From Basle to Milan to Zurich: On psychoanalytic training

Journal title PSICOTERAPIA E SCIENZE UMANE
Author/s Pier Francesco Galli
Publishing Year 2026 Issue 2026/3
Language Italian Pages 8 P. 623-630 File size 254 KB
DOI 10.3280/PU2026-003017
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This article is a “Letter to the Editor” published in issue no. 6/2013 of the International Journal of Psychoanalysis in response to an article entitled “Letter from Basle” by Dieter Bürgin published in issue no. 6/2012 of the International Journal. It argues that Dieter Bürgin incorrectly reconstructed the history of the “Psychoanalytic Seminar Zurich” (PSZ), justifying the PSZ’s split from the Swiss Psychoanalytic Society (SGP) on the basis of certain political positions. In reality, the split between the PSZ and the Swiss Psychoanalytic Society was caused by purely scientific, cultural, theoretical, and technical aspects of the training applied at the PSZ, aspects that could not be accepted by the Swiss Psychoanalytic Society: the PSZ members declared that they wanted to remain Analytiker in Ausbildung (“psychoanalysts in training”, or “lifelong students”) and to refuse the diploma in psychoanalysis because they viewed psychoanalytic training as a neverending process and that terminating it was antipsychoanalytic. Some aspects of Galli's cultural and professional background that are consistent with this position are also mentioned.

Keywords: “Zurich Psychoanalytic Seminar” (PSZ); Psychoanalytic training; History of psychoanalytic institution; Politics of psychoanalyis; Swiss Psychoanalytic Society (SGP)

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Pier Francesco Galli, Da Basilea a Milano e a Zurigo: sulla formazione in psicoanalisi (2013) in "PSICOTERAPIA E SCIENZE UMANE" 3/2026, pp 623-630, DOI: 10.3280/PU2026-003017