The Natural History of Mental Life – An Institute of Psychoanalysis Lecture

The Institute of Psychoanalysis is holding a fascinating event at which eminent psychoanalyst, writer and teacher Dr Ronald Britton will explore theories of body and mind. Referring to contemporary practice and historical developments in the therapeutic field, he will to try to locate psychoanalysis on a conceptual axis, which puts physical and mental at opposite ends of a continuum - one which as yet does not appear to meet in the middle.

Dr Britton says: "At the present time the neurosciences are approaching from one end of this continuum, and the mental sciences from the other. Freud began at the neurological end. By 1900 and his publication of Interpretation of Dreams he was, and would remain, at the other end. At his new starting point it was not neurones but ideas that were the atoms of his inquiry. The temptation at either end of this axis is to turn one's back on the other. This is unfortunate because we live in the uncharted middle; this is the ground where psychoanalysis operates, studying mental life in much the same way as Darwin studied natural history, before it was able to join up with the new science of the biology laboratory."

Further Information:

Dr Ronald Britton is well known internationally as a psychoanalytic writer, teacher and clinician. His books include The Oedipal Complex Today, Belief and Imagination, Sex, Death and the Superego. He was President of the Institute of Psychoanalysis, a Vice-President of the International Psychoanalytical Association and former Chair of the Tavistock Clinic's Department for Children and Families.

The Institute Of Psychoanalysis is the main UK professional organisation for psychoanalysts in the UK and a global centre of excellence in the provision of psychoanalytic training, education, publication and clinical practice. Established in 1919, its membership has included Sigmund Freud, Anna Freud, Melanie Klein, Wilfred Bion and Donald Winnicott. It is the home of the London Clinic of Psychoanalysis, founded in 1926, one of a number of clinics established by Freud in Europe still in operation today. It offers consultations and help finding an analyst, in selected cases at a low fee.

It administers these activities on behalf of the British Psychoanalytical Society and is a member institution of the British Psychoanalytic Council. The Institute is also a member of the International Psychoanalytical Association, which safeguards standards in psychoanalysis and ensures a rigorous training process.

For clinical enquiries contact the London Clinic of Psychoanalysis on 020 7563 5002, clinic@iopa.org.uk