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Torstein Boger was born on September 1st, 1928 and died on July 29th, 1999. His death is a painful loss for his family and friends, as well as for the psychoanalytic community in Norway.
He studied medicine, and completed his M.D. in 1956. He worked at Dikemark and Ullevål Hospital, where he specialised in psychiatry. He started a private practice while at the same time starting his psychoanalytic training. He became psychoanalyst in 1970. He practised as a psychoanalyst and later training analyst for nearly 30 years.
Right until the time of his death he was deeply involved in the Norwegian Psychoanalytic Society. As a member of the Executive Committee and later the Training Committee for several periods, he always demonstrated his strong commitment to psychoanalysis.
My first meeting with Torstein Boger took place after I had applied for admission for psychoanalytic training, and went to him for interview. I had difficulties finding the right address and inadvertently found myself in his neighbour's garden. As I looked up, I saw a man standing at the window, his arms stretched out towards me.
I think this picture describes Torstein Boger. He was warm and generous, and gave space to the other. He positioned himself in the back-ground – a quality so important in a psychoanalyst.
Later I had training analysis with him.
All those morning, going to the white wooden house in Lysaker, come to my mind. On the way up the stairs to the waiting room, the sound of classical music came floating towards me. I gradually came to understand that he played the piano every morning before starting work.