Early in the 80's, the winds of the Psychology of the Self started blowing southwards and finally reached the city of Rio de Janeiro. At that moment the Psychology of the Self entered the Brazilian limelight, having been introduced as a formal subject of study for psychoanalysts.

Because of the growing interest in Heinz Kohut's ideas and those of some of his followers, some Brazilian psychoanalysts who were members of the International Psychoanalytic Association, decided to form and promote the first Brazilian Study Groups in Self Psychology. The movement was initially led by Dr. Inaura Carneiro Leão, whose Study Group received visits from Dr. Bernard Brandchaft, Dr. Robert Stolorow, and Dr. Howard Bacal. Over the ensuing years, Rio de Janeiro has become the most important and active forum in Brazil for the discussions inspired by the challenging ideas contained within Self Psychology. Dr. Paulo Sauberman and Dr. Renato Barauna increased the number of Study Groups to a total of five. The members consist of psychologists, psychiatrists and IPA psychoanalysts.

In 2000, a decision was made to merge the five Study Groups and form the Brazilian Association for the Study of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology (ABEPPS), which now is located in the city of Rio de Janeiro. This development created a lively organization that consisted of 26 founding members, all mental health professionals who formerly participated in the Study Groups. In addition, a number of faculty members from different universities also joined the ABEPPS. They are attempting to bring psychoanalytic self psychology into the Brazilian academic environment which, to date, has not included this theory. In an attempt to gain closer contact with the ongoing trends and discussions held in the United States and Canada, some of us have attended the annual meetings of the International Council over the past ten years.

In Rio de Janeiro, a public forum entitled, "Journey on the Psychology of the Self" was presented to the general public. Happily, it attracted a sizable audience. As a follow-up, several different institutions located in at least six capitals of the main states of Brazil have invited our members to discuss self psychology in a variety of workshops, conferences, courses and clinical seminars. Since that time, Kohut's three books have been translated into Portuguese, as well as books by Charles Strozier, Arnold Goldberg, and Robert Stolorow and Frank Lachmann. In 2001, ABEPPS was invited to nominate Dr. Paulo Sauberman as its representative to the International Council for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology. This important event represented the recognition of our organization on the international scene.

According to our General Coordinator Dr. Renato Barauna, "Throughout the last two decades we have witnessed the development of our fledgling movement into an organized structure. Our stated goal is to deepen the study of Self Psychology and disseminate its ideas not only within the premises of the psychoanalytic community, but also into the broader Brazilian academic environment. We regard self psychology, with its focus on complex human interactions, as a growing and attractive branch of contemporary psychoanalytic knowledge."

ABEPPS is a youthful organization in search of new paths that will strengthen its relationships in the domestic and international scope. We believe it is essential to intensify our alliances, both at home and abroad, and improve the exchange of cross-cultural experiences within the range of research on self psychology.

January, 2003

We can be reached at:
prs@centroin.com.br or renatobarauna@pobox.com.