The International Psychoanalytical Studies Organization (IPSO) was founded in 1975.
In the late sixties, echoing the worldwide dissatisfaction of a younger generation with a certain kind of authority, a group of candidates planned a Counter-Congress during the 1969 Congress of the International Psychoanalytical Association in Rome. The threat of such a confrontation mobilized the training analysts attending the Congress to consider the possibility of candidate representation, but at a later date. The candidates did not actually stage a demonstration yet held their own meetings at the same time as the IPA, near the official site of the IPA meeting.
This group of candidates discussed issues related to training, the lack of candidate representation on committees, and the overall limited inclusion within their communities. Marianna Bolko and Berthold Rothschild wrote a fascinating account of this meeting which can be found here: “A flea in one’s ear. An account of the Counter-Congress of the International Psychoanalytical Association of 1969 in Rome”
Leo Rangell, the incoming President of the IPA back then, requested that a student conference be organized for the upcoming Conference on Training to be held in Vienna in 1971. A candidate committee was organized and led by two students, Dr. Julian Goodburn, from the United Kingdom, and Dr. David Terman, from the United States. Both analyst and candidate groups were reported to hold a lot of hostility and resentment. The analysts regarded the student meetings as “subversive,” while candidates expressed their discontent after a long-standing tradition of exclusion.
In the end, the meetings were fruitful as they provided an avenue for discussion and for the expression of the needs of analysts-in-training. It was at this meeting that the proposal for a candidate organization was formulated. There was another organizational meeting in Paris in 1973, and IPSO was officially founded at the 1975 London IPA Congress.
The first Executive Committee was comprised of the following members: President: Dr. Warren Kinston (U.K. –– originally from Australia), Secretary: Dr. Rivka Eifermann (Israel), Treasurer: Dr. Elsie Kooij-Scheen (Netherlands), Members: Dr. Tomas Böhm (Sweden), Ms. Dietlind Eckensberger (West Germany), Dr. Fabio Herrmann (Brazil), Mr. Udayan Patel (India) and Dr. Martin Weiler (U.S.A.)
IPSO currently enjoys a collaborative and productive relationship with the IPA and holds joint Congresses with the IPA every two years. IPSO governs in accordance with its constitution and bylaws, publishes its own journal, manages a budget, and elects members to its Executive Committee who, in turn, represent the interests of candidates in local and international committees and institutions. IPSO invites and encourages all psychoanalysts-in-training at IPA-affiliated societies and study groups to become members. We encourage you to contact your regional representative, who can advise you on the specifics of how to join IPSO.
IPSO embodies a spirit that marries an intense intellectual interest for psychoanalysis with an enthusiastic attitude towards sharing good times with colleagues. Most new members comment on this.
