Reading Italian Psychoanalysis

Franco Borgogno, Alberto Luchetti, Luisa Marino Coe, Franco Borgogno, Alberto Luchetti, Luisa Marino Coe

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781138932869
• eBook ISBN: 9781317388128
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Mental Health in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Winner of the American Board & Academy of Psychoanalysis Prize for best Edited book published in 2016

Psychoanalysis in Italy is a particularly diverse and vibrant profession, embracing a number of influences and schools of thought, connecting together new thinking, and producing theorists and clinicians of global renown. Reading Italian Psychoanalysis provides a comprehensive guide to the most important Italian psychoanalytic thinking of recent years, including work by major names such as Weiss, E.Gaddini, Matte Blanco, Nissim Momigliano, Canestri, Amati Mehler, and Ferro. It covers the most important theoretical developments and clinical advances, with special emphasis on contemporary topics such as transference, trauma and primitive states of mind where Italian work has been particular influential.

In this volume, Franco Borgogno, Alberto Luchetti and Luisa Marino Coe of the Italian Psychoanalytical Society provide an overview of how Italian psychoanalysis has developed from the 1920's to the present day, tracing its early influences and highlighting contemporary developments. Forty-six seminal and representative papers of psychoanalysts belonging to the two Italian psychoanalytical societies (the Italian Psychoanalytical Society and the Italian Association of Psychoanalysis) have been chosen to illuminate what is special about Italian theoretical and clinical thinking, and what is demonstrative of the specificity of its psychoanalytic discourse. The selected papers are preceded by a first introductory section about the history of psychoanalysis in Italy and followed by a "swift glance at Italian psychoanalysis from abroad". They are grouped into sections which represent the areas particularly explored by Italian psychoanalysis. Each section is accompanied by introductory comments which summarize the main ideas and concepts and also their historical and cultural background, so as to offer to the reader either an orientation and stimulus for the debate and to indicate their connections to other papers included in the present volume and to the international psychoanalytic world.

The book is divided into six parts including:

• History of psychoanalysis in Italy
• Metapsychology
• Clinical practice, theory of technique, therapeutic factors
• The person of the analyst, countertransference and the analytic relationship/field
• Trauma, psychic pain, mourning and working-through
• Preverbal, precocious, fusional, primitive states of the mind

This volume offers an excellent and detailed "fresco" of Italian psychoanalytic debate, shining a light on thinking that has evolved differently in France, England, North and Latin America. It is an ideal book for beginners and advanced students of clinical theory as well as experienced psychoanalysts wanting to know more about Italian psychoanalytic theory and technique, and how they have developed.

Part I

HISTORY OF PSYCHOANALYSIS IN ITALY

1 PSYCHOANALYSIS IN ITALY

Giuseppe Di Chiara

An MD and psychiatrist, Giuseppe Di Chiara, associated to the Italian Psychoanalytical Society (SPI) in 1969, has been a training and supervising analyst since 1978. He was Secretary of the Training Institute of Milan, National Scientific Secretary of the SPI and President of the Italian Psychoanalytical Society in the years 1993–1997.

Di Chiara has published many important papers on the theory, practice and history of psychoanalysis. He is editor of Itinerari della psicoanalisi [Pathways in Psychoanalysis] (Loescher, 1983) and, with Claudio Neri, of Psicoanalisi futura [Future Psychoanalysis] (Borla, 1993) and author of Sindromi psicosociali [Psychosocial Syndromes] (R. Cortina, 1999), of Curare con la psicoanalisi [Curing with Psychoanalysis] (R. Cortina, 2003) and, with the historian Nestore Pirillo, of Conversazione sulla psicoanalisi [Dialogue on Psychoanalysis] (Liguori, 1997).

In common with many other scientists and artists, Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, maintained a long relationship with Italy—with its nature, cities, art, culture and people—all through his life and his scientific journey (Novelletto, 1969, 1992; Musatti, 1976; Freud, 1979).

Freud, the successful scientist who founded psychoanalysis, enjoyed important relationships with two Italian professionals, collaborating from 1920 to nurture psychoanalysis in Italy. These were two medical doctors and good friends: Edoardo Weiss from Trieste (which had recently joined Italy at the end of World War I) and Marco Levi-Bianchini from Teramo. They shared an interest in psychiatry, Jewish culture, a knowledge of German and of Freud himself and his work; on the other hand, they also differed from each other in many respects (Accerboni, 1990a, b, 1995). Weiss had had an analysis with Paul Federn, a member of Freud’s first group in Vienna and had also been able to attend that group’s meetings. Levi-Bianchini, who also knew Freud, had been a careful reader and a great scholar of psychoanalytic texts. Both had translated important works by Freud: Levi-Bianchini had translated Five Lectures at Clark University and Weiss the Introductory Lessons. Weiss was cautious and wanted to establish a firm foundation for psychoanalysis in Italy, deeply connected with its roots.

