Presence and continuity: 30 years with the International Forum of Psychoanalysis

Abstract

We are celebrating the 30th anniversary of International Forum of Psychoanalysis (IFP). When I think of these rewarding 30 years, the early 1990s come to life. At that time, I shared an office with Jan Stensson. I remember our daily meetings. One of the subjects of our dialogue was the need for an international English-speaking journal, reflecting the spirit of the IFPS, a spirit of freedom and unorthodoxy. However, the plans for a new journal encountered opposition both within the IFPS and within our own group, the Swedish Association for Holistic Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. A committee was assigned, with members from different societies to investigate the possibilities of an IFPS journal. Most members of the committee voted against a journal, believing that many journals in their languages, English and German, already existed. Jochen Kemper from Brazil and Jan Stensson from Sweden voted for a new journal. In 1991, the Swedish Association for Holistic Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis hosted the IFPS scientific conference in Stockholm. Despite the opposition, the IFPS decided to start a new journal: the International Forum of Psychoanalysis. This was made possible because Jan Stensson had found a publishing company in Sweden that was willing to take the risk of publishing a new journal. Looking back, Jan Stensson (2014) wrote: