The XV ISPS Symposium in Madrid is now officially completed, but the emotional and intellectual stimulation will last long into the future. Manuel Gonzalez de Chavez, organizer of the congress and new chair of the executive board, along with Ann-Louise Silver, the new treasurer, and Yrjö Alanen edited a new volume Fifty Years of Humanistic Treatment of Psychosis: In Honour of the History of the International Society for the Psychological Treatments of the Schizophrenias and Other Psychoses, 1956-2006 (Yrjö O. Alanen, Ann-Louise S. Silver and Manuel Gonzalez de Chavez-editors). It is available in English from:

Paradox, S. L.
C/Santa Teresa, 2.
28004 Madrid Spain
paradox@paradox.es
Phone: 34 91 700 40 42
Fax: 34 91 319 59 26
www.paradox.es

The volume is divided into the following sections: History of the ISPS Symposia; The ISPS Today; Views on the Future Development of the ISPS; a section which includes the ISPS Constitution, history of the Board members from 1990-2006; a biographical account of ISPS Honorary members; and Concluding Words from Manuel Gonzalez de Chavez, Ann-Louise Silver, and Yrjö Alanen.

On the flight back from Madrid to New York, I had many hours to read this stimulating and very informative volume concerning our history and development, particularly the work and ideas of its many members and architects. I would like to quote from Christian Müller MD (who attended the meeting along with the majority of Honorary Life Members of ISPS-Manuel Gonzalez de Chavez planned a ceremony for them-this passage is from “Beginnings of the International Symposia for the Psychotherapy of Schizophrenia”), co-founder of ISPS along with Gaetano Benedetti MD in 1956 in Lausanne, Switzerland, in speaking of the development of ISPS:

“How do I feel about this development, am I proud of it? Yes or no? Yes, because with the predominance of ‘biological’ psychiatry, it is important that an international organization actively maintains and defends the psychodynamic point of view. No, because precisely that ideal which Benedetti and I pursued at that time no longer has the same meaning as it did back then. Let us understand each other correctly when we speak of psychodynamic thinking. I do not want to simply refer to the writings and ideas of Freud, but rather to an attitude. I would like to characterize this attitude as follows: it is about not just describing the phenomena of the illness, but rather understanding its sense, its meaning for the patient. In my instruction, I have also always tried to arouse inquisitiveness about what this ‘loss of the sense of reality’ means, what the emergence of ‘madness’ [and I use this old word intentionally] means in the life of the patient, because I am most deeply convinced that only the tireless efforts for understanding also give us the possibility to create lively human contact with the patient. It is not sufficient to organize that which today is called ‘community-based’ sociotherapy so that the patient can be integrated or can remain in a social network. No, that is really not enough for me. Furthermore, I think that what is essential in the process of a therapy with the schizophrenic [person] is the unconditional personal commitment of a therapist who, starting from that which he has understood about his patient, attempts to deal with him in a different manner than what he has experienced up to that point. It can be called ‘correcting experience,’ which seemed to me to be a very essential thing during the entire period of my work. This type of personal commitment, that is my ‘credo,’ the flag that I will hold up as long as my strength allows.” (pp.27-28)

I believe Christian Müller is referring to the immersion experience with patients which Peter Fonagy also spoke of at our ISPS conference in London in 1997. Fonagy warned us that if we move entirely to short-term and group treatments, or treatments which are primarily educative, we are in danger of not seeing or understanding the patient, and thereby having little to teach and pass onto future generations. Therapies which include close continuing contact with the patient and are open to understanding the patient as a person within all of her or his relevant sociocultural contexts, past and present, in my way of thinking, qualify for the kind of work Christian Müller and Gaetano Benedetti had in mind when they first initiated ISPS.

Brian Koehler PhD
Postdoctoral Faculty
New York University
80 East 11th Street #339
New York NY 10003
212.533.5687
brian_koehler@psychoanalysis.net