Czech Psychoanalytical Society

The Czech Psychoanalytical Society (ČPS) is dedicated to advancing psychoanalysis by educating in the field and sharing its insights with both professionals and the public. It promotes awareness of psychoanalytic treatment for psychological issues and applies psychoanalytic thinking to understand social and cultural dynamics. Building on the legacy of the Society for the Study of Psychoanalysis, founded in Prague in 1936, the ČPS was reestablished in 1990 after functioning unofficially through the Nazi occupation and communist totalitarian years.

Members: 28, candidates: 26

Founded 1934 (dissolved 1939), 1946 (dissolved 1948), 1990
IPA Study Group: 1936–1939, 1946–1948, 1993–1999
IPA Provisional Society: 1999-2004
IPA Component Society since 2004

Jaroslav Stuchlík and the Košice Psychoanalytical Circle (1919–1931) & Nikolaj Osipov and the Russian Psychiatric Circle (1925–1934): Before the official formation of the Prague Psychoanalytic Study Group (1933–1939), two psychoanalytical groups were active in Czechoslovakia, led by psychiatrists Jaroslav Stuchlík and Nikolaj Yefgrafovich Osipov. Each gathered a group of younger colleagues, some of whom contributed to the formation and functioning of the Prague Psychoanalytic Study Group from the mid-1930s and later became successful psychoanalysts in the United States after World War II (E. Windholz, S. Lorand, J. Frank). Others contributed to preserving psychoanalytic training during the Nazi occupation and later during the Stalinist and neostalinist normalization periods (Th. Dosuzkov).

Prague Psychoanalytic Study Group (1933–1936) & Society for the Study of Psychoanalysis in the Czechoslovak Republic (1936–1939): A group of Berlin psychoanalysts fleeing Nazism found refuge in Prague, where they formed the Prague Psychoanalytic Study Group in 1933. Frances Deri took the lead, organizing psychoanalytic training, lectures, and seminars alongside Annie Reich and Stephanie Bornstein. The group also included Berlin-based psychoanalytic candidates settled in Prague, joined by local enthusiasts. The group affiliated with the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, and under the leadership of Otto Fenichel (1935–1938), it laid the groundwork for its official recognition by the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA) at Marienbad as an independent Society for the Study of Psychoanalysis (1936–1939), led by Emanuel Windholz, the first Czech analyst. O. Fenichel was appointed head of the training program.

Psychoanalysis in the Interwar Avant-Garde in Czechoslovakia (1930–1939): Various groups associated with Freud's psychoanalysis emerged in the interwar avant-garde, most notably the Surrealists, who openly embraced Freud's ideas. The Surrealist group in the Czechoslovak Republic formed in Prague in 1934, continuing earlier activities by members such as Devětsil and the Left Front. The Surrealists welcomed and exploited Freud's discoveries. His ideas deeply influenced poet Vítězslav Nezval's reflections on the nature of poetic creation. Karel Teige, a leading figure in Czech avant-garde art, incorporated Freud's discoveries into his art theory. Bohuslav Brouk, a biologist and anthropologist, wrote one of the first Czech monographs on psychoanalysis, Psychoanalysa [Psychoanalysis] (1932), passionately defending Freud's ideas within Czech avant-garde circles.

Psychoanalysis during the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (1939–1945), Postwar (1945–1948), and Stalinism (1948–1961): The Society for the Study of Psychoanalysis was dissolved in 1939 due to historical events. Its members either emigrated, perished, or were murdered in concentration camps, with only one prewar member, Theodor (Bohodar) Dosuzkov, remaining. He played a key role in preserving psychoanalysis during the Nazi occupation, briefly reviving it after the war and again sustaining it during the Stalinist era. He continued organizing unofficial training, seminars, and lectures under these difficult conditions and managed to briefly restore the Society.

The Psychoanalytic Group and Psychoanalysis (1962–1971): During this period of gradual social relaxation, psychoanalysis was tolerated by state authorities from the mid-1960s. New candidates for psychoanalytic training emerged, continuing training informally in homes and clinics. Led by B. Dosuzkov, O. Kučera, and L. Haas, the group, though lacking an official society or institute, gained support from the IPA. Training analysts were sent to Prague by IPA, and Czech analysts began attending international conferences. However, hopes for reestablishing the Society and psychoanalytic institute were dashed after the Warsaw Pact invasion in 1968 and the onset of “neostalinist” normalization.

The Psychoanalytic Group and Psychoanalysis during Normalization (1971–1989): During normalization, psychoanalysts and candidates again retreated into the underground. Publishing was once more impossible, and some emigrated to work as psychoanalysts abroad, while others distanced themselves from psychoanalysis. However, a core group continued meeting, holding lectures and seminars, and practising psychoanalysis informally. B. Dosuzhkov, O. Kučera, P. Tautermann, and M. Benová led the training of new candidates. In the 1980s, activities of the Prague psychoanalytic group grew, foreign contacts were renewed, and efforts were made to align training standards with IPA requirements.

The Czech Psychoanalytical Society and Psychoanalytic Institute after 1989: After 1989, the Czech Psychoanalytical Society was formally established and gradually integrated into IPA structures under the guidance of the IPA's sponsoring committee (Friedrich-Wilhelm Eickhoff, Heydée Faimberg, and Rafael Moses). In 2013, the 48th International IPA Congress was held in Prague for the second time in 77 years. Lectures, seminars, and conferences continue, psychoanalytic publications are being produced, and ČPS members and candidates actively participate in conferences, seminars, and working groups domestically and abroad.

Training model: Eitington

Contact: PICPS@psychoanalyza.cz