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Psychotherapy and Culture in Argentina

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Psychotherapy and Culture in Argentina The Psychotherapeutic Professions in Argentina Elena Stein-Sparvieri and David Maldavsky Instituto de Altos Estudios en Psicología y Ciencias Sociales (IAEPCIS) Universidad de Ciencias Empresariales y Sociales (UCES) 1. Identity of the psychotherapeutic professions The beginnings of the psychotherapist as a psychoanalyst in APA In order to understand the theory and practice of psychotherapy in Argentina it´s of foremost importance to examine its connections to Argentine culture, institutions and politics throughout the last 60 years. Psychotherapy had to overcome many difficulties to gain its present status in this country therefore it´s amazing that it expanded with such force and sophistication throughout the past decades. One of the reasons that might account for its powerful development is the fact that during the Second World War many Europeans, having to escape their country, chose to live in Argentina which was a flourishing country in those days. When the Second World War ended Argentina, which had a reputation of the world’s greatest grain supplier, possessed a new social class that stood out for its European culture and values. This sophisticated social class soon became landowners and prosperous businessmen who set the standards for a quick paced cultural life of ideas that they brought from their multiple trips to Europe. Special consideration was given to the topics of literature, paintings and music, psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and so on. This is the scenario in which the Argentine Psychoanalytical Association (APA) was founded, in 1942. The founders were: Angel Garma, Ernesto Cárcamo, Marie Langer, Guillermo Ferrari Hardoy and Arnaldo Rascovsky. APA soon became an avant-garde movement of psychoanalysis whose founders became famous not only among the members of the Argentine sophisticated social class but also world-wide. Parallel to this movement, which was steadily concentrating psychoanalysts among APA members, another one was slowly making its way. Unlike the first one, this second movement was taking place at the university. The beginnings of the psychotherapist as a psychology graduate from university It was not until 1954, after the first Argentine Congress of Psychology had taken place in the city of Tucumán, that specific guidelines were proposed for the careers of psychology in the national universities and, some years later, in the private ones. In those days, the focus of the career was on clinic, on work and on education. Yet, contrary to what is sometimes thought, university emphasis was not on psychoanalysis in the 50’s. Although the different theories were considered and discussed the accent was on psychometrics. Many important psychology university careers were organized in those days, first in the national universities of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, La Plata, Rosario, San Luis and Tucumán, then in provincial and private universities. In the period that goes from 1956 to 1959, the Perón Justicialist Party was removed from the government and, as a consequence, many university professors were replaced. In time, during the 60’s, psychometrics lost importance to psychoanalysis, probably due to the fact that the psychoanalysts from APA took over as professors at the university. As a consequence, the training of the psychology career became rather a training of a role. Even the name of the career changed. It became: clinical psychologist, work psychologist, educational psychologist (psychopedagogue) before it changed again to Licenciado en Psicología (with mention of the specific application). This emphasis on the role, on the profession of the psychotherapist with psychoanalytical training explains the tradition of psychotherapists with a psychoanalytical orientation that is prevalent even in our days. The military dictatorship that began in 1972 didn´t prove helpful for the development of psychotherapy. On the contrary, it was restrictive and limiting. The military government pointed out that the psychologist had to act as a collaborator of the doctor or psychiatrist. Accordingly, national resolutions issued much later forbade psychologists to engage in any other practice. Psychologists couldn´t engage in the practice of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy nor in research. Their only responsibility and right was to administer psychological tests. The limited participation of psychologists in psychotherapy and research was not the only consequence of the ruling military government of those days. Their terrorist acts originated many disappearances, one of which was that of the president of the Asociación de Psicólogos de Buenos Aires (APBA) and another was that of the president of the Federación