IFPE
is an organization that offers a home for individuals, institutes
and organizations who are committed to fostering the growth of
psychoanalysis as an integral part of the culture, and who seek
a non-sectarian forum to share their perspective with others.
Its membership is open to anyone with a self-identified interest
in psychoanalysis, whether clinical, academic, artistic, or philosophical.
IFPE seeks to encourage alternatives to restrictive psychoanalytic
training, to reverse the decline of psychoanalysis as a viable
profession, and to facilitate dialogue with disciplines that can
enrich psychoanalysis by broadening its horizons.
Hans
W. Loewald (1906-1992), the man in whose name this award is given,
was a practitioner, scholar, and teacher with a deep respect for
the history and complexity of psychoanalytic thought. He was an
innovator, willing to challenge prevailing wisdom in order to
extend the boundaries of psychoanalytic knowledge.
The
Chicago Circle Clinical Day
On the day preceding the conference, the Chicago Circle hosted
a clinical day and an evening workshop. It included three case
presentations by members of the Chicago Circle, Paul Shahbaz,
Traci Nix and Charles Turk, entitled respectively : "Nobody
knows my name" an example of schizophrenic fragmentation;
"Spider Lady" a case illustrating problems that enactment
can produce; and "The man in the box" a case of manic-depressive
rigidity.
A
format was employed, that has since become known as the "Chicago
Style," where extensive case material was provided to Willy
Apollon, Danielle Bergeron and Lucie Cantin ahead of time to assist
them in planning the discussion.
That
same evening a workshop was held to which were invited individuals
interested in how a treatment program for psychotics modeled upon
388 might be developed. While the turnout was smaller than we
had hoped, those in attendance participated enthusiastically in
the discussion of how 388 came to be and about how the concepts
that sustain it were developed, and some have continued to come
to our meetings and participate in our discussions.
Our Personal Reactions
This
year’s meeting of the IFPE was a very special one for us.
We were moved by the recognition given to GIFRIC and its three
directors, and by their messages. Their presentations, and the
others given by them and by other members of the École
stimulated us to return to our work with redoubled energy. It
was a special pleasure to have the Loewald Award presented to
them in Chicago, and at the same meeting where Charles Turk was
awarded the Outstanding Educator Award. The addresses they gave
– Willy Apollon’s comparison of science and speech
in the treatment of psychosis, Danielle Bergeron’s exposition
of psychoanalytic treatment through a case, and Lucie Cantin’s
synthesis of the 388 program – reached the audience with
clarity and were enthusiastically received. Several of our colleagues
commented on GIFRIC’s work in the closing meeting on the
last day of the conference. A former president and current board
member, Patrick Kavanaugh, said to us afterward that this is exactly
what IFPE should be about, and that the contribution they made
in their Loewald address set a very high standard for our future.
In an e-mail message to the board, he added: “The message
from GIFRIC’s directors describes an impact on the international
community that both reflects and advances, I believe, the mission
statements and goals of the Federation as described in our membership
directory. … And certainly, it keeps alive the spirit in
which the Loewald Award was first established and is presented
each year. In a time of very little good news, the world is truly
a better place today for everyone’s efforts and energies.”
This
has opened the way considerably for the advancement of our efforts
to start a program like the 388 in Chicago. After the meeting,
several new students joined our seminars, brought in by hearing
either the Loewald Award presentations, or the clinical day and
the evening presentation following it—and the other GIFRIC
presentations in the meetings. We are looking forward to getting
copies of the text of all the Loewald presentations to discuss
in our groups.
January 1, 2005
Waud
Kracke, Lucia Villela, Charles Turk
e-mail:
cetbat@xnet.com
