EnriquePichonRivière:
PioneeroftheLink
DavidE.Scharff,MD,Editor
Copyright©2017
e-Book2017InternationalPsychotherapyInstitute
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TableofContents
AbouttheEditorandContributors
Introduction DavidE.Scharff,MD
EnriquePichonRivière:AnOutlineofHisPrincipalIdeasRobertLosso,MD
DiscussionbyLeaS.deSetton
TheContributionsofEnriquePichonRivière:ComparisonswithhisEuropeanContemporariesandwithModernTheory
DavidE.Scharff,MDComparisonwithObjectRelations
OfLinksandBonds:ThecomplexthoughtandpracticeofEnriquePichonRivièreJuanTubert-Oklander,MD,PhD
EnriquePichonRivière:HisContributionstoInstitutionalInterventionJoaquinPichonRivière
DiscussionByLeaS.deSetton
EpilogueDavidE.Scharff,MD
7
10
19
28
35
44
5
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AbouttheEditorandContributors
RobertoLosso,MD,isaPsychiatristandPsychoanalyst,amemberof the
Argentine Psychoanalytical Association and the International Psychoanalytical
Association. Consulting Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Buenos
Aires. Coordinating Committee, Family and Couple FEPAL (Latin American
Psychoanalytic Federation). Clinical Professor of Family and Couple Therapy,
John F. Kennedy University. Author, Family Psychoanalysis: Theoretical and
Technical Considerations. (Buenos Aires, Lumen). Italian version: Psicoanalisi
della famiglia. Percorsi theoretical-tecnici. (Milano, Franco Angeli), and several
textsonhispersonalexperiencewithPichonRivière.
JoaquínPichonRivière isaSocialPsychologistandPastPresidentofthe
AssociationofSocialPsychologistsoftheArgentina.HeiscurrentlyChairofthe
EthicalCommitteeofAPSRA, andbothadidactic andhonorarymemberof the
association. He published the first dictionary of Enrique Pichon Rivière’s
terminology and comments on social psychology, and Enrique & Arminda: A
photographic biography about Enrique Pichon Rivière and his wife, Arminda
Aberastury.
David E. Scharff, MD, is Chair of the Board, former Director and Co-
FounderoftheInternationalPsychotherapyInstituteinWashington,DC;Chairof
theInternationalPsychoanalyticAssociation’sCommitteeonFamilyandCouple
Psychoanalysis;Editorandauthorofmorethan30books,includingtheworkof
Ronald Fairbairn; and books on family, couple and individual therapy and
analysis. Recent books includeThe Interpersonal Unconscious (with Jill Savege
Scharff,Karnac,2011).Hehasco-editedbooksonpsychoanalysis inChina,and
onfamilyandcouplepsychoanalysis.WithRobertoLossoandLeadeS.Setton,he
co-edited The Linked Self in Psychoanalysis: The Pioneering Work of Enrique
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PichonRivière(Karnac,2017).
Lea S. de Setton, PhD, is a Member and Training Analyst, International
PsychoanalyticalAssociation;Faculty, theInternationalPsychotherapyInstitute
and Supervising Analyst at the International Institute for Psychoanalytic
Training, Washington, DC; former chair of IPI-Panama; faculty member,
Doctorate Program, Catholic University (USMA), Panama. Board member,
International Association for Family and Couple Psychoanalysis. Psychologist,
PsychoanalystandPsychotherapistinprivatepracticewithindividuals,couples
andfamiliesinPanama.
Juan Tubert-Oklander, MD, PhD, is a Training and Supervising
Psychoanalyst at theMexican Psychoanalytic Association, and a group analyst,
practicing in Mexico City. Full member of the Argentine Psychoanalytic
Association,theInternationalPsychoanalyticAssociation,andtheGroup-Analytic
Society International. He is author of numerous papers and book chapters
published in several languages. His recent book is The One and the Many:
RelationalPsychoanalysisandGroupAnalysis(Karnac,2012).
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Introduction
DavidE.Scharff,MD
This book introduces the work of Enrique Pichon Rivière to an English-
reading psychoanalytic audience, and then explores some of the many
implicationsanddevelopmentsofhisgroundbreakingwork.ThiseBookfollows
thepublicationofthefirstgroupofarticlesonandbyEnriquePichonRivièrein
theInternationalJournalofPsychoanalysis,andthefirstcollectionofhiswritings
inEnglishasaprintbook,TheLinkedSelfinPsychoanalysis:TheWorkofEnrique
PichonRivière.WhenRobertoLossointroducedmanyofusatTheInternational
Psychotherapy Institute to his work almost 10 years ago, his ideas seemed a
revelation. Our Institute is founded on principles of British object relations,
particularlytheworkofFairbairn,Klein,Winnicott,BionandBowlby,alongwith
other British and worldwide contributors who together have woven a rich
tapestrythatnowconstitutesacoherentobjectrelationstheory.Psychoanalytic
object relations theoryandpracticeelaborateon the revolution thathappened
when Fairbairn and Klein moved psychoanalysis beyond Freud’s drive theory
and pleasure principle-centered formulations because they realized that what
motivates development from the beginning of life is the need to be in
relationships. Ground-breaking writers of the middle of the 20th century
fashioned a quantum leap in our capacity to understand analytically, with
revolutions in thinking about the makeup of the psyche and the role of
unconscious interaction in development, in everyday life, and in the analytic
therapies.
The contributors to this book have each worked over many years to
increase intersubjective understanding of the organization of mind and
interaction.Myownworkandthatofmycolleagues,workingoftenwithfamilies,
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couplesandgroups, lookedatthewaypeopleweremutuallyinfluentialofeach
other’spsyches.Usingchaostheory,forinstance,wesawhowpeoplecouldpull
each other towards their own kinds of psychic organization, and bymaking a
bond,createahigherleveloforganizationuniquetoeachpairorgroup.
But it was a revelation for me to learn that Pichon Rivière had been
grappling with these issues since the 1940s, and had formulated related
revolutionary ideas towards which so many of us had been struggling in the
intervening60years.Pichon’sformulationof“thelink”,or“elvinculo”inSpanish,
asanorganizationdevelopedby twopeople ina relationship thatexists in the
space between them, towhich they both contribute, andwhich in turn acts to
organize thepsycheofeach individual inapair,a familyoragroup,put intoa
conciseandpowerfultermwhatwehadbeenstrugglingtowards.Wecouldnow
see that Henry Dicks’ formulation of the “shared marital personality”, or
Stolorow and Atwood’s “intersubjectivity”, or Ogden’s “analytic third”, or
Bowlby’sattachmentbond,wereallexamplesofsuchlinks.
Pichonsaw these linksashavingvertical andhorizontaldimensions.The
vertical link joins peoplewith previous and subsequent generations, giving an
explanation for intergenerational transmission of personality and of trauma.
Horizontallinksbindeachpersontotheirnuclearfamilies,extendedfamiliesand
thesocialworld.
Among Pichon’s other important formulations was the idea of a
fundamental illness, a deep-seated depression expressed through diverse
symptoms deriving from underlying deprivation, mistreatment or trauma and
fromfamily-widesecretsandmisunderstanding.Heheldthatpatientswereillin
thecontextoftheirfamiliesandgroups,thatasymptomaticfamilymemberwas
the spokesperson for a family illness and thus was, in a paradoxical way, the
strongestmember of the family. Hewas the actual originator both of analytic
family therapy years before its growth in the United States, and a founder of
grouppsychotherapy.Hebegandoing group therapy early in parallelwith the
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developmentofgroupanalysisinGreatBritain,butwithnocommunicationwith
FuchsorBion.HeunderstoodtheOedipalsituationtobebothbi-corporal(thatis
twobodies)and tri-personalpsychicallybecausea childhasparentswhoeach
haveapsychicrelationshipwiththeotherparent,ifnotinactuality,atleastinthe
mind.He saw that therapy goes on through disrupting a patient’s pre-existing
organizationthroughthedisruptionofwhatthepatientbringsbyinterpretation,
toproducewhathecalledanew“emergent”,whichisaresultoftheinteraction
ofthetherapistandthepatient,andthattherapyisa“spiralprocess”inwhichit
crossesthesameterritoryateverdeeperlevels.
Along the way Pichon Rivière organized therapeutic communities many
yearsbeforetheywerediscoveredinGreatBritain,andformulatedtheideathat
psychoanalysisisbasicallyasocialpsychology,onethatmustseethepersonas
embeddedinthesocialworld.
In this book, we are privileged to have four eminent contributors. From
Roberto Losso, we have a detailed version of Pichon Rivière’s revolutionary
ideas; from Juan Tubert-Oklander, we learn about Pichon’s invention of
“operativegroups”;andwereadabouttheapplicationofthesegroundbreaking
ideasoutsideofformalpsychoanalysisfromPichon’sson,JoaquinPichonRivière
who is himself a social psychologist and consultant. I contribute a paper that
comparesPichon’sideaswiththoseofBritishObjectRelationsthatmanyreaders
willfindmorefamiliar.Finally,LeaSetton,ourcolleagueintheeditingofthefirst
bookofPichon’s ideas inEnglish,offersdiscussionsof threeof thechaptersby
reconsideringseveralofthesefundamentalideas.
