:::: IPSO - Candidates ::::

History of IPSO

The International Psychoanalytical Studies Organization (IPSO) has been in existence since 1973. Prior to that time, psychoanalytic candidates were not represented in their institutes or societies and thus had no forum in which to discuss concerns about their own training and education. In the late sixties, perhaps echoing the worldwide dissatisfaction of a younger generation with authority and perhaps even being encouraged by such dissent, a group of candidates planned a demonstration during the 1969 International Psychoanalytic Association's Congress 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 group of candidates did not actually demonstrate but instead held their own simultaneous meetings near the IPA's meeting site, discussing issues of training, lack of candidate representation on committees, and overall limited inclusion within their communities.

Leo Rangell, then the new President of IPA, 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 headed by two students, one from Great Britain and one from the United States. Reportedly, both analyst and candidate groups contained hostility and resentment. The analysts regarded the student meetings as "subversive" and the candidates expressed their discontent after the long-standing tradition of being excluded. In the end, the meetings were fruitful as they provided an avenue for discussion and for the expression of candidates' needs. It was at this meeting that the proposal for a candidate organization was formulated and IPSO's birth was announced.

Currently, IPSO enjoys a collaborative and productive relationship with the IPA. Consecutive and/or simultaneous congresses are held every two years. IPSO is governed according to its Constitution and By-laws, 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's Constitution and By-Laws are being revised and will be posted on the website as soon as that is completed.

Member Benefits

IPSO invites and encourages all psychoanalytic candidates to become members. Those candidates training in institutes of the American Psychoanalytic Association automatically become members of IPSO when they join as Affiliates. You may contact your regional representative who can advise you, on a local level, of the specifics on how to join IPSO.

Most new members comment on the intellectual excitement and social liveliness of the IPSO group.

Benefits of membership include:

a copy of the IPSO journal published every two years

participation in congresses and scientific meetings

the opportunity to present ideas and papers at IPSO congresses

the chance to voice your opinions on psychoanalytic training standards, raise issues about training in your institute or region, represent your group at a local and international level

enjoy the diversity of the international psychoanalytic community

attend social functions at the IPSO and IPA congresses

form social relationships and professional networks throughout the world