Levi-Bianchini was more daring and full of enthusiasm, being willing to go to any lengths in order to spread psychoanalysis. Weiss hoped to involve leading personalities in the field of psychiatry (such as Sante de Sanctis) and for this reason he waited and suggested that Freud wait too. Levi-Bianchini thought that the best thing was to get started as soon as possible. He advised Freud accordingly and obtained permission to found an Italian Psychoanalytical Society.

Therefore on 7 June 1925 Levi-Bianchini founded the Italian Psychoanalytical Society (SPI) in Teramo. Its members, together with Levi and Weiss, were the assistant doctors directed by Levi-Bianchini.

Weiss informed Freud that, psychoanalytically speaking, the group was defective. Freud, however, supported Levi-Bianchini’s project and wrote to Weiss that sometimes ‘form comes before content’ and that they should be satisfied with this. At this point Weiss agreed to become President of the new-born Society and Levi-Bianchini its Secretary.

The ‘content’ followed shortly. In 1931 Weiss published the first Italian contribution to psychoanalysis: Elements of Psychoanalysis; Emilio Servadio, Nicola Perrotti and Cesare Musatti joined the Society, soon followed by Alessandra Tomasi di Lampedusa (see the many biographies of the pioneers in Corrao, 1982; Petacchi, 1985; Novelletto, 1992; Reichmann, 1999; Vigneri, 2008; Chianese, 2011). Two principal decisions were taken at the members’ meeting held in Rome on 1 October 1931: the first was ‘to radically reorganise the Society and remove those individuals who are not committed to dealing with psychoanalysis directly and with clear continuity’ (Archivio Generale di Neurologia, Psichiatria e Psicoanalisi, 1931). The second was to move the official headquarters of the Society from Teramo to Rome. As a result the SPI moved to Rome in 1932 and Weiss founded and became the first Director of the Italian Rivista di Psicoanalisi (the official journal of the Society).

Not all the original members participated in this renovation of the Society. Of the initial members, Weiss and Bianchini were the only ones still working in the organisation together with those two who had later joined the Society as a result of their friendship with Weiss. In 1933, the rules were changed to start what became the Training Institute in Psychoanalysis. Obligatory personal psychoanalysis for the candidate was introduced, together with supervisions of controlled cases for training, and discussion of a clinical report with an appointed group of members (Di Chiara, 1995). As a result, from 1936 the Italian Psychoanalytical Society (SPI) and its members were listed in the IPA Bulletin. This was due to the fact that the Society had broken into the international scene, participating in International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA) conferences at Wiesbaden (1932), Lucerne (1934) and Marienbad in 1936, attended by Weiss, Perrotti and Servadio (Novelletto, 1992).

Unfortunately, these international developments meant psychoanalysis had to deal with Italian politics, i.e. with the Fascist regime. The first sign of trouble emerged in 1934¹ when Servadio asked the Italian Home Office for permission to join the Viennese Society of Psychoanalysis (Wiener Psychoanalytische Vereinigung) and consequently the IPA.² The Minister turned to the Prefect’s Office in Rome, which confirmed the link between the Viennese Society and the IPA (a link which the SPI did not enjoy at that point because it was considered not successful enough), stressing that the IPA was a purely scientific association. Dissatisfied, the Home Office turned to the Foreign Office, which rejected Servadio’s request and, at the same time, started a police inquiry into Freud and psychoanalysis in Vienna. The inquiry came to the conclusion that the Academy was opposed to the new science, which had been supported by the previous ‘Red Municipality’ (the socialist administration) and was currently being studied and developed by Jewish doctors and subversive persons. As for Freud, they said he was reputed to be ‘a good doctor and not so bad psychiatrist, but not such a great celebrity’. Servadio’s request was ultimately rejected, notwithstanding the favourable information concerning his personality. Freud, instead, was considered ‘a suspicious person to be traced and stopped’ (see Bellanova & Bellanova, 1982; Di Chiara & Pirillo, 1997, pp. 163–172).

