Who Takes the Rap? Psychoanalysis and Social Clinic

Abstract

Bearing in mind the alarming growth of both individual and collective vulnerabilities, we cast a light upon the promising resurgence of a psychoanalytic praxis more sensitive to the social context and willing to leave the comfort zone of the private praxis to reclaim its stand in public spaces. By reclaiming the history of the free clinics ventured at by the first generation of psychoanalysts and drawing upon the testimony of several social-oriented clinical experiences to the center of the debate, we aim to draw attention to some key features of a psychoanalytic endeavor committed to the current social-political context and the driving forces towards its eventual growth.