It’sbeenagreatprivilege forustobeentrustedwiththetaskofbringing
Pichon Rivière’s ideas to the English-speaking audience that he deserves. We
hopethiseBookwillbeanotherelementintheprocessofintroducinghisworkto
awideningaudienceofEnglishreaders.
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1
EnriquePichonRivière:AnOutlineofHisPrincipalIdeas1
RobertoLosso,MD
Iwas fortunatetoworkwithPichonRivière formanyyears. Imethimin
the1960sat theFirstPrivateSchoolofDynamicPsychiatry,whichhe ranand
whereIbegantoworkasacoordinatorofwhathecalled“operativegroups”,and
wherehewasmysupervisor.Thankstothisexperienceandfurthercontactwith
Pichon, I witnessed his openness to the ideas of others, and his insistence on
presentinghisownformulationsasprovisional. Iappreciatedhisbrilliance,his
versatility,andhiscuriosityabouteverythinghuman.Eachclasswasarevelation.
He continuously surprised us with something new, or with a different or
enrichingversionofsomethinghehadalreadysaid.Hewouldvividlyexplainto
ushisdialecticviewpointorhisideaof“spiralmovement,”anideathatplaysan
importantroleinhistheoryofthetherapeuticprocess.
Pichon was a unique, multifaceted figure. His interests ranged from
classicaltodynamicpsychiatry,psychoanalysis,grouppsychotherapy,familyand
couple therapy, social psychology, applied psychoanalysis, and more. He was
concernedwith the connection between art, literature andmadness.Hewrote
studiesonthelifeandworkofIsidoreDucasse,CountofLautréaumont,andon
AntoninArtaudandhiscontactswiththesurrealisticmovement.
Hewasoneofthefirsttousepsychoanalysistounderstandpsychosis,and
the development of the transference in psychotic patients as he applied a
psychoanalytic approach to treat psychoses. His ability to connect with these
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patientswasastonishing.Isawthathewasabletoachievesignificantchangein
severecases.
Inthe1950s,Pichonintroducedhistheoryofthelink,whichconstitutesone
ofhismostimportantcontributionstopsychoanalytictheoryandpractice.Inhis
classes, he insisted that there is no psyche outside the link. He emphasized the
importanceofseeingpatientswithinthefamilyandsocialcontexttowhichthey
belonged. An oft-stated piece of advice was that we invite into our office
everyonewhocomeswithapatient. If thepatientwasaccompaniedbyoneor
more family members, neighbors, or friends, they should all come in. And he
wouldadd,half-joking,“Includingthedog!”
Pichon pointed out that the analytic session was bi-corporal and tri-
personal, referring to the constant psychic presence of the third party (or
parties) in the space of the relationship even although only two personswere
physically present. Some analysts have confused Pichon's “link theory” with
otherviewsthatignoretheintrapsychicdimension,becausetheywere(andstill
are)afraidofshiftingthefieldofpsychoanalysisfromanintrapsychicfocustoa
relational or interactionalworld. Pichon held that any intrapsychic focusmust
alsoconsidertheconstantinfluenceoftheinteractionalworldonthemind.
The concept of link has been usedmore frequently in psychoanalysis in
recent years. Yet we should make clear that for Pichon, links are not simply
phenomenaoccurringbetweentwopre-existingsubjects;subjectsareconstituted
by links andwithin links. Linksdonotdeveloponlybetween subjects but also
insideeachpersonbyvirtueoftheinternalizationofexternallinks.
As linksare internalized, theyaremodifiedanddistortedbyneeds,which
are also theirmotivating foundation. Here Pichon alludes to human subjects'
initialhelplessness(Hilflösigkeit) and the inability of people to survive outside
theirlinkswithothers.Pichondefinesthebiopsychologicalneedsoflove,contact,
protection, warmth, nutrition, and so on. Individuals are born with these and
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other needs, which immediately motivate social interaction. Some of these
experienceswillbefrustrating,andothersgratifying.
Thus, subjects are born from links and live in links throughout their
existence. They are “chained” to links, both external interactional ones, and
internal psychic ones. Thereby emerges another essential Pichonian concept,
namely,theinternalgroup,whichisinconstantdialecticinteractionwithexternal
groups. The internal group is not static; it is made up of all links and of
everything that happens externally and internally. It plays an internal drama
(drama as action). Pichon uses a metaphor, the internal field, to illustrate his
notionoftheinternalgroupasdynamicandinconstantinteractionandmotion.
Pichondevelopedalsotheconceptofecologicalinternalization[associatedtothat
of hometown (querencia or pago)]. This notion alludes to subjects'
internalizationoftheenvironmentinwhichtheirlifedevelops,highlightingonce
again the significance of the social environment in the constitution and
preservationofidentity.
The idea of the group quality of the psyche, together with the internal
group/external group dialectic, carries important technical consequences.
Adoptionofthisassumptionleadstothenecessityofconsideringthegroupsto
whichapersonbelongsinunderstandingintrapsychicfunction.
Pichon advocated a link psychiatry that studies pathology not as one of
isolated individuals, but as located in links. We can only understand what
happens to an individual in terms of that person’s external and internal links,
that is to say, at both psychosocial and sociodynamic levels. This point is
particularly relevant today in view of contemporary psychiatry's tendency to
“biologize” mental suffering in claiming that certain chemical and genetic
changesconstitutethecauseprincipalcauseofmentaldisease.
Oneof Pichon’smost valuable ideas is his reformulationof the theory of
instincts (or drives). He revises Freud’s (1921) theory of the life and death
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instinctsbygiving ita linkdimension.Heproposesthat insteadof instinctswe
speak of two types of link models, a good link, originating in gratifying
experiences,andabad link, theproductof frustratingexperiences. Inthisway,
thedrive,acquiresalinkorigin,thatis,driveisbornfromwithinthelink.
Pichon’s theory of the unique illness, sometimes the object of simplistic
interpretations, has become particularly meaningful now that the tendency
towardthebiologizationofhumansufferingissostrong.BasedontheFreudian
theoryofcomplementaryseries,Pichonremindsusthatallsufferingbeginswith
asituationofdeprivationthat,inturn,triggersadepressionthatmayormaynot
have clinical manifestations. What we consider “mental illnesses” are actually
ways of reacting to this underlying depression through using various defense
mechanisms that appear in one or more of the three areas of behavioral
expression(mind,body,andexternalworld).
His concept of the pathology of the good object, or schizoid depression, is
innovative.Schizoiddepressionischaracterizedbyafeelingofbeingatthemercy
of another. Individuals unconsciously deposit good and idealized aspects of
themselvesintheirobjects,whichtheymustthencontrolandfearto lose.This
constitutes his theory of the 3 Ds: Depositor, deposited, depositary. The
depositorcarriesouttheactofdepositingmentalcontents(thedeposited)into
themindof another, the depositary. Thepredominant feelings of this schizoid
depressionaboutlossofordistancefromthegoodobjectarenostalgiaandbeing
atthemercyofthedepositary,whonowownsorcontrolsthegoodobject.
Icannotdescribeherethetheoryofthesingleillnessindetail,butIbelieve
thatitisessentialtheconceptofstructuralmobility.Pichondoesnotestablisha
categoricaldifferenceamongthevariouspsychopathologicalstructures.Theyare
“instrumentalandsituationalforeachhere-and-nowoftheinteractionprocess"
anddependonthelinksthatareinvolvedineachtimeandsituation.Astheseare
not fixed structures, there are no rigid boundaries between psychoneurosis,
psychosis, borderline states, psychosomatic disorders, and the variations in
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symptomaticpictures.
OneofPichon’sstatementsquotedbyZitoLemabrilliantlysummarizeshis
conceptionofthesubject:“Humanindividualsarebeingsofneeds,needsthatcan
onlybemetsocially inrelationshipsthatdeterminethem.Subjectsarenotonly
related subjects but also produced subjects, that is, they are the result of the
interactionofindividuals,groupsandclasses”.(Lemma,2017)Here,too,Pichon
introducestheimportanceofthesocialsphere.Hetaughtustoconsidernotonly
intrapsychicandinterpsychiclinkdimensions,butthesocialdimensionaswell.
AnotherPichonianideaisthatillnessemergesasa“solution,”anattemptto
solve the problemposedwhen subjects are facedwith a discrepancy between
their personal aspirations (I would even say the aspirations connected with
injunctions originating in certain internalized links) and their ability to fulfill
them.
Pichonwas one of the first to highlight the need, inmany cases, to treat
patientswith their families. Subjects, he stated, get sickwith insecurity, family
misunderstanding,andwithlove–withlongingforandlackoflove,becausethis
needisnotfullymet;andwithhate,sincethefamilygroupinwhichtheydevelop
does not allow them to achieve an identity of their own. There is also often
insufficient discrimination among its members, which therefore limits the
developmentofindividualidentity.
Pichon's theoryof the spokesperson is also relevant. The spokesperson is
thesubjectwhoexpressesthesuffering,discomfort,andinsecurityofthefamily
group.Illnessisthusanewqualitythatappearsinthefamilyfield.Heintroduced
the concept ofmisunderstanding, which he considered the basic illness of the
familygroup.Wearealwaysworkingonmisunderstandingsthatemergeinthe
group,thatis,ontheongoingconfrontationbetweentheinternalgroup(internal
linkmodels)ofeachfamilymember,distortedbycertainsituationsthatoccurred
at somepoint in thatperson'shistory,and theexternalgroup in thehere-and-
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now, the present-day family, the family of external reality rather than the
internalized one. Family secrets were often the vehicle for this kind of
misunderstanding, and, hewrote, that the “ill” or symptomatic familymember
wasparadoxicallythestrongestmemberofthefamilybecauseabletocontainthe
unexpressedanddisavowedstrugglesof theothers.Thusthesymptomsofone
family member conveyed family “secrets” and “spoke” for the illness and
dysfunctionofthegroup.Whenapersonfallsill,saidPichon,thereisatendency
to segregate that person as the depositary of the group’s anxieties. Family
memberstrytokeephimawaywiththefantasythathissegregationwillcause
theiranxietytodisappear.
