Committed New Beginning - Wissenschaftsrat Appreciates Work of the Sigmund Freud Institute

In its report, the Science Council, which was commissioned by the Hessian Ministry of Science and Art, praised the connections between clinical psychoanalysis, social psychology and cultural studies perspectives that characterize the Institute's program. He emphatically emphasized the interdisciplinarity in the SFI's research projects, which were judged to be innovative and forward-looking. Intensive work has also been done in terms of organization and structure, he said. "The achievements made by the new institute management with regard to the consolidation and further scientific development of the SFI since 2016 deserve great recognition," the statement said.

In particular, the Council of Science and Humanities emphasizes in its opinion the importance of the collaborative project "The Measured Life," which was acquired from the Volkswagen Foundation in its funding line "Key Topics for Science and Society." The Institute also performs an important task with its prevention and evaluation projects, such as its participation in the psychosocial centers for the care of refugees in Hesse, as funded by the Hessian Ministry of Social Affairs. Last but not least, the report emphasizes the valuable services of the Outpatient Clinic in the clinical field and welcomes the research on psychoanalytic therapies for obsessive-compulsive disorders. With regard to the quality of the promotion of young researchers, the report emphasizes the doctoral program funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation, in which all departments of the SFI are involved.

The productive collaborations of the SFI also received much approval from the Council. The professorship for psychoanalytically oriented sociology and social psychology at the Goethe University, one of the leading positions at the SFI, is a unique selling point. The combination of social theory and psychoanalysis also proves valuable for the work of young scientists and students. The content-related orientation of the SFI, which also cooperates with other non-university institutes, fits in well with the social science research focus of the Goethe University. The cooperation with the University of Kassel also functions well. The council praised the special feature that the SFI and the Department of Educational Science in Kassel work closely together on the topic of therapy and development of children and adolescents. In this way, psychoanalytic approaches could be incorporated into educational research and teacher training.

In order to support the positive development of the institute and not to overtax its capacity, the Council of Science and Humanities recommends that the research program be focused even more strongly. In the medium term, it would be advisable to participate in the competition for third-party funding and internationalization with differentiated strategies. In this way, the successful model of Germany-wide cooperation could be more strongly anchored in the European and non-European area. For an organizational strengthening of the Institute, the Council of Science and Humanities recommends in particular the establishment of an additional cooperative professorship with the Goethe University in collaboration with the Department of Psychology. The Executive Director Prof. Dr. Vera King and her colleagues Prof. Dr. Patrick Meurs and Prof. Dr. Heinz Weiß (SFI Outpatient Clinic Director & Robert-Bosch-Krankenhaus Stuttgart) were pleased about the positive evaluation and the valuable suggestions of the Science Council.

Ayse Asar, State Secretary at the Ministry of Science and Chair of the SFI Foundation Council: "The SFI is one of only a few institutions for psychoanalytic research in Germany and makes a unique contribution to research into the causes and functioning of mental suffering and illness. Overcoming trauma and regaining mental health are the goals of its outpatient clinic's work. Projects on the psychosocial consequences of migration and flight, and not least on the psychological consequences of digitalization, demonstrate the topicality of his research questions. I am pleased that the German Council of Science and Humanities has given such a positive assessment of the efforts made by the new management to sharpen the content and strategic profile of this tradition-rich institute."

"Goethe University also views the intensive collaboration with the SFI very positively and is pleased to accept the recommendations to further intensify this cooperation. Prof. Dr. Vera King has successfully advanced psychoanalytic-social science research, also for the benefit of our students. And it is a good suggestion to forge even closer ties in a future new appointment in psychology," says Prof. Dr. Birgitta Wolff, President of Goethe University. And Prof. Dr. Reiner Finkeldey, her counterpart at the University of Kassel, emphasizes: "The cooperation with the SFI is a great benefit for the University of Kassel. I am pleased that this has also been appropriately included in the positive evaluation by the Science Council. Our students and the Department of Human Sciences will benefit greatly from the appointment of Prof. Dr. Patrick Meurs as Institute Director and Professor of Psychoanalysis in 2016."

The Sigmund Freud Institute (SFI) is a research institute for psychoanalysis in Frankfurt am Main. It was founded in 1960 as an institute and training center for psychoanalysis and psychosomatics and has borne the name of the founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud since 1964. Until 1994, the Institute existed in the legal form of a state authority; in 1995, it was transformed into a foundation under public law. Since then, it has served as a pure research institution. The funding body of the foundation supporting the SFI is the state of Hesse.

Information:

Prof. Dr. Vera King
Executive Director of the Sigmund Freud Institute
E-mail: king[at]soz.uni-frankfurt[dot]de
Homepage of the SFI: www.sigmund-freud-institut.de

Link to the statement of the Wissenschaftsrat on the SFI evaluation: https://www.wissenschaftsrat.de/download/2020/8523-20.pdf;jsessionid=55ED3F9F290DE78ED03744158F064903.delivery1-master?__blob=publicationFile& v=3

Link to the press release of the German Science Council: https://www.wissenschaftsrat.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/PM_2020/pm_2120.html