About EFPP
EFPP in 30 words
The EFPP is a European umbrella organisation that links together national networks
of adult, child & adolescent, group, and couple & family psychoanalytic
psychotherapists and psychoanalytic organisations that share the EFPP objectives.
EFPP in 96 seconds
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
Schloesser, a psychoanalyst and psychologist from Germany was elected president
in 2011.
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.
EFPP Membership, Sections and Board
Membership in the EFPP is open to all European organisations. Exceptionally an
organisation situated outside the European borders may be accepted if its
application for membership has been accepted by the EFPP Board.
Currently 30 countries in Europe are represented by their organisations as full
members in the EFPP. Additionally, there are associate and observer members. The
EFPP is an organisation of member organisations. Psychoanalytic psychotherapists
belong to the EFPP through their organisation which is a member of the EFPP. Each
member organisation with full membership can send up to eight delegates, two for
each of the four sections, to the biennial Delegates Meeting. The Delegates are
appointed by their member organisations.
The member organisations of one country form a National Network. The task of this
strong formation is the leveraging of synergies and bundling of forces when it
comes to negotiations with political structures in the given country. The
representatives of the National Network which itself represents all member
organisations can then speak with one voice.
The EFPP consists of four sections working with psychoanalytic psychotherapy for
Adults, Children and Adolescents, Groups, and Couple and Family Psychotherapy.
The youngest of them, the Couple and Family section, was established at the
biennial Delegates' Meeting in 2009.
The Board consists of two persons from each section (Section Chair and Section Representative) plus the President.
According to the EFPP constitution (amended in 2017), the members of the Board
are elected by the Delegates in the section assemblies. The president is chosen
directly by the assembly of all Delegates at their biennial meeting. Members of the
Board including the president are elected for four years and can be re-elected for
another period of four years. The Board also requires the help of an administrative
secretary. The Board can co-opt members to take part in the work with secific tasks.
Constitution and more information about delegate roles.