Thenotionoffamilymysterydescribeswhatweoftenperceiveinfamilies,
namely,thatthereisamysteryunderlyingtheconflictstheypresenttous.Itisa
conspiracyofsilence.(Todaythewordfamilysecretismoreused).Theattemptto
confrontthis“mystery”isexperiencedasathreatofcatastrophe,andtherefore
thefamilyresistsitsclarification,throughaspecialwayoftreatingthepatient,a
wayof“takingcare”ofhimthatkeepsfactshiddenandlocksthepatientinthe
roleofthe“illperson.”Thisbehaviorconstitutesasubtle(ornotsosubtle)form
ofsegregation.
ForPichon,thecorrectivetaskwiththefamilyconsistsinredistributingthe
group's anxiety, analyzing misunderstandings, restoring communication
networks,reformulatinglinks(Iwouldsaybycontrastinginternalandexternal
links),andrestructuringtheinterplayofroles.
Pichon was fond of soccer, and used to tell us that a family should
metaphorically be like a soccer team,where eachplayer has a position on the
field (defense, attack, and so on), but those may change depending on the
vicissitudesofthegame.Alltheelementsofthesoccersituationarepartofthe
fieldincludingthefans,thereferee,andeventheball.Thesameoughttohappen
in families. Members must have the necessary plasticity to take over other
members' roles depending on the circumstances of family life, and for this
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reason, theconsiderationofapersonas fillingdifferentroles at different times
andindifferingcircumstancesshouldalwaysbeconsidered.
Pichon was also ahead of his time in introducing the transgenerational
dimensionthroughhismetaphorofthecrossandinpointingoutthepathogenic
role of the family mystery. Individuals live on a cross. The vertical arm
correspondstotheir linkswithpreviousgenerations(transgenerationalchain),
andthehorizontalonetothelinkswiththeircontemporaries,inthefirstplace,
withtheirfamilygroup.
I will end with a few words about Pichon´s Social Psychology: Pichon’s
principalbookhasasubtitle:From“PsychoanalysistoSocialPsychology”.What
did“SocialPsychology”meanforhim?Pichonwroteinhisarticle"LaPsicología
Social" (Social Psychology): “The contrast that most surprises analysts in the
practiceoftheirtaskisdiscoveringwitheverypatientthatwearenotfacingan
isolatedpersonbutanemissary,thatis,understandingthatanindividualassuch
isnotonlythemainactorofadramathatseeksclarificationthroughanalysis,but
alsothespokespersonofasituationplayedbythemembersofasocialgroup(for
instance, the individual’s family), towhomhehas always been committed and
whomhehasincorporatedintohisinternalworldsincetheverybeginningofhis
life”.ThatisforhimSocialPsychology.
DiscussionbyLeaS.deSetton
It isprivilege forus toheardirectly fromDr.RobertoLosso,who in turn
had privilege of working directly with Pichon Rivière for many years. He
appreciatesPichon’sbrilliance,hiscuriosity,andhisinterestsinabroadvariety
of areas such as dynamic psychiatry, psychoanalysis, group psychotherapy,
familyandcoupletheory,socialpsychologyandappliedpsychoanalysis.Pichon
wasalsooneofthefirsttousepsychoanalysistounderstandpsychosisandthe
developmentoftransferenceinpsychoticpatients.
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Pichon’sTheoryof theLink referstohowsubjectsareconstitutedby links
andwithin links. Linksdevelopbetween subjects and insideof them.Links are
internalized, modified and distorted by needs, which are their motivating
foundation.Hereemergestheconceptofaninternalgroup inconstantdialectic
interactionwith the external group. In a larger sense, the environment is also
internalized,anoriginalconceptthatPichoncalledecologicalinternalization.
For Dr. Losso one of Pichon’s most important concepts is structural
mobility. According to Pichon the different psychopathological structures are
“instrumentalandsituational”inthehereandnow,withnorigidboundaries,and
it is noteworthy that their formation and expression include the social
dimension.
Pichon was also original in developing his theory in regard to family
therapy. He describes how the illness appears in the family field. The
spokespersonisconsideredthestrongestmemberthatcarriesthesufferingsof
thegroup.Inmanyofhisstudentsandotherswhoseworkderivesfromhis,we
canhearstrongechoesofhisgroundbreaking“discovery”of thisapplicationof
psychoanalysislongbeforeitsdevelopmentinNorthAmericaandEurope.
Pichonreferredtothefamily’sbasicillnessasthemisunderstandingsthat
emerge in the confrontation of the internal and external groups, powered by
family secrets—often unconsciously known by all family members—and
influenced by the transgenerational dimension. For Pichon there is amystery
underlyingsuchconflicts,aconspiracyofsilence.
Thetherapeuticprocesswithfamiliesandgroupsfocusesonredistributing
thegroup’s anxiety,workon themisunderstandings, improved communication
and help to support individuals inhabit roles in more flexible and
interchangeableways.
I consider the concept of familymisunderstandings to be very important.
ForPichon thesecodinganddecodingprocess,associatedwith individualsand
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group frameworks, could generate situations of understanding or
misunderstandings that led to cascades of difficulty. Such work in family
psychoanalyticpsychotherapyrequiresspecialattentionandpatiencethatallows
therapiststofollowthedetailsofmisunderstandings,tonameanddescribethem,
andtherebytohelpre-distributetheanxietieswithinafamilygrouptowardsthe
developmentofhealthierrolefunctioningforeachmember.
FURTHERREADING
Theprinciple reading in English contains sevenof PichonRivière’swritings in
translationforthefirsttime:
Losso,R.,Setton.L.andScharff,D.,Eds.(2017):TheLinkedSelfinPsychoanalysis.ThePioneeringWorkofEnriquePichonRivière.London:Karnac
SeveralotherareasarecoveredinarticlesofDr.Losso’spreviouslypublishedin
English:
Losso,R.(2017):PichonRivièreandthetheoryofthelink.In:Scharff,D.&Palacios,E.(ed.)FamilyandCouplePsychoanalysis.Aglobalperspective.London,Karnac,pp.45-48
Losso,R.(2017):ThehistoryofFamilyandCouplePsychoanalysisinLatinAmerica.In:Scharff,D,&Vorchheimer,M(ed.):Clinicaldialogues inpsychoanalysis inLatinAmericaLondon,Karnac,pp.43-48
Losso,R.(2017):EnriquePichonRivière.Abrillianttrailblazer.InLosso,R.,Scharff,D.,Setton.L.(ed):TheLinkedSelf inPsycho-analysis.ThePioneeringWorkofEnriquePichonRivière. London,Karnac,pp.149-158
REFERENCES
Freud,S.(1921):GrouppsychologyandtheAnalysisoftheEgo.SE18.
Lemma,Z.V.(2017)ThelongriverofEnriquePichonRivière,inTheLinkedSelfinPsychoanalysis:ThePioneering Work of Enrique Pichon Rivière. Losso, R., Setton, L., Scharff, D. Eds. London:Karnac.pp.211-216
Note
1ThischapterandLeaSetton’sdiscussionwerefirstpresentedinthePanel“EnriquePichonRivière:Pioneerof the link inpsychoanalysis”;50thInternationalPsychoanalyticCongress,BuenosAires,July27,2017.
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2
TheContributionsofEnriquePichonRivière:ComparisonswithhisEuropeanContemporariesandwith
ModernTheory2
DavidE.Scharff,MD
EnriquePichonRivière,apioneerofpsychoanalysis,workedandwrotein
Argentina in themid-twentieth century, none of hisworkwas translated into
English until recently (Losso, et al., 2017). From the beginning, PichonRivière
understoodthesocialapplicationsofanalyticthinking,centeringhisideason“el
vinculo”,generallytranslatedas“thelink”,butthatcouldequallybetranslatedas
“bond”. The concept that each individual is born into human social links, is
shaped by them, and simultaneously contributes to them inextricably ties
persons’innerworldstothesocialworldoffamilyandsocietyinwhichtheylive.
Pichon Rivière believed therefore that family analysis, and group and
institutional applications of analysis were as important as individual
psychoanalysis.Manyoftheoriginalfamilyandcoupletherapistsfromwhomour
field learned trainedwith him. Because hisworkwas centered in the analytic
writings of Fairbairn and Klein, as well as those of the anthropologist George
Herbert Mead and the field theory of Kurt Lewin, his original ideas have
importantthingstoteachustoday.
