Sauntering Steiner

Sauntering Steiner would like to travel the world analysing everything in his path!

He would particularly like to visit:

University of Otago (Dunedin), New Zealand

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States

University of Cambridge, UK

Maudsley Hospital, London, UK

Tavistock Clinic, London, UK

As these places were of significant importance in his life, however, he'd be happy to see as much as he can...

Steiner studied medicine at the University of Otago Medical School in New Zealand, during which time he undertook research in neurophysiology. As a mUKedical student he had already become interested in Freud and psychoanalytic ideas, but he wanted to gain a sound grounding in neuroscience before pursuing his interest in psychoanalysis.

After qualifying in 1958, Steiner went to the California Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral fellow in neurobiology and then to the University of Cambridge, where he worked in experimental psychology. In 1964 he moved to London to become a registrar in psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital, where he was influenced by Henry Rey. He became a consultant psychotherapist at the Tavistock Clinic in 1975, and he remained there until his retirement from the NHS in 1996. During this time he established a well-respected and now long-running course, ‘An Introduction to Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy’, now known as the Qualifying Course in Psychodynamic psychotherapy (D58). He also was influential in establishing the Association for Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy (APP), which supports professionals trying to use psychoanalytical ideas in the NHS.

In 1967 Steiner embarked on his personal analysis with Hanna Segal, and subsequently his psychoanalytic training at the Institute of Psychoanalysis. Herbert Rosenfeld was his first supervisor during his training and Betty Joseph his second supervisor. Steiner’s profound appreciation of Segal, Joseph, and Rosenfeld manifested itself years later in his editorship of their most significant papers in Psychoanalysis, Literature and War and Rosenfeld in Retrospect, and in his writing he is keen to acknowledge the influences of previous generations. He sees his ideas deeply rooted in those of Freud, Klein, Bion, Joseph, Rey and Money Kyrle.