Boundaries and postanalytic contacts in institutes

Abstract

The work of a COPE study group on boundaries is presented, with particular focus on post-termination contact after the training analysis. Through the use of clinical examples evocative and illustrative of the complexity of postanalytic contacts and relationships in the training analysis situation, a number of dilemmas are identified that former analysts and patients face when they meet as colleagues after the training analysis is over. These dilemmas, it is argued, have implications for the conduct and effectiveness of the training analysis and for the institutional cultures and power relations that evolve within institutes.