Freud and those following him in the first half of the twentieth century
postulated that individualswere structured from inside their own constitution
throughlineardevelopment,inwhichillnessconstitutedfixationatearlypoints
ofdevelopmentorregressionbackdownthedevelopmental line.Inthismodel,
parentsandotherinfluentialadultscouldonlyshapeordisfigureapredestined
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formforeachchild.Thismodelchangedfundamentallythroughthecontributions
of Fairbairn (1952) and Klein (1975a; 1975b) whose work gave a picture of
individual personality taking shape in interaction with important parental
figures.Klein’s ideaofprojective identificationpicturedthechildrecruitingthe
parenttoholdoverwhelmingaggressionwhichthechildfoundintolerableinside
herself. Ina complementaryway,Fairbairndescribedhowchildren introjected
experience with their mothers (and others), and then split it into varying
categories to build psychic structure.He described this structure vividly as an
ego-object internal structure, made up of identifications with external people
dividedintointernalemotionalgroupingsdependingonwhethertheexperience
beinginternalisedwassatisfactory,rejecting,oroverlyexcitingofneed.
InArgentina,beginninginthe1940s,EnriquePichonRivière(1971,a,b,c,d;
1979; 2016) drew on his knowledge of Fairbairn and Klein, and on the non-
analytic sources of K. Lewin for field theory, and G. H. Mead for a socio-
anthropological point of view, tomake further pioneering contributionswhich
then inspired thenextgenerationofSouthAmericanpsychoanalysts.However,
sincePichonRivière’sworkwasnottranslatedintoEnglish,itsinfluenceonthe
mainstreamofpsychoanalysisremainedindirect,seepingintoanalyticdiscourse
throughauthorswhoreadSpanishorwhostudiedwithhim,includingWillyand
Madeline Baranger, Faimberg, and Kaës. This chapter begins by summarizing
somecentralideasofPichonRivièreonwhomsuchauthorsdrew,inorderthen
to outline some comparisons with parallel developments in current
psychoanalytictheory.
PichonRivière’scentralideawasthatalink(elvinculo)wasformedbyall
peopleinpsychologicalinteraction.Thelinkisasuperordinatestructureformed
throughspeechandinteractioninthespacebetweenpeople.It isformedbyall
partners in interaction,while, in turn, itorganisestheirpsyches.So individuals
are constitutedbothby their inherent constitution (as Freudhad said) andby
constant interaction with others. In this way "otherness" or "alterity" is a
constantorganisingfactorbecauseitchallengesthecontinuityofexistingpsychic
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organisation.Everyindividualisbornintolinks,breathinglinksintheairasfish
swiminwater,andatthesametime,eachpersoncontributestolinks,whichin
turn contribute to the continual re-organisation of that person. Links are
expressedinthethreeareasof"mind,bodyandinteraction"(includingspeech).
Theyexistinanintermediateareabetweentheinternalworldandtheexternal
world of interaction, organisedby bothpartners of a pair or allmembers of a
group. The link is a shared, mutual construction, which, through reciprocal
action,thenorganisesthemembersofthatgroup.Inthisway,externalrelations
and internal object relations are formed by the twin pillars of the individual
unconsciousandsocialinfluence.
Linksarebuilton individualneeds for love,nurture, safetyandknowing.
Insidethemind,linksarereproducedinthebondbetweengoodandbadobject
relationsandtheself, inresonancewithlinksintheexternalworld.Itseemsto
methatPichondrewthisformulationofthepsychedirectlyfromFairbairn,but
animportantandnewcontributionofPichonRivière’sformulationofelvinculo
was to specify how continuing external interaction continually reorganises
individuals, not only through unconscious communication–that is introjective
and projective identification–but through all external interaction including
consciousinteraction.
There are two axes of the link: The "vertical axis" joins the generations,
boththeinheritanceofpreviousgenerationsandhistory,andthetransmissionof
experiencetosubsequentgenerationsandthefuture.The"horizontalaxis"joins
individualsandfamilieswiththesocialgroupsaroundthem–extendedfamily,the
village,institutions,widersociety,andcurrentculture.
Thelinkisexpressedthroughindividualaction,speech,symptoms,bodily
experiences,anddreams,aswellasothervehicles throughbothconsciousand
unconscious expression and communication. The body is, for PichonRivière, a
primary location of links, not confined to illness as is often emphasised in
contemporarypsychosomaticschools.
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Wecanpicture links invariousways.Rather thanananalogy toa simple
chainoflinkedelements,amoreaptimagewouldbechain-linkfence,oraseries
ofintertwinedelementsindynamicmovement.PichonRivière’sprescientideas
fit best with the formulations of chaos or complexity theory developed in the
decades after his death (Gleick, 1987; Scharff & Scharff, 2011). In these
formulations, complex systems are characterised like non-linear equations in
mathematics,formingnon-repeatingpatternswhichmaygiveasenseofpattern-
recognition (like that of a person’s personality), but the iterations of complex
equations do not ever exactly repeat. Think of the similar, but non-repeating,
patternsofsnowflakes.Inthisformulation,whentwoormorecomplexsystems
come together, the pattern of the resulting higher order system cannot be
predictedfromthecharacteristicsofthelowerordersub-systems.Suchcomplex
systems have unpredictable "emergent properties". For instance,we could not
predict the patterns of personality from knowledge of the subsystems of the
brain. Systems that demonstrate pattern stuckness do become repetitive and
predictable,likeanelectrically-poweredpendulumswingingthroughthelimited
patter of a regular arc. Such stuckness characterises mental illness and
institutionaldysfunction.
PichonRivièrepictured therapyasa spiralprocess, circlingatdeepening
levels throughthesameterritory,butwithadifferentcutateachpassthrough
those territories. In this process the "existent" organisation is interrupted by
"interpretation", leading to anew "emergent"pattern.Transference exists as a
"here-and-now-with-me"becausethepersonofthetherapistisorganisedbyand
contributes to the therapeutic link. Pichon taught that the oedipal situation is
presentfromthebeginningbecauseathirdobjectwasalwaysrepresentedinthe
mindofthemotheroranalyst,sothatbi-corporalrelations–thatisoneswithonly
two persons present—are nevertheless tri-personal. He also adds a temporal
elementtothelinkinseeingthatlinksalwaysevolveovertime.
Fromthebeginning,PichonRivièresawtheindividualaslocatedinafamily
andsocial context.Heheld that the family is always central, and that applying
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therapytowholefamiliesisanaturalapplicationofpsychoanalysis.Hethought
that each individual is organised by an "internal group" in resonance with
externalgroupssuchasfamilyorworkinggroups.Afamilybecomesillthrough
"misunderstanding" and attempts tomaintain family secrets, and an identified
patientisoftena"spokesperson"whointerruptstheconspiracyofsilenceabout
whatcannotbesaid.The identifiedpatient is thusparadoxically the"strongest
memberofthefamily”,abletoholdtheanxietiesanddreadofthewholefamily
group through "symptoms",whichstem from thewholeofpersonalityand the
wholeofthefamily.Healsodevelopedtheideaof"operativegroups"thatextend
beyondpsychoanalytictreatmentforapplicationtoinstitutionsandsocialtasks
(PichonRivière,1960).Withcolleagueshefoundedaschoolforsocialpsychology
that remainsoneofhis chief legacies inLatinAmerica. (SeeTubert-Oklander’s
andJ.PichonRivière’schaptersinthisbook.)
ComparisonwithObjectRelations
ForanalystsmoreconversantwiththeworkofBiononlinks(1967,1970),
itisimportanttonotethatPichonRivière’suseoftheterm“link”issubstantially
different. Bion’s work refers to an intrapsychic linking of ideas, thoughts and
emotions, with an emphasis on the positively joining, or negatively attacking,
bondsoflove,hate,andknowledgeinthemind(symbolisedas+L,-L,+H,-H,+K,-
K).While Bion’s links form a part of PichonRivière’s vinculo, PichonRivière’s
basicunitinthepsycheisabondbetweengoodandbadobjectrelations(derived
from Fairbairn and Klein), but el vinculo is always also in resonance with
externalrelationsandthereforealtersovertime.
Manyof the formulations fromBritishandAmericanobject relationsand
intersubjectivists overlap with Pichon Rivière’s ideas. Henry Dicks’s "joint
marital personality" (1967), Bion’s "group basic assumptions" (1961),
Winnicott’s "transitional phenomena" and "transitional or potential space"
betweeninnerandouterworlds,acrosswhichmotherandbabyplay(1970),are
in the territory of Pichon Rivière’s link. So, too, is John Bowlby’s attachment
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theory(1969)thatdescribesspecificpsychologicalbondsofattachmentbetween
mother and baby. Subsequent research on the transmission of parents’
attachmentstyletotheirinfantsconstitutesperhapsthemosteffectivevalidation
ofthetransmissionoflinksbetweengenerations(Main,1995;Main&Solomon,
1990). More recently, Ogden’s "analytic third" (2003), the development of
concepts of intersubjectivity (Stolorow &Atwood, 1992; Beebe & Lachmann,
2002),andHopper’sworkonthesocialunconsciousasaninternalisationofthe
social link (2003) were developed well after Pichon Rivière. None of these
authorshadknowledgeofhiswork,butwiththebenefitofnowhavinghiswork
availableinEnglish,wecanseetheoverlapofthought.
Manyanalysts,psychotherapists,andfamilytherapiststrainedinArgentina
were significantly influenced by Pichon Rivière directly. Their writing has
introducedhisideasintotheEnglish-languageliteraturethroughthebackdoor.