A second unpleasant event occurred in 1936. During the XIV IPA Congress held in Marienbad, in August 1936, the SPI finally became an IPA Component Society. Weiss as President informed the Rome Prefecture about this acknowledgement, saying he was proud to hold ‘high the name, the prestige and language of our Country’. We do not know whether there was any reply but what we learn from the archives is that in 1937 the police made inquiries into the SPI to gain a full picture of the Society: Weiss was President, Levi-Bianchini the Honorary President, Hirsh the Secretary; other members were Wanda Schrenger Weiss, Servadio, Merloni (a lawyer), Perrotti, S.E. Alessandra Tomasi di Palma, Princess of Lampedusa, Ladislao Kovacs and Cesare Musatti. A great deal of information was provided about the members and it does not appear that the Home Office had ultimately authorised Servadio to join the Psychoanalytical Society in Vienna (Di Chiara & Pirillo, 1997, p. 171).

No action was taken to dissolve the SPI. However its journal had already been abolished in 1934.³ Indeed, the tolerance or even that little amount of positive consideration from the political authorities which psychoanalysis had enjoyed between 1930 and 1934 was coming to an end (see Jones, 1957; David, 1966). In 1934 Weiss tried to save the journal from censorship, but without success. Perhaps his greatest achievement during this year was his deployment of Marie Bonaparte’s diplomacy in order to save Freud from Nazi extermination camps, so that the elderly scientist was allowed to leave Austria and go into exile in London in 1938 (Jones, 1957). The promulgation of the racial laws put an end to the existence of the Society: Weiss left Italy in 1938, Servadio left for India, Musatti and Perrotti stopped their analytic practices and together with them the whole SPI ceased any activity.

Those psychoanalysts who had left Italy or lived in hiding between 1938 and 1945 started meeting again from 1945; these were years of reconstruction in Italy, for the country, for the SPI and for psychoanalysis itself.

In 1946 the Society was sufficiently organized to hold its first national conference in Rome. Perrotti was now President: he had taken over psychoanalysis after his participation in the Italian Resistance. He would also carry out government functions as High Commissioner for Health and at the same time was the head of one of the two psychoanalytic training institutes in Rome. The second institute was led by Servadio. In Milan Musatti founded and led the third SPI Training Institute. Weiss had settled permanently in the USA. 1950 saw the second SPI National Conference, which ended with an important motion to change psychiatric care proposed by Levi-Bianchini, honorary President, together with Ossicini, member of the SPI and an important politician. Twenty-five years had passed from the founding of the Society and now SPI enjoyed a full structure, a history of its own and clear roots: psychoanalysis in Vienna, imported by two Italian analysts of the Viennese group and above all by the fact that Weiss himself was in analysis with Federn, and met frequently with Freud’s group; and psychoanalysis in Berlin, where A. Tomasi di Palma had attended the first ever Psychoanalytical Training Institute (founded by K. Abraham), which became the main training model all over the world.

From 1950 onwards psychoanalysis started developing in Italy, with the help of a psychoanalytic society now ready to promote and support it. The number of psychoanalysts increased. They were trained in the three training institutes that worked in complete autonomy. Musatti published his Trattato di Psicoanalisi [Treatise on Psychoanalysis] in 1949, an extraordinary example of clarity and precision, and undertook his greatest challenge—to translate and publish Freud’s Gesammelte Werke. This would be completed between 1967 and 1980, placing the heritage of the founder of psychoanalysis at the disposal of Italian scholars. There were two official SPI journals: the Rivista Italiana di Psicoanalisi and Psiche. The first, founded by Weiss in 1932, was abolished during Fascism, then refounded by Musatti two years later, after 1955 (Accerboni, 2004), and has now had over 59 anniversaries. The second, Psiche, was founded by Perrotti, and is about psychoanalysis and its relationship to other disciplines. The two journals originally belonged to Musatti (Rivista di Psicoanalisi), and Perrotti (Psiche); later on they were generously offered to the SPI. The Rivista di Psicoanalisi, with its four annual issues, is now also available in an on-line version. Psiche is now only published in its electronic format. Between 1950 and 1960 a great number of third-generation analysts had reached maturity: these were pioneer students, young and middle-aged, who were highly motivated with excellent psychoanalytical competence. They read and studied not only Freud’s works, but also papers by French, American and English psychoanalysts; they were active and productive while waiting impatiently to be trusted by their pioneer founders with the leadership of the society, mainly with reference to the transmission of psychoanalysis, that was essential if they were to become training and supervision analysts. In Milan, F. Fornari introduced group psychoanalysis and psychoanalysis of institutions, through the work of M. Klein. In Rome, Gaddini engaged in frequent correspondence with Winnicott, whose work he studied and extended. In Bologna, Carloni rediscovered Ferenczi’s work and spread his ideas. From Palermo, Corrao became the first promoter of post Kleinian authors such as Racker, Meltzer, Rosenfeld and, especially, W.R. Bion. A significant, widening gap opened between the number of training analysts running the training (and the Society) and those who were associate and full members. Because of this tension, the third SPI Congress could not be held and a group of young analysts protested directly to the IPA leadership (Novelletto, 1992; Di Chiara & Pirillo, 1997; Chianese, 2011).

