Malcolm Pines (1925–2021). A personal reflection

Abstract

Malcolm Pines, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, group analyst. Successful in all these professions and others will detail how influential he was. In addition he wrote many papers, still regularly used and quoted, often as a dialogue with himself and his readers. He was not a man to profess his knowledge but always a man, both as a writer and a person, in dialogue with himself and others.I knew Malcolm for about 35 years as a member of one of his therapy groups, as a teacher when I was training and as a supervisor after I qualified. At one time, he and I fell out but his openness to discuss what had happened from his point of view helped. It was never resolved but time passed and I felt that as his family accepted him, and as I increasingly saw him as a man of his times who had certainly been punished, I could no longer hold what had happened against him and other, warmer feelings returned. Thus, together with David Glyn and Pam Kleinot we conducted an interview with Malcolm in 2016 to acknowledge both his personal contribution to group analysis and also to further understand the historical context within which group analysis developed. It can be viewed on the GASi website.The unexpected youngest of three, born to parents who had emigrated from Russia in 1921, first to Belgium where his father's stepmother lived and then on to the UK in 1923, where there were better career opportunities for him as a medical consultant. They had emigrated because as a medic both the red and white guards wanted to recruit Malcolm's father, a dangerous position to be in. His class position as an educated Jew was also precarious at this time.

Malcolm Pines (1925–2021). On making oneself available

“…In her obituary, Sue Einhorn puts a finger on this when she points out some biographical similarities between Pines and Foulkes. Regarding Malcolm, she speaks of him as ‘the unexpected youngest of three, born to parents who had emigrated from Russia in 1921’ (Einhorn, 2022) and to his ‘personal trauma of his own mother’s unavailability due to depression’ (Einhorn, 2022). Taking this into consideration, can we afford to ignore that Foulkes too, according to his second wife‚ was an unwanted, late child, who when naughty was told by mother that she had a ‘difficult confinement with him’ and also ‘was unable to breastfeed him and employed a wet nurse’ (Brown, 1998 (2006): 173).…”

“…Unfortunately, no obituary on Malcolm Pines can avoid to address what he himself referred to as ‘his episode’ or spell of ‘madness’ (Einhorn, 2022). Interestingly, although all obituaries addressed it, none referred to the GASI Autumn workshop ‘ When therapists fail their patients ’ from 2012.…”

“…With his death it is history now and therefore there no reason to be morally aroused any longer. However, I am sure Malcolm would be the first to embrace Sue Einhorn’s characterization of him as ‘a man of his times’ (Einhorn, 2022). Regarding the span of his life, they extended for almost a century.…”