RenéKaësinFrancevisitedArgentinatolearnabouttheworkofPichonRivière,
andlaterhadhisworktranslatedintoFrench.Kaës’sworkongroupselaborated
PichonRivière’s basic ideas particularly focusing on unconscious alliances and
resistances, and the expression of the link in speech, sexuality, symptoms and
dreams. Kaës vividly describes how group members form and express links.
WillyandMadelineBaranger,whowerestudentsofPichon,builtonhisideaof
the field.Pichon likenedtheanalytic field to the totalityof the field inasoccer
match.TheBarangerselaboratedonthisconceptinwhichlinksexisttodevelopa
bi-personal and multi-personal view of fields that analyst and patient create
together.HaydéeFaimberg(2005)elaboratedontheverticalaxisoflinksinher
book The Telescoping of Generations. And in Argentina, Puget and Berenstein
(1989)examinedtheimportanceoftheinherentlyalienatingeffectoftheotherin
both interferingwith and structuring links in each individual. Jill Scharff and I
have recently incorporated Pichon Rivière’s vinculo into our notion of the
interpersonal unconscious, exploring ways that the individual unconscious is
subjecttoandcontributestointerpersonallinks(Scharff&Scharff,2011).
Pichon Rivière’s el vinculo is one of the most powerful concepts that
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English-speakingpsychoanalystsandtherapistshaveneverheardof.Hiswriting
presagedmanymoderndevelopmentsandwasinmanywaysconceptuallymore
complete.Fortunately,acompendiumofhismostimportantwriting,alongwith
essaysbyseveralpsychoanalyticfigureswhichwereinfluencedby,orwhoknew
him,hasnowbeenpublished(Losso,Setton&Scharff,2017).Hisworkoffersa
starting point for many of the emergent ideas in psychoanalytic theory and
techniquetoday.Hedeservestobewidelyknownsothatwemayfinallytakefull
advantageofhislegacy.
REFERENCES
Baranger, M. & Baranger, W. (2009). The Work of Confluence: Listening and Interpreting in thePsychoanalyticField,ed.L.G.Fiorini.London:Karnac.
Beebe,B.&Lachmann,F.(2002).InfantResearchandAdultTreatment:Co-ConstructingInteractions.Hillsdale,NJ:AnalyticPress.
Bion.W.(1961).ExperiencesinGroupsandOtherPapers.London:Tavistock.
Bion,W.(1967).SecondThoughts.London:Heinemann.
Bion,W.(1970).AttentionandInterpretation.London:Heinemann.
Bowlby,J.(1969).AttachmentandLoss,Vol1:Attachment.London:Hogarth.
Dicks,H.V.(1967).MaritalTensions.London:RoutledgeandKeganPaul.
Faimberg,H.(2005).TheTelescopingofGenerations.LondonandNewYork,Routledge.
Fairbairn,W.R.D. (1952).Psychoanalytic Studies of thePersonality. London: Routledge and KeganPaul.
Gleick,J.(1987).Chaos.NewYork:Viking.
Hopper,E.(2003).TheSocialUnconscious.London:JessicaKingsley.
Kaës, R. (2007). Linking, Alliances, and Shared Space. London: The International PsychoanalyticAssociation.
Klein,M.(1975a).Love,GuiltandReparationandOtherWorks1921-1945.London:HogarthPress.
Klein,M.(1975b).EnvyandGratitudeandotherWorks1946-1963.London:HogarthPress.
Losso,R.,Setton,L.andScharff,D.(2017)TheLinkedSelf inPsychoanalysis:ThePioneeringWorkof
www.freepsychotherapybooks.org 25
EnriquePichonRivière.London:Karnac.
Main,M.(1995).Attachment:Overviewwithimplicationsforclinicalwork.In:S.Goldberg,R.Muir,&J.Kerr,(Eds.),AttachmentTheory:Social,DevelopmentalandClinicalPerspectives.(pp.407-475).HillsdaleNJ:AnalyticPress.
Main,M.&Solomon,J.(1990).Proceduresforidentifyinginfantsasdisorganized/disorientedduringthe Ainsworth Strange Situation. In: M. Greenberg, D. Chichetti, & M. Cummings, (Eds.)AttachmentinPreschoolYears.(pp.95-124).Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress.
Ogden,T.(2003).SubjectsofAnalysis.Northvale,NJ:JasonAronson.
Pichon Rivière, E. (1960). Técnica de los Grupos Operativos (Operative Group Technique). In: DelPsicoanálisisa laPsicologíaSocial (Volume II),BuenosAires:EdicionesGalerna,1971, (pp.269-275).(IncollaborationwithJoséBleger,DavidLibermanyEdgardoRolla).OriginallyinActaNeuropsiquiátricaArgentina,1960:6.
Pichon Rivière, E. (1971a). New Problems Facing Psychiatry: Una Nueva Problemática para lapsiquiatría.In:Delpsicoanálisisalapsicologíasocial(VolumeI).1971,pp.433-455.BuenosAires:EdicionesGalerna,
PichonRivière, E. (1971b). SomeObservations on theTransference in Psychotic Patients (Algunasobservaciones sobre la transferencia en los pacientes psicóticos). In: Del Psicoanálisis a laPsicologíaSocial(VolumeII).1971,pp.267-298.BuenosAires:EdicionesGalerna,
Pichon Rivière, E. (1971c). Family Groups: An Operative Approach (Grupos familiars: Un enfoqueOperativo).In:DelPsicoanálisisalaPsicologíaSocial(VolumeII).1971,pp.202-213.BuenosAires:EdicionesGalerna.
PichonRivière,E.(1971d).TheTreatmentofFamilyGroups:CollectivePsychotherapy(Tratamientode Grupos Familiares: Psicoterapia Colectiva). In: Del Psicoanálisis a la Psicología Social(VolumeII).1971,pp.189-199,BuenosAires:EdicionesGalerna.
PichonRivière,E.(1979).TeoríadelVínculo(TheoryoftheLink).BuenosAires:NuevaVisión.
PichonRivière,E.(2016,inpress).EnriquePichonRivière:PioneeroftheLink.R.Losso,L.Setton,&D.E.Scharff.(Eds).LondonandNewYork:Karnac.
Puget, J. & Berenstein, I. (1989). Psicoanalisis de la pareja matrimonial (Psychoanalysis of theMatrimonialCouple).BuenosAires:Paidos.
Scharff,D.E.&Scharff,J.S.(2011).TheInterpersonalUnconscious.Lanham,MD:JasonAronson.
Stolorow,R.&Atwood,G.(1992).ContextsofBeing:TheIntersubjectiveFoundationsofPsychologicalLife.Hillsdale,NJ:AnalyticPress.
Winnicott,D.W.(1951).Transitionalobjectsandtransitionalphenomena.In:ThroughPaediatricstoPsycho-Analysis,pp.229-242.London:Hogarth.1975.
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Note
2ThischapteroriginallyappearedinFamilyandCouplePsychoanalysis (2016)6:2pp.153-158,andappearsherecourtesyoftheeditorandpublisher.
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3
OfLinksandBondsThecomplexthoughtandpracticeofEnriquePichon
Rivière3
JuanTubert-Oklander
EnriquePichonRivièrewasamajorpioneerofpsychoanalysisandgroup
analysis inArgentina andLatinAmerica. Indeedhewas the initiator of group-
analytic practice and thinking in the area, although he never actually used the
name, since he referred to his approach to groups as “operative groups”. The
term“groupanalysis”wasoriginallyusedbyTrigantBurrowintheUS,andlater
by S. H. Foulkes in Britain. It has since become the name of the particular
approachtotheunderstandingandworkwithgroups,boththerapeuticandnon-
therapeutic derived from Foulkes’s work and developed by his students and
membersoftheGroup-AnalyticSocietyhefoundedinGreatBritain.ButPichon
Rivière’soperativegroup theoryandpractice are so similar toFoulkes’s that I
believe it is fair to say that group analysis is a discipline that emerged
independentlyandsimultaneouslyinBritainandBuenosAires(Tubert-Oklander
&Hernández-Tubert,2004).
Weshouldkeepinmindthatgroupanalysisisquitedifferentfromwhatis
known as “analytic group psychotherapy”. The latter is an application of
psychoanalytic theoriesandtechniques,derivedfromthepracticeof individual
psychoanalysis, to the conduct of treatment of individual patients in groups.
Group analysis, on the other hand constructs its own concepts, theories, and
techniquesfromthegroup-analyticexperience,justaspsychoanalysisdoesfrom
the bipersonal psychoanalytic experience. Hence, it is the conduct of human
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groups, whether they have a therapeutic or a non-therapeutic goal, by a
conductorwhostrivestokeepananalyticattitudevis-à-viswhateverhappensin
thegroup,includinghimorherselfasapartofthegroup,andwhointervenesin
such ways that may foster a better use of the resources of the group and its
members in their common effort to attain whatever goal they may have
identified.
Asgroupanalysisisbasedontheassumptionthattherelationalandsocial
natureofhumanbeingsisprimary,itmustnecessarilyalsoincludeandmakeuse
ofallknowledgeandtheoriesofthesocialandhumansciencesthatappeartobe
germanetounderstandingthegroup-analyticexperience.
Groupanalysisisnotrestrictedtoitsuseasamethodofpsychotherapy.It
can and is regularly applied to other kinds of group goals, such as learning,
experience,reflectiononacommonpractice,familylife,institutionalfunctionor
social life in general. This is what Pichon Rivière (1971; Losso et al, 2017)
developed extensively in his conception and practice of operative groups. A
therapeuticgroupwas,forhim,justanoperativegroupwhosecommontaskisto
achievethehealingofitsmembers.
