I met Françoise more than 30 years ago and I will say the same as I did when I first met her : Françoise is inspiring!

Not only with her humor and her way to face the difficulties in the field of psychosis and trauma, but also with her capacity to encounter anyone not regarding titles or hierarchy. In Switzerland, when I was medical director of an hospital, we had started case presentation involving the whole team. A clinician presents on his/her way but then all nurses, social workers, and even the housemaids said their word about what was going on for the person trapped in the psychosis. Françoise worked directly with the different relations in an open way understanding that the whole figure could only be read if one listens to the whole team. Supervision with Françoise is a learning process, where you meet the history of the person, the family background and also the social and political history that gives the deeper understanding of hidden trauma that lies under psychosis.

Psychoanalysis and psychosis may look a difficult topic, but with Françoise it is about a therapeutic fight aiming at a recovery for the person to speak for oneself. Her enthusiastic charisma is grounded in the fight for a free speech, that was denied when trauma drowned the history and when a power made the free speech silent.

History beyond trauma, first published 2004 written with Jean Max Gaudillière, husband and co-author has changed the perspective for a whole generation “whereof one cannot speak, one cannot be silent”.

The meanings of so many psychotic symptoms appeared to us when we heard Françoise and Jean-Max lecturing and supervising all over the world. We could also see how these theories were rooted in their practice both in hospital and in private practice. Empathizing with people trapped in psychosis but more, giving her own experience of trauma during WWII and helping the other with books to reenter their own narrativity.

Here my generation saw a paradigmatic change in psychotherapy for psychosis and trauma when realizing how these new concepts had a healing impact on the patients and on the care teams.

Then come all the other books, lectures, Mother folly, Don Quixote, Tristram Shandy, Voice of the covid healers, now Françoise is also working with traumatized persons in Ukraine. On the site https://gaudillieredavoine.com, everyone may find the books, open lectures, and bibliography where it is important to notice the first translation of Gaetano Benedetti’s main book : the death in the soul.

Françoise Davoine with Jean-Max Gaudillière have build up an international network where you meet therapists and friends in New York, Austen Riggs, Mexico, Brussels, Paris, Sweden and Vevey in Switzerland.

Today we are many inspired by Françoise Davoine and her main concepts have been such a success that we all think we know them as they have grown into the common knowledge about psychosis, trauma, history and the reconstruction of a personal and political self.

–         Transgenerational trauma linked to psychosis

–         War trauma linked to psychosis

–         Madness as a social link (title of Françoise and Jean-Max seminar in Paris)

–         Catastrophical edges and how to face them

–         The psyche of the therapist is there to receive and figure what cannot be said (an open door to understand Wittgenstein)

–         The fight against the perverse that want to deny the trauma, and shut up the voice of the traumatized

–         The birth of the self is a political moment, thus the necessity to consider the political angle in the circumstances of life.

But the very best is Françoise inspiring laughter that gives us all courage to fight perversion and open us to friendship and disclosure with our patients.

Make us free to speak and to sing.

Our gratitude is immense and we see Françoise as an outstanding lifetime ISPS honorary member.

Biography by Dag Söderström