Paths in psychoanalysis: John E. Gedo

The cultural profile and theoretical contributions of John E. Gedo (1927-2019) are briefly outlined. John E. Gedo, who died this year, was a Chicago psychoanalyst of Hungarian origins who was very close to Heinz Kohut during the years in which he was building the theoretical edifice of self psychology, to which he gave important inputs. Gedo eventually interrupted his collaboration with Kohut and proposed a more ambitious model, a "hierarchical schema" of five modes of psychological functioning, each one of them characterized by a specific regulation principle, defense, problem or danger, and therapeutic intervention. He presented this proposal in many articles and books, particularly in his book Beyond Interpretation: Towards a Revised Theory for Psychoanalysis (New York: International Universities Press, 1979). Gedo had also a rich and typically European humanistic culture, and was especially interested in arts, a subject to which he dedicated several books and the last years of his life. Gedo's contributions are presented also through a long quotation of the essay by Paolo Migone "Monografia: John E. Gedo" [A monography on John E. Gedo], published in Psicoterapia e Scienze Umane, 1985, 19 (4): 89-102.