Pichon Rivière made no difference in his approach to human affairs
between intra-personal, inter-personal, and trans-personal mental processes.
Hence he wrote, “One cannot think in terms of a distinction between the
individualandsociety.Itisanabstraction,areductionismthatwecannotaccept”
(Pichon Rivière, 1979, p. 61,my translation). It was absolutely natural for his
thinking and practice to flow effortlessly from individual conflicts to
interpersonalrelationsandtosocial,cultural,andpoliticalprocesses,bothinthe
presentandpast, includingpersonaland familyhistory,and in thehistoryofa
social group, a community, a nation, or a race.Whenworkingwith groups, he
usuallyinterpretedintwodifferentdirections:averticalinterpretation,interms
of a specific member’s history, dynamics, and experience, and a horizontal
interpretation, which conceived of the individual member’s utterances,
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expressions,andbehaviorasconstitutingmanifestationsof thewholegroup in
thecontextofitspresentsituation.Hiswasthereforeaholisticconception,which
included the field concept,which he took fromKurt Lewin, adramatic model,
derived fromAristotle´sPoetics, and his own concept of the group’s dynamics
andevolutionasaspiraldialecticprocess.
Allthisledhimtoformulateanoveltheoreticaldevelopment,whichiswhat
he calledTeoría del vínculo (Pichon Rivière, 1979).Vínculo is a Spanish word
which means “link”, “tie”, “bond”, or “relation”. It variously refers to physical,
logical, interpersonal, emotional, psychosocial, and legal connections. Pichon
Rivière´sconcepthasbeentranslatedalternativelyas“link”or“bond”.Nowadays
thepreferredEnglishtranslationseemstobe“link”,although“bond”isprobably
nearerinitsconnotationstoPichonRivière’sSpanish-languageconcept.
So, what is this link (bond)? The author used the concept to refer to a
dynamicstructurethatincluded:1)asubject,2)hisorherobject(whichisreally
another subject), 3) the tieorrelation between them, and 4) thewhole group,
social, political, cultural, historical, physical, and ecological context in which it
takesplace.AsIhavesaidbefore,thisisaholisticfieldandprocesstheorywhose
indebtednesstoKurtLewinandHarryStackSullivanisquiteobvious.
Suchanapproach calls for a revampingofpsychoanalytic theory, since it
discards Freud’s original psychoanalytic unilateral emphasis on “internal”
processes,whicharesetinmotionbyorganictensionsinsearchofadischarge–a
position still often invoked as a group of tenets that cannot be challenged. In
PichonRivière’sthought,theconceptof“instinctualdrives”istobereplacedby
thatofthelinkorbond.Thelinkincludes,butisnotrestrictedtowhatweknow
as“objectrelations”.Hence,hewrites,“Inpsychoanalytictheory,weareusedto
utilizing thenotionofobject relations,but thenotionof the link ismuchmore
concrete.Theobjectrelationistheinnerstructureofthelink”(1979,p.35,my
translation).Therearetwopsychologicalfieldsinthelink:thereisaninnerfield
and an outer field—and here “field” does not only have physical or dynamic
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connotations,butisalso,metaphorically,likethoseofafootballfield:aspacefor
groupstoplay.So,thereareinternalandexternalobjects,andaninternalandan
externalgroup,aswellasaninternalandanexternalaspectofthelink.
The relation between what we usually conceive of as “internal” and as
“external” isconstant,mobile,anddialectic.There is fluid interchangebetween
thetwofields,whichhelpstoestablishthedifferentiationbetweentheinsideand
theoutside,whileatthesametimemaintainingdeepcontinuitybetweenthem.
Hence, individual and society forman indissolubleunit, a singledynamic field,
because we all carry society within us and social processes include the
contributionofthepersonalexperiencesofallmembersofcollectiveentities.
Consequently, in psychoanalysis and group analysis we are not only
studying the inner dynamics of individual personalities, but always and
inextricablyalsothoseofaninteractionalandtranspersonalfield.Thisisthetrue
specificobjectofpsychologicalresearch.Fromthispointofview,psychoanalytic
inquiryisunavoidablygroup-analytic,evenifthereareonlytwopeoplepresent.
Obviouslysuchperspectivedoesnotonlyapplytoouranalyticworkwith
groups and to our understanding of wider social systems, but also has
consequencesforthepsychoanalyticinquiryofindividuallives.Thiswasshown
by Pichon Rivière in a brief article, written in 1965, on the life and work of
EnriqueSantosDiscépolo,theArgentinewriterofthelyricsofArgentina’smost
famous tangos (Pichon Rivière, 1965). This text has not been translated into
English,but even if itwere, itwouldbealmost incomprehensible for a foreign
reader. Indeed, even younger generation Argentinians, who are no longer
familiarwiththemanyreferencestothesocio-politicalhistoryoftheircountryin
thefirsthalfofthe20thCentury,wouldfindithardtofollowhisanalysis.
Afewyearsago,IusedthecaseofDiscépolotoillustratePichonRivière’s
particularstyleofinterpretation,whichblendedseamlesslypersonalandfamily
historywith the social andpolitical history of a community and country, for a
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chapter for an English language book on the social unconscious (Tubert-
Oklander, 2011). I found it necessary to reviewalmost 100 years ofArgentine
historytoensurethatPichonRivière’sanalysiscouldmakesensetoreadersfrom
othercountries. Ihad tomakeexplicit themanyreferences theauthorhad left
implicit, because he assumed—quite erroneously, I believe—that the readers
wouldbefamiliarwiththem.
ThewordsofthetangoswrittenbyDiscépolo,sopainfulanddisenchanted,
canbewellexplainedbyconnecting themtohisownupbringingasanorphan
fromanearlyage.Hewasfivewhenhisfatherdied;lessthanninewhenhelost
hismother,sohegrewunderthesupervisionofhiselderbrotherArmando,who
washimself tobecomea famousplaywright and stagedirector.All this turned
him intoamelancholicandwithdrawncharacter.ButPichonRivière´sanalysis
wentfurtheranddeeper.ThepeopleknownastheDiscepoloshadbeenpartofa
migratorywave fromItalyandSpain, fosteredby theArgentinegovernment in
order for respectable Europeans to replace the native mestizo population the
government despised. These humble peasants and artisans came to South
Americawiththefantasyofbecomingrichandthenreturningtotheircountries
as respectable gentlemen—a dream that was known as “doing America”. This
almost never happened. Themigrants and their children remained frustrated,
dreaming of their lost home, a situation that brought about the melancholic,
nostalgic traits of the Argentine character. All this, Pichon wrote, was clearly
expressedinthedisenchantmentandbitternessofthetango,whichwasthento
becomeArgentina’snationalmusic.
Argentina’snationalfrustrationanddisenchantmentwentevendeeperasa
result of a long history of government run by elites that exploited and
impoverished the bulk of the population. One of themost popular presidents,
Hipólito Yrigoyen, strove to democratize the country and respond to popular
needs.However,heturnedouttobeaweakleaderandwaseventuallydeposed
byamilitarycoup,openingthewayforanewseriesofrepressivegovernments.
Allthishappenedinthecontextofthegreateconomiccrisisofthethirties.
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SomeofDiscepolo’ssongswerestraightforwardcriticismsofthevenaland
corruptsociety inwhichhe lived.Others toldofdisappointed loves thatended
tragicallyinbetrayalandabandonment.Allofthemexpressedthedeepfeelings
of theArgentinepeople.This,wrotePichon,was thesecretof thesongwriter’s
success,andhewasfullyawareofitwhenhewrote,
Asongisapieceofmylife,asuitthatislookingforabodythatfitsitwell.Themorebodies there are for that suit, the greaterwill be the success of the song, since ifeverybodysings it, it isasignal thatallof themare living it, feeling it, that itsuitsthemwell.[Discépolo,quotedbyDiez,2010,mytranslation]
This is a clear example of Pichon Rivière’s interpretative thought, which
blends individual and family history with social, cultural, political, and other
contextual facts and narratives, to yield a deep, dynamic and nuanced
understanding of individuals, relationships, groups, families, institutions, and
societyatlarge.
Asyoucansee,PichonRivière’sTheoryoftheLinkorBondisanessential
precursor, not only of present-day group analysis, but also of many novel
developments in contemporary psychoanalysis, such as intersubjectivity,
relationality,andwiderpsycho-socialapproaches.
Now that a selection of his writings has been translated, presented, and
commented upon in the book edited and introduced by Roberto Losso, Lea
Setton,andDavidScharff,TheLinkedSelfinPsychoanalysis:ThePioneeringWork
of Enrique Pichon Rivière (2017), it is to be expected that new interest in his
contributionswillemerge in theEnglish-speakingpsychoanalyticworld,ashas
alreadyhappenedinFrance,wheresomeofhiswritinghasbeentranslatedand
publishedthroughtheeffortandsupervisionofRenéKaës(1994).
REFERENCES
Kaës,R.(1994).PrefacetoPsychanalyseetpsychologiesociale:HommageàEnriquePichonRivière[Psychoanalysis and Social Psychology: A Tribute to Enrique Pichon Rivière] Revue depsychothérapiepsychanalytiquedegroupe,23,Paris.
www.freepsychotherapybooks.org 33
Losso, R.; Setton, Lea S. de & Scharff, D. E. (eds.) (2017). The Linked Self in Psychoanalysis: ThePioneeringWorkofEnriquePichonRivière.London:Karnac.
