The Canadian Psychoanalytic Society, a classic Freudian Society, is the one society that covers all of Canada. It functions through several branches operating in different cities and consists of 154 qualified psychoanalysts. The four official branches are two in Montreal, The Canadian Psychoanalytic Society (Quebec English) and Societé Psychanalytique de Montréal (which is the French language Branch) ; and two in Ontario, the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society (Toronto), and the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society (Ottawa). There are in addition several psychoanalysts in Hamilton, Ont., in London, Ont., in Edmonton, Alberta; in Winnipeg, Manitoba; in Vancouver, B.C. and in Quebec City, P.Q. Both Winnipeg and Edmonton are actually working to develop sufficiently so that branches can be formed.
The Canadian Psychoanalytic Institute directs training,. and seventy-six students are training at present. Currently the Institute has three branches, with others being planned. One is associated with the Quebec English Branch of the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society, one with the Societé Psychanalytique de Montréal that trains in French; and one with the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society (Toronto). At the moment there is partial training, in association with the the Toronto Branch, of several candidates from London Ont., while several candidates from Ottawa are fulfilling the training requirements in Montreal.
The first psychoanalyst to arrive in Canada was the late Professor Theo Chentrier, a member of the Parisian Society and a student of Rudolph M. Lowenstein in Paris, before Dr. Lowenstein came to the United States. Professor Chentrier arrived at Montreal in 1947 at the invitation of Father Noel Mailloux, to join him at the Department of Psychology of the Université de Montréal. Prior to his arrival, and more vigorously afterwards, the “Psychoanalytic Club” of Montreal had begun its work, largely through the late Dr. Miguel Prados and encouraged by the interest of Father Mailloux and others who were enthusiastically interested in the development of Psychoanalysis. All who were interested from Medicine, Psychiatry, Psychology and other disciplines participated, and many active meetings were held. The arrival of Professor Chentrier enabled the group for the first time to have a qualified analyst among them. Dr. Eric Wittkower, originally of Berlin, and Dr. Allister MacLeod, a student of W. Hoffer and Anna Freud, arrived shortly thereafter from London as analysts, forming the analytic focus at McGill University Faculty of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry under Professor D. Ewan Cameron. They added greatly to the activities of the “Psychoanalytic Club”, as did the late Dr. Karl Stern. (Dr. M. Prados was already at McGill.) Dr. Georges Zavitzianos of Greece, a student of Princess Maria Bonaparte then joined. In the meantime several very talented young people had gone to France, England and the United States for their psychoanalytic training. These included André Lussier, who trained with Anna Freud in England, Jean B. Boulanger who trained first with Professor Chentrier in Montreal and then in the Parisian Psychoanalytic Society, Alan Parkin of Toronto who trained in London, Bruce Ruddick who went to the New York Psychoanalytic Institute, Morton Berg of Toronto, who trained in the Philadelphia Institute, I. Schiffer of Toronto, Jean Louis Langlois and Ernest R. Tetreault who trained in the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute. It would take the formation of a Canadian Society to attract them back.
With the advent of these psychoanalysts, negotiations began with the Detroit-Cleveland Psychoanalytic Society for help and sponsorship, under the aegis of the American Psychoanalytic Association, to becoming a component society. The collapse of the Detroit-Cleveland Society and Training organization shortly after, ended this phase, and put back the formal development of the Canadian Society by several years.
Dr. W. Clifford M. Scott came from England in 1954 under the active sponsorship of D. Ewin Cameron who wanted to bring a training analyst into McGill University's Department of Psychiatry, to coordinate psychoanalytic work and psychoanalytic teaching at McGill. Dr. Scott, as head of Psychoanalysis at McGill University, recruited two training analysts from Vienna, Dr. Hans and Friedel Aufreiter. A start to form the Canadian Society began under the aegis of the British Psychoanalytic Society. From 1954 onward a few candidates began to train under British Institutes' sponsorship with these training analysts. The return of additional analysts, Dr. André Lussier from London, Dr. Nathan Epstein (trained with Rado and his group) and Dr. Jean Baptiste Boulanger from France enabled the formation of the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society as an autonomous component Society of the International in 1957, and the Canadian Institute of Psychoanalysis in 1958.
Professor Theo Chentrier was the first President of the Society, and the first class of the Canadian Psychoanalytic Institute entered psychoanalytic training in 1958. Dr. W. C. M. Scott was the Director. Those of us, like myself, whom Theo Chentrier analyzed, remember his kind benevolence, his meticulous adherence to analytic technique, his warm, giving, gentle personality, his enormous understanding and tolerance, with warmth and affection. The first class of 9 graduated in 1962, and Canadian Psychoanalysis has never looked back. We also then suffered our first tragic loss when the very talented Hassan Azima died of a malignancy just as he graduated.
In the above abbreviated historical sketch, one can see that the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society and Institute contain within them all that is good in Psychoanalytic tradition. Represented are the roots, developments and traditions from students of the Berlin Psychoanalytic, The Viennese Psychoanalytic, the Parisian Society, the British Schools of Psychoanalysis, the New York Psychoanalytic Institute, and the Boston and Philadelphia Societies and Institutes. Influence and input have come from Anna Frued, Willie Hoffer, Dorothy Burlingham, Ernest Jones, Abraham, Rado and his students, Nacht and many others. Currently, some of the training analysts have trained with Kohut, and there are many important Canadian contributions. Space does not permit mentioning all who contributed to the integration and melding that has lent a stability, maturity and a universality to Canadian Psychoanalysis that is sometimes missing elsewhere. The present life members of the Society are: W. C. M. Scott, Eric Wittkower and George Zavitzianos.
The city of Quebec is a unique and lovely city to visit. It is hospitable, with enormous charm, and is the only walled city in North America. The friendly ambiance, French speaking and Latin atmosphere make Quebec an excellent place to have a meeting in an enjoyable setting. Two members of the Society live in Quebec City, Drs. Henri Richard and Noel Mongrain.
I know that all members of the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society and Institute look forward to our colleagues coming to Quebec, and to having a most memorable meeting of the American Psychoanalytic Association.
Gerald J. Sarwer-Foner
Canadian Psychoanalytic Society (Ottawa Branch)