Joao Alves Maciel Neto

(Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brasil) June-December 2024 – Referente UniCa: Prof. Vinicio Busacchi

I graduated in Psychology and pursued my Master’s degree in History and Philosophy of Psychology at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil. My current Ph.D. research is titled “Sándor Ferenczi’s metapsychological contributions to understanding psychic development”. Since the decade of 1980, when Sándor Ferenczi’s works were rediscovered and translated into several languages, the clinical innovations proposed by the author have undergone a reevaluation due to the challenges faced by contemporary psychoanalytical practice. His clinical propositions focused primarily on the role of the analyst, trauma, transference, and the relationship between the individual and the environment. However, the metapsychological dimension of his clinical and theoretical thinking has remained understudied. Therefore, this project aims to thoroughly reassess Ferenczi’s metapsychological theorization and his contributions to understanding psychic development, as well as to shed new light on his place in the history and development of psychoanalysis.