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History
The European Federation for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (EFPP) was created in 1991 when the European Union was granting greater freedom of movement of individuals between member countries. It was founded by the British psychoanalyst and psychiatrist Brian Martindale in collaboration with colleagues from the UK and other countries in Europe.
The first president of the EFPP was Brian Martindale (1991-1997). Among the founding members was Serge Frisch, a psychoanalyst and psychiatrist from Luxembourg, who took over from 1997 to 2003. Siv Boalt Boëthius, a psychoanalyst and psychologist from Sweden, was elected in 2003 and served for four years until 2007. She was succeeded by Luc Moyson, a founding member of the EFPP and clinical psychologist from Belgium (2007 to 2011). Anne Marie Schlöesser, a psychoanalyst and psychologist from Germany was elected president in 2011 and served until 2019. She was succeeded by MarÃa Eugenia Cid RodrÃguez psychoanalytic psychotherapist, psychoanalyst and psychologist from Spain.
The primary aim of the EFPP from the start was to contribute significantly to the well-being and mental health among people living in Europe and to facilitate communication between psychoanalytic psychotherapists in different parts of Europe. The EFPP is concerned with extending the availability of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and its applications in member organisations in different countries.
The EFPP promotes a European community network of psychoanalytic psychotherapists through activities such as the EFPP Conferences, and through the support of training programmes and research. The EFPP Website allows its members to share information and knowledge concerning psychoanalytic practice and research, and the EFPP Book Series has published a substantial series of books and will continue to do so under the general editorship of Anne-Marie Schloesser. The year 2011 saw a new venture, namely the inauguration of the e-journal EFPP Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Review, edited by Gila Ofer. During the first years of the EFPP the focus was mainly on the type of training psychoanalytic psychotherapists needed in order to work effectively. The discussion regarding criteria for training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy had significant political ramifications as it involved individual clinicians as well as training institutes in many countries. Thanks to these discussions, several organisations were able to develop their own training programmes. The international network afforded by the EFPP was an important one, and the communication taking place between colleagues at the EFPP conferences was and still is essential for further development.
The promotion of research is one of the main objectives of the EFPP. Since 2019 promotes research by granting an Award.