Recently there as been much heated debate on the question of the effec
ts of the institutionalisation of psychoanalysis on analysis itself an
d the significance and consequences of the decision of psychoanalysts
to organise themselves in professional organisations. The author ident
ifies two errors analysts are prone to make when dealing with institut
ions/organisations. One is to confuse psychodynamics with the dynamics
of institutions, the other to look upon an organised professional gro
uping as a species of family to which one can turn for assistance and
encouragement. To rectify this misunderstanding, the author calls for
a strict distinction between two very different levels of reality. >>N
on-trivial machines<< such as psychoanalytic institutes, characterised
by a high degree of complexity, obey a logic of their own which canno
t be grasped in psychodynamic terms or in analogy to family relations.
Buchinger sees it as essential to learn to think and act in terms of
structures as opposed to persons and relations. Such a learning proces
s can only be successful if specifically psychoanalytic self-reflectio
n is complemented by an appropriate form of organisational self-reflec
tion.