There is a story—a legend or a real historical fact?—which narrates the conspiracy of the ‘three princesses’ who, during the Edinburgh IPA Congress, spoke up on the part of the third generation of Italian analysts. Two of these ‘princesses’ were of royal birth: Alessandra Stomersee Tomasi di Palma and Marie Bonaparte, and the third, of particular significance, was Anna Freud. It seems that they informed the IPA leadership (Gillespie was President) of the difficulties of the Italian Society. It was 1961 and the IPA decided to investigate the Italian Society by sending a visiting site committee. Its prestigious members were three senior analysts of the Swiss society: De Saussurre (a founder of the European Psychoanalytical Federation (EFP)), Parin and Morghenthaler (both theoreticians of the Dogon unconscious structures). The site committee approved the Training Institute organisation and its division into three different local institutes; it also supported and approved the request from many full-member analysts who had been waiting for a long time to become training analysts. Thanks to these appointments by the site committee and various others which followed shortly, the Society acquired many new training analysts and underwent considerable expansion. This new generation of analysts, highly valued and invested with responsibility, now led the Society. One of these ‘youngsters’ was F. Corrao, who became President after Servadio in 1969.

Two important reforms were carried out during Corrao’s presidency. The first was the institution of a specific group of members who supervised the new analysts’ training procedures (a fourth generation was growing) and in doing so provided regulation across the three Training Institutes. The second was the creation of new social centres which would be called Psychoanalytical Centres, to which members from a specific region or geographical area would refer. A centre was meant to balance the Institute’s life. The aim was to avoid the influence of the senior training analysts on the whole institutional life by creating two different areas: the Institutes, where training took place, and the Centre, where the social, scientific and cultural life of the members was played out. Italian analysts, like their German counterparts, are very much spread around the country. There are analysts not only in Rome and Milan, but also in many other Italian cities. The creation of the Centres made possible the development of the Society’s life, and mainly its scientific initiatives, in its own original area of the country. Numerous new Centres grew in different Italian cities; in 2012 there were 11 of them. New training institutes could then be created where there were sufficient numbers of teachers and trainees: hence the creation of a fourth institute in Bologna, the Veneto-Emilia Center.

The Psychoanalytic Institution’s organisation is structured thus: the members’ Assembly includes associates and ordinary (full) members; they elect the National Executive Committee, its President and the Executive Committee’s members. The National Scientific Committee, which includes each Scientific Secretary from each regional centre, coordinates scientific activities; the Director of the Scientific Committee is part of the National Executive ex officio. Locally, each centre elects its executive governors and conducts its social activities. Training is entrusted to Institutes, regulated by the National Training Committee, two members for each Institute; this Committee elects its Training Director, to be part of the National Executive Committee ex officio.

The Committee is thereby composed of the President, two Vice-Presidents, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Scientific Secretary (or Director), the Training Secretary and the Editor of the journal. Training analysts form another Committee, the General Training Committee. The purpose of these new reforms was to develop a leading group that was not entirely composed of training analysts, but also to make sure that there was an ongoing connection between the different structures of the Society and the Training Institute. The three Presidents who followed Corrao—Fornari, Gaddini and Carloni—and their executive committees embraced and expanded upon the outcomes of this fruitful season of reforms and growth (Di Chiara & Pirillo, 1997).

Most of the centres were founded during Franco Fornari’s presidency. Fornari tried to stimulate the Society’s interest in the problems encountered dealing with great institutions; he was concerned with the relationship between psychoanalysis and psychiatric, social and sanitary instit...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Reading Italian Psychoanalysis
• The New Library of Psychoanalysis
• Titles in this Series
• Praise
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• General Introduction
• Part I History of Psychoanalysis in Italy
• Part II Metapsychology
• Part III Clinical Practice, Theory of Technique, Therapeutic Factors
• Part IV The Person of the Analyst, Countertransference and the Analytic Relationship/Field
• Part V Trauma, Psychic Pain, Mourning and Working-Through
• Part VI Preverbal, Precocious, Fusional, Primitive States of the Mind
• Afterword
• Bibliography
• Index