Leading articles

THE VIENNA PSYCHOANALYST wants to give not only already internationally established psychoanalysts, but also still unknown psychoanalysts the opportunity to post a self-written and not yet published article on the FrontPage of our online magazine!

Our Users then can leave comments, ask questions or discuss the articles in our forum. Our aim is to provide an international platform where for the first time anyone interested in psychoanalysis can exchange ideas on certain topics.
Articles are welcome in German and/ or English.

If you are interested, please send your article to
leadingarticle@theviennapsychoanalyst.at


(For reasons of readability, the male form is used with personal names, however the female form is also always intended.)

In our interview series "in conversation with“, we will briefly present the authors of the leading articles. We want to give our users the opportunity to read the leading article from a different point of view.


This week we are very glad to welcome Severo Orsi and Désirée Prosquill:

Severo Orsi. Born in July 1975, studied psychology at the University of Vienna, with emphasis on Clinical Psychology. After post-graduate training for clinical and health psychologist, he worked in private practice with a focus on sexual disorders; he has taught psychology in a school for nurses and supervised, as part of the acute psychosocial teams, people immediately after a traumatic experience. Furthermore, he has worked over 13 years in law enforcement activities as a psychiatrist for mentally ill prisoners.

Désirée Prosquill. Born and raised in Vienna, Austria, studied human medicine (Medical University of Vienna), studies of psychotherapy (Sigmund Freud University Vienna), education completed at the University Hospital of Psychiatry Vienna, at Maßnahmenvollzug (Forensic Psychiatry), and at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Vienna, SFU/PSI, now working as a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapeutic medicine, as well as a psychoanalyst in her own practice. Editor from THE VIENNA PSYCHOANALYST; co-initiator of the psychoanalytic radio show UNBEWUSST – die Lust am freien Sprechen.



DWP: What brought you to psychoanalysis?

Severo Orsi: The psychoanalytic concepts I have learned during my training and in stimulating discussions with colleagues from this field.

Désirée Prosquill: On the one hand my dreams and Déjà Vues, which already occupied me madly as a child, I also always wanted to know more about them and I suspected a hidden world, which discovery seemed to be worth it.
On the other hand a deep curiosity that eventually brought me from archeology to psychiatry and finally to psychoanalysis.


DWP: If you had the opportunity to talk with Sigmund Freud, what would be the topic?
Are there any specific questions?

Severo Orsi: No, there are no concrete questions.
However, there are interesting topics, such as the change of role models, the sexual revolution in the 60s and the so-called fun society in our decade. But it would be interesting to discuss this with Freud only if he had occupied himself with the respective socio-cultural and historical context and their development since his death before our fictitious conversation.

Désirée Prosquill: Frankly, so many things ... What would really interest me as a Viennese is whether Freud is satisfied with the development of psychoanalysis, especially in the Viennese scene.       
What would he say about its development and the Austrian psychotherapy landscape in general, the regulation about payments from the government and insurances etc.,…
Then I would be very interested in his relationship with Felix Salten for  example what books has he read of him, etc.
And of course - most importantly, I would consult Sigmund Freud to his favorite fairy-tale ...


DWP: Fabric or leather couch?

Severo Orsi: Fabric!

Désirée Prosquill: Currently definitely fabric!


DWP: According to Bruno Bettelheim and the importance of fairy tales in childhood. Will you tell us your favorite fairy tale? And do you see parallels to your own adult life?

Severo Orsi: An, in our latitude, unknown Sardinian fairytale "Il Pastorello di Tacco di Lino - The shepherd boy from Tacco di Lino". Unlike this poor shepherd boy it took me many years to free myself from the clutches of our capitalist society so desired and compulsive mainspring, the pursuit of more and more and the resulting permanent dissatisfaction feeling. It is important to reflect on ourselves and the true, pure luck.

Désirée Prosquill: My favorite fairy tale has always been the Frog Prince, the moment where the princess smashes the disgusting frog against the wall, is not being punished for it, quite the contrary; she also receives a prince for that. Just great! So you wish life could be!
And then also the gold ball, what more could you want ;-)
Parallels with my life? Well the suspicion exists. ;-)


DWP: I dream,….

Severo Orsi: I refer to dreams like a priceless cinema. Sometimes I´m a director, produce dramas, comedies or tragedies. Sometimes I´m the main actor, sometimes just extra or a prop, sometimes just a spectator.
I dream a lot and intensively and love to confront myself with the content of dreams. Dreams usually produce an intense feeling and I occupy myself with them in the early morning hours in the train on the way to work; regardless of whether dreams evoke positive or negative emotions in me.

Désirée Prosquill: …and am fortunately still so excited about it!


DWP: What do you find good or particularly good in psychoanalysis and is there anything you do not like about it?

Severo Orsi: I see Psychoanalysis as one of the greatest pioneer of the confrontation with the psyche and the removal of taboos concerning sexuality. It was a milestone, triggering a revolution.
What I see as a point of critique is the personality cult the has crept in it and the use of axioms without questioning them thoroughly.

Désirée Prosquill: What I love about psychoanalysis; the dealing with the unconscious is infinite. There is thereby constantly something new to discover, to contemplate. Psychoanalysis has for me also very playfully pleasurable. It is simply a pleasure.
There are probably also negatives things, but I’m currently not so aware of them.


DWP: Do you have a favorite Freud - quote?

Severo Orsi: "Generally speaking, our civilization is built up on the suppression of instincts."
(Quoted from "`Civilized´ sexual morality and mondern nervous Illness")

Désirée Prosquill: With children it is easy to observe that they are often ‘naughty’ on purpose to provoke punishment, and are quiet and contented after they have been punished. Later analytic investigation can often put us on the track of the guilty feeling which induced them to seek punishment. Among adult criminals we must no doubt except those who commit crimes without any sense of guilt….. But as regards the majority of other criminals, those for whom punitive measures are really designed, such a motivation for crime might very well be taken into consideration; it might throw light on some obscure points in the psychology of the criminal, and furnish punishment with a new psychological basis.
(Quoted from "Criminals from a sense of Guilt")


DWP:  Are there other psychoanalysts, in addition to Sigmund Freud, who you like to study?

Severo Orsi: I don’t actually occupy myself actively with any psychoanalyst or psychologist.

Désirée Prosquil: All across the field.


DWP: Why or how did you choose the topic of your article which we will present our readers next week?

Severo Orsi: Since I offer a lot of different therapeutic groups in my workplace, my dear colleague Désirée asked me, if I would like to offer with her a group concerning "fairy tales and legends".
As this brought forth very interesting results from a psychoanalytic and psychological point of view, we decided to publish this article.

Désirée Prosquil: Fairy tales and legends have fascinated me for a while now, so I wanted to include them in my work...


Thank you very much for this conversation, we are already looking forward to your leading article!



Contact information of the author:
Severo Orsi

Contact information of the author:
Désirée Prosquill