The German branch of the WADP is composed of members of the German Academy of Psychoanalysis (DAP), the German Group-psychotherapy Society (DGG), the German Society of Dynamic Psychiatry (DGDP) as well as colleagues from other professional and specialist associations.
Their common cause is to establish an analytic and psychodynamic base for science and practice in psychiatry: on the premise of a holistic and multi-dimensional understanding of the human being and the premise of a bio-psycho-social model of illness, mental and psychiatric illness are understood as the result of unsuccessful, mostly unconscious relational experiences of people which have been internalized from very early childhood and which form the core of personality. If a human being is considered as a “relational being”, it is feasible that people can become healthy again through “emotional corrective” and retroactive constructive relational dynamics within the framework of various verbal and non-verbal psychotherapies. With this view, most members rely on the “Berlin School of Dynamic Psychiatry” established by Günter Ammon in Germany, in the 1960s. Their organ is the international journal “Dynamische Psychiatrie/Dynamic Psychiatry” (since 1968).
Dynamic Psychiatry is an interdisciplinary science that integrates the research results from a variety of related sciences by considering intercultural, social and religious differences.
The German branch is meeting irregularly, often in conjunction with meetings of the DAP. Close cooperations with the various branches of the WADP and with numerous national and international professional associations have been in existence for many years. On request, the German WADP branch will arrange ‘further education and professional development’ courses at universities in other countries and provides active support for integrating dynamic-psychiatric psychotherapy and analytic group dynamics in psychiatric and other institutions.
Since 1982, the WADP, together with the DAP, has been organizing regular congresses in order to facilitate reciprocal inspiration and the discussion of their results in the public realm. Most of the …. World congresses of the WADP have been organized by the German branch.
Organizational Structure
At present, the election to the Executive Council is in preparation: the election of the Vice Chairperson, the Secretrary General and Treasurer.
Activities and major topics of the 2016 events
Upon invitation by the longstanding chairman of the Polish branch, Prof. Dr. Alexandrowitsch, and his current successor in leading the Polish WADP branch, Dr. Milimanko, and his young crew of psychiatrists and psychotherapiests, members of the German and Polish branch organized a one-day conference at the University of Krakow on the topic of “…”. The presentations (published in the international journal “Dynamische Psychiatrie/Dynamic Psychiatry”) as well as the subsequent large group-supervision group led by Prof. Dr. Maria Ammon and Prof. Dr. Ilse Burbiel got a very positive reaction from the well-attended conference and interested audience. A festive, joint dinner concluded this friendly and scientific encounter between both branches with the outcome of a closer cooperation and with plans for future collaboration.
Together with the Clinic Menterschwaige and the DAP-Teaching and Research Institute in Munich, the DAP, the German WADP branch, section “Psychoanalysis in Psychiatry” PIP of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) and the Alternativ-Fédérative des Associations de Psychiatrie (ALFAPSY) organized a symposium on 16th and 17th of June 2016 with the topic “Integration of Psychoanalysis in Psychiatric Institutional Treatment”. We were pleased to welcome Dr. Hervé Granie, Dr. Hachem Tyal, Dr. Paul Lacaze of the ALFAPSY and Prof. Michel Botbol, chairman of the WPA PIP section, as our guests.
The organisational and scientific preparations for our next WADP congress, taking place in Berlin between 31th of March till 04th of April, are well under way. More information you will find here. You can still enter your contribution. The deadline for the abstract is October 01th, 2019. A reduced fee for early booking applies when you register by September 30st, 2019.