South African Psychoanalytical Association
Founded in 2009, the South African Psychoanalytical Association (SAPA) is the first organisation on the African continent to be offering clinical and theoretical training in psychoanalysis, under the auspices of the International Psychoanalytical Association, which was founded by Sigmund Freud in 1908.
Psychoanalysis is a method of enquiry into the human psyche. This method underpins several theoretical models of human functioning and treatments of suffering. Psychoanalysis was first developed in the last years of the 19th century by Sigmund Freud, working in Vienna and later in London. Although Freud's work provides the foundation for all psychoanalytical practice, during the 20th century the discipline blossomed into several divergent but mutually enriching schools. Many, but not all, of the practitioners, who employ psychoanalytical methods in these diverse ways, are members of the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA), which was founded by Freud and his colleagues between 1908 and 1910. The main objectives of SAPA are:
To facilitate communication among psychoanalysts and psychoanalytical organisations; to educate psychoanalysts and the public, by means of appropriate research, study, publications, scientific congresses and other meetings; and otherwise to foster the development of psychoanalytical knowledge and mental health; to affiliate with the IPA; to apply the essential professional and ethical criteria for selecting, training and qualifying psychoanalysts, subject to the authority of the IPA and to the principles established by the IPA; to inform the public via publications, media and governmental and non-governmental organisations, of the purposes, capacities, and uses of psychoanalysis as a means of promoting and preserving individual and social well-being and health; to advance the psychoanalytical profession and the professional needs and interests of psychoanalysts.SAPA Board
Mary-Anne Smith
SAPA PresidentAdrienne Scott
TreasurerArlene Joffe
Secretary
Glynis Ponton
Board MemberSAPA Committees
Mark Solms
Chair of the Training CommitteeDiane Sandler
Chair of the External Relations CommitteeMary-Anne Smith
Acting Chair of the Membership CommitteeAdrienne Scott
Chair of the Ethics CommitteeSAPA Training Analysts
Cape Town
Armien Abrahams | Elda Storck | Glynis Ponton | Gyuri Fodor | Mark Solms | Arlene Joffe | Jennifer Allen
Johannesburg
Barnaby B. Barratt | Heather Jones Petersen | Mary-Anne Smith | Sue Levy
SAPA Honorary Members
At a SAPA meeting in 2014, Tony and Hillary Hamburger were voted Honorary Members of the South African Psychoanalytical Association in recognition of their many years of service in South Africa promoting psychoanalytic thinking and psychoanalytically-based clinical practices. Tony and Hillary are the founders and directors of the Ububele Psychotherapy Trust.In 2015, Jonathan Sklar, a Fellow and Senior Training Analyst in the British Psychoanalytical Society, was voted as an Honorary Member in recognition of his significant contribution to the beginning of SAPI and SAPA and his generous ongoing support of our society.A second honorary member was voted in 2015, Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela in recognition of her significant contribution to psychoanalytic thinking in South Africa.In September 2021, the SAPA General Assembly voted for Honorary Membership to be bestowed on Joan Raphael-Leff, Fellow of the British Psychoanalytical Society and founder and first chair of the Committee on Women and Psychoanalysis (COWAP). This was to honour her unwavering support and interest in SAPA since our inception, which paved the way to her nomination of SAPA for the Sigourney Award, which we won in 2020.
Tony and Hillary Hamburger
Directors of the Ububele Psychotherapy Trust
Jonathan Sklar
Fellow and Senior Training Analyst in the British Psychoanalytical Society
Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela
Research Chair in Studies in Historical Trauma and Transformation at Stellenbosch University
Joan Raphael-Leff
Fellow of the British Psychoanalytical Society