by Dr. Sandler (Great Britain) and Dr. Fainberg (France) The three papers provided from the start a variegated and complex picture as they were the expression of different, and at times diverging theories and practice.
Mrs. Riesenberg Malcom spoke from a Kleinian point of view. After having rapidly reviewed the opinions of Freud, Klein and Bion, Riesenberg Malcom proposed her own ideas on the subject. “Construction”, this analyst feels, “is a process at work in the mind of the analyst, something which is not necessarily verbalized but which can encourage the formulation of interpretations”. Reconstruction, on the other hand, is seen as the product of “an intertwining of parts of experiences lived out in the