PichonRivière,E.(1965).Discépolo:uncronistadesutiempo[Discépolo:Achroniclerofhistime].InPichonRivière(1971),pp.161-168.
Pichon Rivière, E. (1971).El proceso grupal. Del psicoanálisis a la psicología social (I) [The groupprocess:Frompsychoanalysistosocialpsychology(I)].BuenosAires:NuevaVisión.
PichonRivière,E.(1979).Teoríadelvínculo[Theoryofthebond].BuenosAires:NuevaVisión.
Tubert-Oklander, J. (2011). Enrique Pichon Rivière: The social unconscious in the Latin-Americantradition of group analysis. InHopper, E. &Weinberg, H. (eds.),TheSocialUnconscious inPersons,GroupsandSocieties—VolumeI:MainlyTheory(pp.45–67).London:Karnac.
Tubert-Oklander,J.&HernándezdeTubert,R(2004).OperativeGroups:TheLatin-AmericanApproachtoGroupAnalysis.London:JessicaKingsley.
Note
3ThischapterandLeaSetton’sdiscussionwerefirstpresentedinthePanel“EnriquePichonRivière:Pioneerof the link inpsychoanalysis”;50thInternationalPsychoanalyticCongress,BuenosAires,July27,2017.
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4
EnriquePichonRivière:HisContributionstoInstitutionalIntervention4
JoaquinPichonRivière
OurconsultingfirmandourcolleaguesinArgentinacarryoutpsychosocial
interventions in different kind of organizations such as private, governmental,
non-governmentalbusinessesandagencies,tradeunions,andthoseinstitutions
createdincommunitiesforurgentsituationsthatarisefromemergenciessuchas
floods,familyviolence,addiction,andunemployment.
Thewidescopeof these interventionsencompassthoseaddressedbythe
ArgentineanInstituteofSocialStudies(IADES),whichwasfoundedbymyfather,
Enrique Pichon Rivière, in 1955. This application of Pichon’s work will be
relatively unfamiliar to clinical psychoanalysts, but was close to his heart.
Currently, our consultancy considers the theoretical framework of Pichon
Rivière’slinktheoryasacentralstrategicandtacticalresourceforresearchand
intervention in our field work. This includes the CROS structure (Conceptual,
Referential and Operational Schema; or ECRO in Spanish) and the role of
operative groups. The CROS structure is awell-articulated framework thatwe
continuetouseasourfoundation.
Prior to intervention in a field, we consider relevant criteria and the
selection of various techniques which may be relevant, such as: in-depth
interviews, operative groups, multitasking meetings and plenary sessions, the
searchforemerginginsightsstimulatedbytheinformationwegather,thematic
triggersandverbatimgrouptranscriptsthatallowustoconductanalysisofthe
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grouporinstitutionatvaryinglevels.
Weconsidertheselevelstoinclude:
1.Psychosocialanalysisofindividualsandtheirenvironment.
2.Dynamicsocialanalysisofthegroupanditsenvironment.
3.Institutionalanalysisinbothitsformalanddynamicstructures.
4.Theanalysisoftheinstitutionandtheindividual.
In considering theseareas,weaim to clarifywhat the individual signifies
foraspecificinstitution,includingthesymbolicdimensionsthattheyexperience,
suchas“thecompany”,“thejob”,“theteam”,“thefamily”and“themoney”.The
researchand the institutionalanalysis,prior toany intervention,enablesus to
determinepossiblereasonsfor“ruptures”inthe“system”,suchasdialecticpairs
(individual–institution, individual–group, inside–outside) and to propose a
courseofactiontoaddresstheresistancetochange.
Suchanalysisproducesagreatquantityofknowledgeandcontent,whichis
then incorporated into ongoing operative groups as away of promoting task-
learning. Delay, ambiguity, communicational defects and contradictory
commands, among other things, are points at which resistance emerges from
withininstitutionstohinderagroup´swork.
Basingour thinkingon the link theory,we take intoconsideration that in
any triangular situation, every link is bi-corporal and tri-personal. Thismeans
thatthereisalwaysaninternalizedthirdpersoninanydyad,athirdwhooften
disrupts communication, and thereby functions as what is know as “noise” in
communicationtheory.Guidedbythetheoryofthelink,wetacklethedynamics
betweensocialstructureandconfigurationsoftheindividualinternalworld.
Theinternalgroupisbasedoninternalizedbonds,startingwiththefamily
group and continuing with the subsequent groups to which the individual is
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related.Thisinternalgroupdeterminesanindividual’sadaptationtoeverynew
experience.
We take our guidance from two aspects of Pichon’s CROS: one supra-
structural,andtheother,infra-structural.Thesupra-structuralaspectisshaped
by conceptual elements of themodel. The infra-structural aspect is definedby
motivationalandemotionalelementsthatarebasedontheindividual´severyday
experience. It is amodel throughwhich the constructionwemakewill enrich
understandingoffactsweencounter,and,byanalogy,helpsusunderstandother
similar facts. In the group, elaboration of a common frame of reference takes
priority. This is a basic requirement for establishing communication that will
follow the messages decoded by we work to decode through affinity or
coincidence with the referential schemes of the person who speaks and the
persons who receive the messages. Every member contributes a personal
referentialschemetothegroup.Then,onthebasisofcommondenominatorsof
thesesystems,acomplexpatterngraduallycomestolightinCROSgroups.
Thiscomplexprocessaimstohelpindividualsachieveanactiveadaptation
to reality, especially enabling them to assume new roles with greater
responsibility as they surrender the limitations of their earlier and generally
more stereotyped roles that would be inadequate for the emergence of roles
moreappropriateforthe“hereandnow”ofgroupevolution.Basicfeelingsand
anxietiesaboutbelonging,cooperationandappropriatenessofbehaviorarisein
every human group. Thematuration and resolution of such concerns interacts
supportenhancedachievementofincreasedproductivity.
Duringgroupprocessofanykind,twoprimalfearstendtoemerge:fearof
thelossandfearofbeingattacked(PichonRivière2017c).Thefirstisthefearof
losingwhattheyalreadyhavewhileinthesituationoflearning—afearoflosing
the knowledge they had before this new learning. The second is fear of the
unknown as dangerous because it is unknown. Pichon taught that fear of loss
characterizes depressive anxiety, while fear of being attacked and damaged
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belongstoparanoidanxiety.
Thesearecommonsituationswefaceduringinstitutionalinterventions,for
example,while consultingwithin a company going through changes related to
new industrial procedures affecting its workers; or during the merger of two
companieswith different cultures; or in a non-governmental organization that
faceschangesinlegalorpoliticalcontext.
Theinterventionswiththeoperativegrouphelptoachieve:
1.Anactiveadaptationtoreality.
2.Thepossibilityforgroupmemberstoassumenewroles.
3.Theabilityformemberstocarrygreaterresponsibility.
4.Lesseningofstereotypedrolesthatimpedeadaptationtothe“hereandnow”ofthetask.
At the level of the group, the operative group examines and seeks to improve
impedimentstomembers’securityandabilitytocooperateandfunctiontogether
in ways appropriate to the generation of the kind of relative harmony and
cooperationnecessarytogreaterproductivity.
Inordertounderstandwhatstrategiesbestsupportthespecifictasks,we
need analysis of the tasks the group is attempting to carry out. Consultants to
such situations need a systematized way of analyzing intervention strategies.
EnriquePichonRivièredevelopedtoolsofanalysisthatbelong,asagroup,tohis
“invertedcone” scheme (2017c) . In the lowerpartof the conewecan see the
basicfearsofeachmemberofagroup:fearofattackandfearofloss.“Illness”(or
groupdysfunction) is at thebaseof the cone. “Theprojectof thegroupandof
groupmembers,symbolizingthe“health”ofthegroup,appearsatthetop.
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Letusconsidersixcategoriesofanalysisthatweshouldconsider:
1. Membership: Membership and belonging indicate a higher or lowerdegreeof identificationwith the task.Membership ismeasuredbythe degree of responsibility with which a member or the groupassumesitstask.
2.Cooperation:Herewelookathowthegroupestablishesthepossibilityofjoining efforts through development of differentiated andcomplementary roles. Cooperation is measured in the degree ofefficacywhileworkingatthetask.
3. Appropriateness: This is the capacity for focusing on a task. It ismeasuredbyassessingthegroup´sdegreeofproductivity.
4.Communication:Hereweexaminedifferentmethodsofconnectingandofgroup short-circuits that generatemisunderstanding in coding anddecodingofmessages.
5.Learning:Learningdevelopsfromthecontributioneachmembermakesanddevelops fromnew informationandevolving feelings.Distressduringlearningdeterminesresistancetochangeandtodealingwithbasicfears.
6.Telé*:Telé,theattractionorrejectionthateachmemberofagroupfeelsatfirstsight, isareunitinginexternalrelationships,withobjectsofmembers’ internal worlds.When such personal links are positive,they improve group collaboration; when they are negative, theydisrupt.
