Tribute to Neville Symington

By Caroline Sehon

Psychoanalysis recently lost a powerful voice. (Vale) Neville Symington (1937-2019) was a prolific writer, esteemed analyst, and beloved friend of IPI. He authored many publications and 12 books, including "Narcissism: A New Theory," "A Pattern of Madness," "The Making of a Psychotherapist," and "The Psychology of the Person," to name a few. A proud recipient of the 2013 Sigourney Award for his contributions to psychoanalysis worldwide, Neville held various prominent leadership positions in such institutions as the Middle Group of British Psychoanalysts, the Tavistock Clinic, and the British and Australian Psychoanalytic Societies.

Many of us at IPI share fond reminiscences of Neville whose work was featured in most of our syllabi. He presented in the Master Speaker videoseminar series (2013) and he was the keynote speaker at two of IPI's weekend conferences: "Why has Psycho-Analysis Lost the Person?" in 2011, and "Narcissism and Spirituality" in 2007. Neville supported our distant learning approaches to treatment and training, himself a regular user of videoconference to supervise and work with patients. I remember Neville as a warm, humble, witty, and accessible scholar and teacher who taught by evocative clinical examples and engaging stories. For those who are not familiar with him, I recommend that you take a look at his website to experience his words and his philosophical outlook about our limitations as healers. Upon his acceptance of the Sigourney award, he said, "... a central creative agent constitutes the core of the personality and not a package of instinctual drives. I think the struggle for survival is not the over-arching motivational principle that guides people. I believe that a desire for freedom is a prime mover in human affairs." He will always remain in our minds as a treasured analyst as well as an IPI friend, colleague, supervisor, and presenter. With these words of remembrance, I offer my warm condolences to all those who are grieving the loss of Neville Symington.

Sincerely,

Caroline Sehon, IPI Director