The controversial discussions were a protracted series of meetings of the

British Psychoanalytical Society The British Psychoanalytical Society was founded by the British neurologist Ernest Jones as the London Psychoanalytical Society on 30 October 1913. It is one of two organizations in Britain training psychoanalysts, the other being the British P ...

which took place between October 1942 and February 1944 between the Viennese school and the supporters of

Melanie Klein Melanie Klein (née Reizes; 30 March 1882 – 22 September 1960) was an Austrian-British author and psychoanalyst known for her work in child analysis. She was the primary figure in the development of object relations theory. Klein suggested tha ...

. They led to a tripartite division of training in the society after the war with the three groups of Kleinians,

Anna Freud Anna Freud (3 December 1895 – 9 October 1982) was a British psychoanalyst of Austrian-Jewish descent. She was born in Vienna, the sixth and youngest child of Sigmund Freud and Martha Bernays. She followed the path of her father and contribu ...

ians, and the Middle (or later Independent) Group. In these sessions the differences between classical Freudian analysis and newer Kleinian theory were argued with considerable vehemence. The Freudian side was principally represented by

, who was resistant to the revisions of theory and method proposed by Klein as a result of her work as an analyst of young children. The Klein Group included Susan Isaacs,

Joan Riviere Joan Hodgson Riviere (28 June 1883 – 20 May 1962) was a British psychoanalyst, who was both an early translator of Freud into English and an influential writer on her own account. Life and career Riviere was born Joan Hodgson Verrall in Bri ...

Paula Heimann Paula Heimann (née Klatzko; 2 February 1899 – 22 October 1982) was a German psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, who established the phenomenon of countertransference as an important tool of psychoanalytic treatment. Life in Germany Born in ...

, and

Roger Money-Kyrle Roger Money-Kyrle was a British psychoanalyst renowned for his wide-ranging intellect interested in the ways an individual psyche relates to the wider sphere of human society. A member of the British Psycho-Analytical Society, Money-Kyrle bl ...

. The Anna Freud Group included

Kate Friedlander Kate Friedlander (born Käte Frankl; also Käte Misch-Frankl or Kate Friedländer-Frankl; 1902–1949) was a pioneering female psychoanalyst, who left Germany for England in 1933, and became a member of the British Psychoanalytical Society. Train ...

, and Willie Hoffer. The "

Middle Group The Independent or Middle Group of British analysts represents one of the three distinct sub-schools of the British Psychoanalytical Society, and 'developed what is known as the ''British independent'' perspective, which argued that the primary mo ...

", who tried to apply a moderating force included Ella Freeman Sharpe,

James Strachey James Beaumont Strachey (; 26 September 1887, London25 April 1967, High Wycombe) was a British psychoanalyst, and, with his wife Alix, a translator of Sigmund Freud into English. He is perhaps best known as the general editor of ''The Standar ...

Sylvia Payne Sylvia May Payne (née Moore; 6 November 1880 – 30 May 1976) was one of the pioneers of psychoanalysis in the United Kingdom. Early life Born as Sylvia May Moore in Marylebone, London, the daughter of Rev. Edward William Moore and his wife ...

Donald Winnicott Donald Woods Winnicott (7 April 1896 – 25 January 1971) was an English paediatrician and psychoanalyst who was especially influential in the field of object relations theory and developmental psychology. He was a leading member of the Br ...

, William Gillespie,

Marjorie Brierley Marjorie Flowers Brierley (24 March 1893 - 21 April 1984) was a pioneer of psychoanalysis in Britain, and helped chair the Controversial discussions of 1942 which shaped the subsequent history of the British Psychoanalytical Society. Biography ...

, and later,

Michael Balint , , image = Monte Verità Gedenktafel Michael Balint 1K4A4638-b.jpg , caption = , birth_name = Mihály Maurice Bergsmann , birth_date = , birth_place = Budapest , death_date = , death_place = London , occupation = psychoan ...

. In the agreement, eventually formalised in November 1946, two parallel training courses were established, one for candidates aligned to the Anna Freud school and one incorporating training from Freudian and Kleinian analysts as well as from the non-aligned analysts from the Middle or Independent Group. On this basis the agreement specified that: * There should be one Training Committee responsible for all matters regarding the selection, training, and qualification of students. * Students could opt to take either course. * Lectures and seminars other than those on technique would be common to all students. * Students would attend clinical and technical seminars taken by analysts of their own course or group. They could attend as guests those taken by members of the other course. * The first Supervisor must be from the student's own group, the second drawn from the non-aligned Middle Group. * In the third year all students would attend clinical seminars run by teachers from both courses. It was agreed further that all the key policy making committees of the BPS should have representatives from the three groups.Baker, Ron ‘The evolution of organisational and training procedures in psychoanalytic associations: a brief account of the unique British contribution’ in Johns, J. and Steiner, R. (eds) ''Within Time and Beyond Time: A Festschrift for Pearl King'', London: Karnac, 2001, pp. 66-78.

References

{{Reflist * Rycroft, C.: 'A Critical Dictionary of Psychoanalysis' (Penguin, 2nd Ed, 1995) *King, P. H. M. and Steiner, R.: ''The Freud/Klein Controversies in the British Psycho-Analytical Society, 1941—5'' (London, 1990) History of mental health in the United Kingdom Psychoanalysis

See also

References