ABSTRACT
Chapter Three sets Pierre Marty’s itinerary as a theoretical innovator in its context. If not for Pierre Marty, the new school, the École Psychosomatique de Paris (EPP) and its Institut de Psychosomatique (IPSO) would not have come into existence. To understand its origins, the chapter traces the development of the main lines of his early inquiries and follows Marty's attempt to arrive at a systematic presentation of his thought. His explanation of mental structure is rooted in a Vitalist appreciation of the articulations of life that encompass body and mind. He assigns a pivotal role to the preconscious in keeping the psyche adequately hydrated, as it were. Beyond the concept of the opératoire, his attempts to understand the dépression essentielle, a deep mental and bodily exhaustion that is not occasioned by conflicts in the psyche, is also presented in this chapter. Although he has not been followed by most of his colleagues in the theoretical underpinnings of his later systematisation, his acute sensibility to the silent crumbling behind well-maintained facades, and to the importance of ledges for clinging to above a threatening abyss, has remained of lasting interest.