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Operative groups take advantage of both vertical and horizontal links in
ordertopromoteanintegration,a“unityofoperation”.Inthisprocess,justasin
the process that Pichon described for psychotherapeutic action, the current
operatingmodeofagroupformsthe“Existent”orevenpre-existingwayofdoing
things.Then“Interpretation”servestodisruptthatpattern,inordertointroduce
disturbingelementsthatpavethewayforsomethingnew,the“Emergent”.The
“existent” is constituted by everything that is present in the field, embracing
explicitandimplicitelements.“Interpretation”turnstheimplicitintosomething
explicitleadingthewayforthe“Emergent”,thenewsituationwhichappearsto
take theplaceof thepreviousone. In thisway, the“emergent” isstructuredas
“theencounterofthe“existent”andthedisruptive“interpretation”.
Itseemsimportantformetosaythattheseoperativegroupsininstitutions
are not based on a therapeutic contract, even if good implementation may
producetherapeuticeffectsatindividualandgrouplevels.Howeverthatmaybe,
thedefiningelementisthefidelitytothetaskthataimstohelpthegroupwithits
operationalorlearningtask,notwithpersonaltherapy.Therefore,anoperative
group’swork teamdevelops strategieswith theobjectiveofhelping the group
make qualitative leaps towards implementing newprojects or improving their
capacitytocarryoutexistingprojects.Ishouldalsonotethatweregularlywork
with interdisciplinary teams that are likely to include not psychoanalysts, but
anthropologists, ethnographers, sociologists, psychologists, social workers and
socialpsychologists.
DiscussionByLeaS.deSetton
I find itmost interesting tohearabout theways inwhich JoaquinPichon
Rivièrehascontinuedtheworkofhisfatherthroughaconsultingenterprisethat
conductsinterventionsinsomanytypesoforganizations.Inhischapter,weget
toreadabouthisuseofatheoreticalframebasedonPichon’stheoryoflink,the
CROSstructure,andtheoperativegroupasimportantdevicesinhisworkinthe
field.
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Hiswork is done in widely differing levels: psycho-social, socio-dynamic
andinstitutional.Hisanalysishelpstoclarifywhattheinstitutionrepresentsto
the persons who work in it, including areas less familiar to the clinical
psychoanalyst or psychotherapist, such as daily work, team work, family and
money.
His investigations may be analogous to the way an analytic therapist
consultstoandworkswithpatients,becausehelooksforcausesofthe“fractures
“intheirsystem.Andhesuggeststhatthebestwaytointerveneandworkwith
the resistance to change is through interpretations that disrupt the “existent”,
thatwhichrepresentsthepatternsofdoingbusinessthatwarrantimprovement.
JoaquinPichonRivièreandhiscolleaguesapproachthedynamicsbetween
the social structure and internal world of group members through the
elaborationofacommonconceptual,referentialandoperationalschema(CROS)
inordertoestablishbettercommunicationandenhancedfunction.Hisgoalisto
help themembers adapt to reality, accept new roleswithmore responsibility,
and to decrease the use of stereotyped andmaladaptive roles. In the process,
learningdevelopsfromthecontributionsofeachmemberofsuchgroups,which
canbeblockedbyresistancetochange.
Although these ways of working are analogous to the ways that
psychoanalytictherapistsworkwithanindividualorfamilywhoseehelp,there
areimportantexpansionsoffocusandmethodwhichcannotbeignored.
IwouldliketoemphasizethatoneoftheimportantconceptsJoaquinand
his teamworkwith is the inverted cone. This part of the theory of operative
groups describes a path that begins with the explicit, but then leads to those
thingswhicharetheimplicitdimensionofgroupsandtheirdynamicfunctioning.
Theexplicitemergesduringthemeetingsbetweenthegroupandtheconsulting
team.Theimplicitunderlyingorganizationonlyemergesthroughthepenetrating
analysis that the team conducts in the course of groupwork. It is through the
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consultants’ focus on issues of cooperation, belonging, and pertinence to the
grouptask,thattheyareabletoenhancegroupcommunicationandlearning,and
overallfunction.Thisfocusongroupeffectivenessisquitedifferentfromthatofa
clinical psychoanalytic task, and can result in constructive development of
organizations.
REFERENCES
MostoftheideasofPichonRivièrecitedhere,andthatarenowavailablein
English,canbefoundinTheLinkedSelfinPsychoanalysis:ThePioneeringWorkof
EnriquePichonRivière,2017,editedbyRobertoLosso,LeadeSettonandDavid
Scharff,London,Karnac.
Themajor sourceofPichon’s ideas,muchofwhichwaswrittendownby
Pichon’sstudentsratherthanbyPichonhimself,isincludedin:
PichonRivière,E.(1971).Delpsicoanálisisalapsicologíasocial(VolsI&II).[FromPsychoanalysis toSocialPsychology,VolumesI&II].BuenosAires:EdicionesGalerna.
Thesevolumesincludewritingonthetheoryofthelink;theCROS(ECROin
Spanish);operativegroupsandthetreatmentoffamilygroups.
Theconceptofthegroupspokespersonisdescribedin:
Pichon Rivière, E. (1978). El concepto de portavoz. (The concept of the spokesman. In TemasdePsicologíaSocial,2:11–20.
Note
4ThischapterandLeaSetton’sdiscussionwerefirstpresentedinthePanel“EnriquePichonRivière:Pioneerof the link inpsychoanalysis”;50thInternationalPsychoanalyticCongress,BuenosAires,July27,2017.
* “The tele factorwasdefinedby J.L.Morenoas auniversal andbasicphenomenon thatmanifestsitself in humanbonds as an energy of attraction, rejection or indifference towards others,givingevidencenotonlyoftheubiquitousnatureofinterpersonalcommunication,butalsoofthe faculty that people possess to communicate emotion at a distance, inducing them toestablishpositive,negativeorindifferentrelationships.
ForMoreno,teleis"thesmallestunitofaffectiontransmittedfromoneindividualto
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another in both directions". In this sense it can be seen as a complete communicationquantum,withemissionandreturnreceptionofmessages.
Teleimpliesfeelingsofattraction,rejectionorindifferencebasedoneverythingthateachofuscanfeeland/orperceiveofthecharacteristicsandrealqualitiesoftheother.Andviceversa,ofcourse:Itincludeseverythingthatanothercanfeelorperceiveaboutus.
Sowesaythatwehavepositivetelewiththepeoplewepreferorwithwhomwearesympathetic,andthatwehavenegativetelewithpeoplewhocauseusdiscomfortortofeelrejection.Oftenthesefeelingsarereciprocated.”
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Epilogue
There is a great deal more to be said concerning the seminal work of
Enrique Pichon Rivière. In summarizing his work and his words, things are
inevitably left out or givenmeanings that others of his disciples and followers
wouldinterpretdifferently.Wewelcomethosedifferencesbecausetheyarethe
stuffthroughwhichcreativityfollowssuchaseminalworkofgenius.Forinstance
theworkofRenéKaëshas fleshedout thepsychoanalyticmeaningofmanyof
Pichon’s ideas, including the role of “spokesperson” in groups and families.
JoaquinPichonRivière’schapterhasbeguntosketchouthowPichon’soriginal
ideas about operative groups have opened up a whole field of work in social
psychology, and therefore extended the reach of psychoanalytic thinking
enormously.
PichonRivière’sideasalsobringagreatdealtogroupanalysis,afieldthat
has been fully joined by Juan Tubert-Oklander in this book, and is highly
developedinitsownliterature.However,becausesofewpractitionersofgroup
analysishavebeenfamiliarwithPichon’s ideas, it isnowimportanttoseehow
hisideascaninformthatfield.
Inside psychoanalysis itself, Pichonmade clear from the beginning of his
writing that he felt psychoanalysis should be applied equally to families and
groups, just asmuchas to individualpatients.Andhe thought that evenwhen
workingwithindividualpatients,theanalystshouldhavethepatient’sfamilyin
mind. Itwashisoriginal ideaof the“field” inwhichpsychoanalyticencounters
takeplacethatledtothegroundbreakingworkofWillyandMadelineBarranger,
whowerehisstudents.Ihavefeltthatitishardtounderstandtheworkonthe
analyticfieldwithoutincludingPichon’soriginalandoriginatingideas,including
his contention that themostusefulmetaphor for the fieldwas the soccer field
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andthegameofsoccer(orfootballforthoseoutsideofNorthAmericaforwhom
thisistheworldwidegame.)
Ibelieve that it is always important togoback, from time to time, to the
originalsourcesofanyfieldofhumanendeavor.Thusinphilosophywereturnto
Plato and Aristotle, and drama we return periodically to the Greeks. In
psychoanalysiswereturntoFreud.Thisisnottosaythatwewanttobecaptured
by the limitations of the originators of our fields, but to say that embedded in
their original ideas there is the potential for new thinking that is often are
overlookedbythefocusofsubsequentcontributors.ThusFreud’soriginalideas
ontheroleof traumainthedevelopmentofmindwas ignoredformanyyears,
only to reemergeasprescient concerning the trauma thathas alwaysplayeda
roleinthedevelopmentofmanyofourpatients.Itiswiththisuntappedpotential
in mind that my colleagues and I have worked to bring Pichon’s ideas to the
attention of the psychoanalytic community and to students of psychoanalysis
worldwide.We hope that this volumewill serve to inspire you to learnmore
abouttheseminalworkofEnriquePichonRivière.
DavidE.Scharff,MDWashington,DCOctober,2017
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