de Psicólogos de la República Argentina (Fe.P.R.A.). In the decade of the 80’s, with the end of the military government and with the support of the new democratic government, the role of the psychologist as a psychotherapist was finally established. The number of active members of the Asociación de Psicólogos de Buenos Aires (APBA) increased and psychologists started working as psychotherapists in hospitals, schools and the social care institutions. Yet, not all graduates from the career of psychology chose psychoanalysis as an orientation. Neither did they choose behaviorism since it was considered outdated. Michael Mahoney’ s rupture with traditional behaviorism in favor of a recognition of the role of emotions in human development and changes, as well as John Bowlby’s concepts on Attachment Theory attracted young psychologists. As a result, in the decade of the 90´s, cognitivism became important in Argentina. Besides, the creative personality of Vittorio Guidano, who came to the country, and his new ideas on post rationalism captivated the graduates´ minds and spirits. Soon pioneer cognitivist institutes developed. Among them, AIGLÉ and CTC, are the most famous along with CETEPO, which is the newest of them. Other professions in the field of psychotherapy As a result of the recognition of the profession of the psychologist as a liberal one and with the role of psychologists as psychotherapists definitely established health centers, school offices, outpatient clinics and private practice offices were opened and made available to a large proportion of the population. It can be said that in those days Argentinians developed the craze for psychotherapy that is still a typical feature of the average Argentine of our days. In fact, Argentina is the country with the highest rate of psychotherapists per inhabitants in Latin America and maybe in the world. Since the identity of the psychotherapist has both historically and politically been closely linked to that of the psychoanalyst, psychodynamics has always had a stronger influence on psychotherapists than other frames of reference. Psychoanalysts gather round Asociación Psicoanalítica Argentina (APA), Asociación Psicoanalítica de Buenos Aires (APdeBA), Asociación Escuela Argentina de Psicoterapia para Graduados (AEAPG) and Sociedad Argentina de Psicoanálisis (SAP), among others. Yet, even though psychoanalysis has typically been a domain of preference, the history of Argentine psychotherapy unfolds in many directions. Accordingly, it would be pretentious to claim one bears in mind all the names of psychotherapists, associations and orientations that have shaped psychotherapy in the country. At present, the traditional Freudian and Kleinian psychoanalytical perspectives compete with the Lacanian one. Indeed, during these last decades, the Lacanian standpoint has become quite significant in Argentina. The interest in Lacanian theory started when Psychoanalyst Pichón Rivière met with Lacan in the 50’s. With the introduction of Lacan´s ideas in Argentina, both APA members and other scholars, such as linguists, philosophers and sociologists, uninvolved with the APA entourage, became familiar with the new theory. In the 60’s though, it´s this second group the one which had acquired a large number of followers and therefore began disseminating Lacan´s ideas in different fields. Then, in the 70’s, Oscar Masotta, one of the intellectuals in this group, founded the Escuela Freudiana de Buenos Aires. In time, other Lacanian institutions were established in Buenos Aires, Tucumán and Santa Fe. In Buenos Aires, some names are: Escuela Freudiana de la Argentina, Círculo Psicoanalítico Freudiano, Institución Psicoanalítica de Buenos Aires. These Lacanian institutes train psychoanalysts, offer psychotherapy and supervision services. Supported by the many associations, the Lacanian movement became strong and active, producing publications consistently. In consequence, eventually Lacanians came to occupy posts at the university. In fact, during the 80’s, with the advent of democracy, university professors were renewed and Lacanians took over. To conclude, it can be said that global trends in Lacanian thought, such as that of Moustapha Safouan, Jacques Alain-Miller and many others who travelled to Argentina, permeated the ideas of Lacanians in this country contributing a new, personal angle to Lacan´s concepts. Psychologists are not the only professionals who can perform psychotherapy. National regulations establish that psychiatrists as well as doctors with certified training either in psychoanalysis or in other theoretical frames can perform as psychotherapists. Regulations state that psychiatrists can medicate which is something psychologists can´t do. In consequence, when working with patients who need medication psychotherapists who are not psychiatrists work in connection with
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