Marit Os 1941-2001

Marit Os died suddenly, 17 August 2001, only 60 years old. The shock was great for her family, patients and colleagues, as to the last, she showed herself as a uniquely vital person pursuing her projects with serious interest and thoroughness.

She spent her early childhood at Sunnmøe and moved later to Nordmøe and then to Gudbrandsdalen. She was the eldest of five siblings and learned early that responsibility was an inevitable part of life. Her family home was marked by strong solidarity where closeness and consideration for each other were important. She grew up in a family intensely occupied with culture, both the local culture and the broader perspectives. It was with this background she chose medical studies and later psychiatry. After a period as a university teacher, she began her psychoanalytic career and started work as a psychoanalyst in private practice. However, she always maintained her contact with psychiatry, both in her clinical practice and as a supervisor in psychotherapy for psychiatric residents.

Marit Os came to play an important role in the development of psychoanalysis from the mid-eighties. She became president of the Norwegian Psychoanalytic Society in 1987, a post she held for seven years. During these years, a thorough reorganisation of our society was accomplished and the ground was laid for an updating of psychoanalytic education, development of research and staging of important outreach activities.

Marit Os was one of the first to be educated as a child analyst in Norway and functioned as a training analyst and supervisor for many years. She was a most sought-after analyst and had a unique talent for teaching and supervisory functions. In this way, she came to set standards for psychoanalytic clinical practice. Her opinions and judgement were always clear and based on thorough reflection. This became obvious both in her teaching and in her publications. Her papers were marked by a clear insight into the depths of the mind combined with sol