The 25th International Psychoanalytic Congress met in Copenhagen from July 24 to July 28, 1967. Seven hundred sixty-five members from thirty-four countries gathered daily at Copenhagen's very modern Falconercentret, where the atmosphere in the ante-rooms and Main Hall suggested a small (but very friendly) United Nations. Representatives came from the Near East and Central Europe, from the neighboring countries of Sweden and Finland, and from the distant ones of Japan and Australia. The plenary sessions, business meeting and symposia were interpreted simultaneously into and from English, French, German and Spanish; discussion groups were held in the same four languages. The Congress was attended by over 300 members from the United States.
AT IPA CONGRESS
For many of the participants the
Congress was the focus of a series of meetings which included those sponsored by the British Psycho-Analytical Society in London (July 16-19) and a Pre-Congress Conference on Psycho-analytic Training in Copenhagen (July 20-22).
The British Society had arranged a series of Seminars, as well as workshops on “Clinical Work in Progress,” the latter offering the experience of observing the analytic supervisory process in progress.
The Pre-Congress on Psychoanalytic Training was the second to be held in conjunction with the International Congress (the first was in 1965). Over 90 representatives from 34 training centers in 20 countries were brought together through the efforts of an international organizing committee, headed by Dr. Heinz Kohut.
The opening session was followed by a day and a half of informal exchange in 5 internationally-structured study groups.
The International Congress opened and closed with presentations on the Main Theme, “Acting Out.” The opening address by Miss Anna Freud reviewed the origins and first meanings of the term, and many of the papers emphasized the importance of a clear and definite understanding of the concept if it is to be used effectively in analytic work.
Members of the American Psychoanalytic Association participated in all phases of the program.
The following International Officers are from the U.S.: Dr. Heinz Hartmann, Honorary President; Dr. Phyllis Greenacre, Honorary Vice-President; Drs. Jacob Arlow, Heinz Kohut, and Leo Rangell, Vice-Presidents; Dr. Kenneth T. Calder, Treasurer; Dr. Arthur F. Valenstein, Associate Secretary.
At the Business Meeting on July 26, the membership overwhelmingly voted to hold the 26th International Congress in Rome in 1969.