The silence of Laing and its echo in Szasz's essay on antipsychiatry.

BACKGROUND: As has been evaluated in a previous paper, Thomas S. Szasz redoubled his attacks against R. D. Laing in a series of articles which were published in The New Review (TNR) during the 1970s. Laing, however, consciously decided not reply to Szasz, a task taken up instead by Leon Redler on behalf of the Philadelphia Association (PA). AIMS/OBJECTIVE: The main purpose of this paper is to shed light on the motives which led to Laing to decline to take part in TNR debate. Secondly, I evaluate the impact this had on the writing of Szasz in his widely read book, Antipsychiatry. Quackery squared, published in 2009. METHODS: In order to gain a balanced perspective of the issues involved, I review all oral and written sources which I have been able to locate, including correspondence with mental health professionals who met Laing and Szasz in person. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: My conclusion is that Laing and members of PA would have preferred for Szasz to meet Laing in person to discuss antipsychiatry. However, Szasz opted not to see Laing personally when he traveled to London, whilst Laing decided not to reply to Szasz's harsh criticisms either in public or in print. As a result, the debate on antipsychiatry was brought to an unsatisfactory close, only to be reopened by Szasz in his book on antipsychiatry, published long after Laing's death (1989), and hence requiring others to respond in his memory.

Sabina Spielrein: From Being a Psychiatric Patient to Becoming an Analyst Herself.

In this paper, I evaluate Sabina Spielrein's life and ideas from a contemporary understanding. I do this by considering the context and situation in which she lived: a journey from being a hospitalized psychiatric patient to becoming a psychoanalyst herself. From her crucial life experiences she learned that the main psychic conflicts stem from the struggle between life and death, and not from opposing ego drives and sexual desires. Spielrein's considerable creative potentials were nurtured, as well as blocked by her inner conflicts, but also by the enormous historical conflicts of her time.

Correction to: HAROLD SEARLES: LIFELONG WORK OF A MASTER CLINICIAN.

Unfortunately the name of the author was given incorrectly. It should be read: Francisco Balbuena. We apologize for this mistake.

HAROLD SEARLES: LIFELONG WORK OF A MASTER CLINICIAN.

Harold F. Searles was one of the most gifted and innovative clinicians of psychoanalysis. His clinical work arouses interest on its own merit, as well as for the ways in which it shaped his highly innovative thinking. We can only imagine what special processes were developing in Searles's inner world under the everlasting impact of his experience with psychotic patients and from his life in general. Searles focused extensively on how the psychotic individuals' mental distortions impacted their capacity to form personal relationships in general, and the role of the analyst and countertransference in treatment. This unique viewpoint helped him sustain a creative commitment to psychotic patients, regarded by many as unsuitable for psychoanalysis.