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.
I find many of Sahlberg’s (2018) contributions to be both insightful and convincing enough that they could easily suffice as an argument for the discontinuation of the training analyst system (hereafter abbreviated TA). Yet at the same time I notice that very few of his arguments appear to speak to the case for maintaining the TA.
I initially wondered about Sahlberg’s detailed description of the French OPLF ‘The Quatriéme Groupe’ which counts Piera Aulagnier among its ranks. An organization that appears to be somewhat exemplary by Sahlberg but which is notably not affiliated with the international psychoanalytic association (IPA). In that, and later in other French associations affiliated with IPA, there has been a concerted effort toward anti-hierarchical structure and democratization. More so, the OPLF has taken the lead in a refusal to have a specialized group of training analysts. Arguably it is just such a democratization that is one of the defining features of the French model.
Sahlberg makes reference to the historical background of TA as described in Harold Blum’s contribution to Peter Zagermann (2017) The Future of Psychoanalysis – The Debate About the Training Analyst System. Blum (2017) describes how Ferenczi worked to ensure that only a small selected group, analyzed by Freud, would have the authority that he felt was needed to guarantee ‘pure analytical theory’. Jones subsequently proposed the formation of a secret committee ‘… to protect the kingdom of their master …’ (p. 37) which Freud, perhaps understandably, then approved. Freud’s interest in the formation of this secret committee was to ensure that he retained his most faithful disciples.
The committee, which preceded the formation of the Eitingon model in 1920 by a number of years, can in the words of Blum best be described as an something of an aristocratic family romance; there was a significant pride and status in being able to show a direct connection to Freud, who in turn gifted ornate signet r