ABSTRACT
Readers are kindly asked to Imagine themselves to be members of the British Psycho-Analytical Society in the reconstruction phase following a world war—a Society which has grown in numbers to about one hundred with about fifty students. The reason for the change in the public and professional attitude to psycho-analysis lies in the fact that the analysts have in their research and therapeutic technique an instrument of great power. Vigilance is a part of the analyst's habit of mind, and in this task he is considerably aided by a social institution which keeps before him a useful mirror reflecting both himself and the contemporary world of similar experience, viz. the discussions in the meetings of his psycho-analytical society. The problem before every growing psycho-analytical group, sooner or later is that of retaining the fresh and intimate exchange Of ideas on the scientific side while developing a structure capable of resisting internal and external pressures.
