The 30 years of the International Forum of Psychoanalysis

Abstract

The vitality and competence of an institution is measured by the importance of its contributions to the social and intellectual environment in which it finds itself. In a federation of psychoanalytic societies this fact prevails. The return of a result to the social environment is accomplished not only by meeting the demands that are made to psychoanalysis, but also by the written record of advances in psychoanalytic theory and in the clinic itself. Capturing the pulsating movement of psychoanalysis and expanding it to the social is a give back and a duty of those who have specific knowledge and want to share their results. The International Forum of Psychoanalysis (IFP), in its 30 years of existence, has shown itself to be this instrument of quality within the psychoanalytic world. In a scenario in which digital publications predominate, due to the difficulty of making paper editions, the IFP (which offers both versions) differs in that it manages to maintain itself as a concrete object in an immediatist and fast-paced era such as the current one. In 1999, as the person responsible for the task of being a regional editor (for South America) of the IFP, I had my first meeting with the editorial board of the journal. This meeting, specifically for this purpose, took place in Amsterdam, the most favorable place for the other participants from Europe. Arriving from the southern part of the Meridional Hemisphere, and having a mother tongue spoken by few countries (without great relevance on the world stage), I had the pleasant surprise of being listened to and respected by the journal’s founding editor, Dr. Jan Stensson, and his coeditor-in-chef, Dr Christer Sjödin. A little frightened by the task and its responsibility, I found in the two Swedish psychoanalysts great human beings with whom I got on well immediately. There were also my colleagues: Valerie Tate Angel (from the USA), Romulo Aguillaume (from Spain), Carlo Bonomi and Marco Conci (from Italy), Michael Ermann (from Germany), Maarit Arpo (from Finland), and the friendly and competent Mona Serenius, the journal’s general manager. After that meeting, we always had others on the occasions of the international fora. Although I already had experience of editingmagazines in Brazil, this new opportunity gradually gave me more resourcefulness to listen to and speak with colleagues from other countries, and to get acquainted with the situation of psychoanalysis in a broader scenario. We used to discuss the subjects of each issue of the journal and also the theme of the upcoming issues. The highlight of this interaction, for me, was the chance for regional editors to be guest editors for special issues of the IFP. I considered this fact a great opportunity to show something of what is done in psychoanalysis in Brazil, where much work and great dedication goes into this relatively new area of human knowledge. The first issue I prepared was Volume 11, 2002, No. 2, whose theme was: “Social Realities and Psychoanalysis.” We had just held a congress in Brazil on this topic and I invited authors who had contributed to this meeting. I also made a call to other authors who were interested in contributing to this edition. I wrote the editorial, talking about the Brazilian situation to outline the issues. There were 13 articles by Brazilian authors and one by an author who was not Brazilain. I shall list some articles of this issue: “The historical path of Círculo Psicanalítico de Minas Gerais” (our own institution) by Arlindo Carlos Pimenta; “Psychoanalysis and university in Brazil: Possibilities and limits of this articulation” by José Tiago Reis Filho; “Violence and racial matters in Brazil: A psychoanalytical approach” by Eliana Maria Delpino, José Tiago Reis Filho, Silvia Regina Gomes Foscarini, and Wanda Avelino; “Pieces of real life: Thoughts on violence” by Maria Lúcia Salvo Coimbra; “Switch him on!” (about