Dear Mr. Miller,
I would like to take this opportunity and add some more points regarding the “Pivot of Sanati- Homayounpoor” that provides a large variety of misleading issues about “psychoanalysis” inside Iran and presents a dark image of Iran, abroad, and out of this “dark image” obtains some privileges.
1- Sanati is so fraudulent that during last 31 years keeps claiming that he is a psychiatrist and has a fellowship in psychotherapy. Well, it is just the beginning; based on these fake certificates he claims that he is a “psychoanalyst”. It was only after disclosure of “Freudian Association of Iran” that people pay scant attention to this matter, however operations of senior officials, just deny this basic fact, a reality which shows that Sanati has their continuous support yet.
2- Since then, many visitors of our electronic journal, have left comments on Q & A section, for instance:
“– You disrespect an old painstaking person,
– We are aware of that but let’s forget about it and continue with Lectures Text (of Dr. Kadivar) on your electronic journal,
– This is a place only for cheap discussions, backbiting and disgracing others while there are more important issues in the world,
– Why don’t you publish any Lectures Text of Dr. Kadivar in French?
– We know that he is not a holder of psychiatric certificate but what is the use of revealing this fact? There are several people who have pretended to have different certificates, Sanati will not be the last one either.”
3- Sanati not only called himself an analyst but also trained! others and introduced them as psychoanalyst as well.
Followers of Homayounpoor are on the other side of the pivot, and for the sake of their trade (psyche trade), they have to keep being quiet, but our responsibility is drastically different. Dr. Mitra Kadivar, The president of Freudian Association of Iran says: “…We are an NGO that has come (in order for the aim) that anywhere we think (if) something in this country would be better in another way, (we) would do that. [1]
4- They start with ignoring his fake certificate and end with denying the fact that he is not a psychoanalyst and abuse people by this title; since this title is really tempting in Iran not only for psychotherapists but also for patients. Let me explain:
On the patients’ side:
– Common people assume that university certificate in all psyche-related fields definitely leads one to become a “psychoanalyst”. No training is considered!
– When one tells, “I studied psychiatry, psychology or psychotherapy” others say, “so you are a psychoanalyst.”
– When one says, “I have a problem in my life”, others say, “You should go to a psychoanalyst.” And who gives a definition of “psychoanalyst”!?
On the psychotherapists’ side:
– It seems as if there is a market of “psychoanalysts” and everyone tries furiously and hurriedly to become more famous and wealthier. In this black market, this is the “aim of psychoanalysis”, which is being harmed indeed. (Similar to what Freud mentions on his article: “Wild Psychoanalysis”- 1910)
– Here anything that has the prefix “psyche” is taken the same as “psychoanalysis”, not only between common people but also between a great number of very university-educated persons in such fields. These educated (!) people fearlessly pretend that they are psychoanalysts, able to interpret people’s dreams and etc. and they provide their patients by a mixture of their university professors’ misunderstandings along with their own imaginations.
5- The problem gets worse when even senior officials say so: Ex- Vice chancellor of Education of the Ministry of Health of Iran said that: “Psychoanalytic courses is a part of specialty and fellowship programs of psychiatry.” [۲]
There are some critical points in this regard:
–Ministry of Health, is a section of government that is supposed to be able to differentiate between “psyche” related fields.
– Vice chancellor of “Education” of the Ministry is in charge of courses plans, so it seems that ex-Vice chancellor was completely aware of what he said.
– He has lessened the psychoanalysis to just a “course”.
– This is psychiatry, which is being fed to grow huge. Why it is so? At what cost?
You can realize how delightful and surprised we were hearing: “in Belgium parliament psychoanalysis was recognized as a separate discipline from psychotherapies.” [۳]
6- People in Iran well know that if you want to become a mystic (in Persian: A’ref) or pass the steps in such a way, you should obey a master who has passed this long and difficult path himself. People are aware of it in this case, but when it comes to psychoanalysis, they forget how time-consuming this way is other than the efforts one should make. I wonder if it is because of the activities of “wild psychoanalysts” or something else!
7- The idea that by going to a “psychoanalyst” you will become a “psychoanalyst” is what the “Pivot of Sanati- Homayounpoor” develops and publicizes, and this is while after 20- years- effort of Dr. Kadivar, the president of “Freudian Association of Iran” there are only 4 students of hers who are allowed to do the preliminary “psychoanalysis”, ONLY in her office and nowhere else.
Homayounpoor says “So how come we have about 150 members in Tehran and Mashhad, and a continuous and insistence desire for new members to join? … “Desire” for Psychoanalysis” [4]”greed [5] for “new members” of for “psychoanalysis””?
She says that she has made a group with “about 150 members” (and most of them are psychoanalysts!), just in 7 years?! Whereas she is about 35 years old (“young woman” is what she referrers to herself in The Paradox Called Iran) [6] and was not here continuously for 7 years?! Unbelievable!
Considerable difference between “Freudian Association” and “Freudian Group of Tehran”? (Even their name is stolen from Freudian Association)!
Freudian Association of Iran is a registered NGO (non-governmental organization). 7 years ago, regarding the establishment of an NGO, Dr. Kadivar noted us: “…psychoanalysis should pass among the law…” [۷] While Homayounpoor says: “we do not have any official registration with the Iranian government… We are also not recognized by any International associations officially… Maybe it has to do with an internal sense of legitimacy of the group, after all is this not what we say about the position of the psychoanalyst that when all is said and done, it is an internal position one must find within oneself in order to become a psychoanalyst.” [8]
Such a strong contrast! Homayounpoor also picks the words and “says” them whereas these words are not hers.
8- They gathered and brought people from Mashhad [9] to Tehran for “psychoanalysis week” of Iran; what they named October 11-17, 2014. They began with the first congress (Sanati was the Congress President and Co-Chair of Scientific Committee- October 11-13, 2014) and finished with “Geographies of Psychoanalysis/Encounters between Cultures” (October 16-17, 2014, by Presidency of Homayounpoor).
They spent about 60 million Tomans for the first congress from public fund. The costs of the other one were paid by Homayounpoor, except for the venue; it was a governmental building therefor it is again public fund! So how come in Freud Museum she says “the Iranian government, called it the enemy of state-psychoanalysis- which I think they are right (people laughing aloud) and I totally agree.” [10]?!
This is memorable that Freudian Association of Iran should struggle in 2 sides at the same time: against development of “wild psychoanalysis” on one hand and making people aware of what is happening and making them sensitive in this regard on the other hand. (Please consider that we, members of Freudian Association, except our president, are people who have not finished our psychoanalysis yet, so it makes this struggle even more complicated.)
9- The guests of IPA in Geographies of Psychoanalysis are so whimsical; they do not ask about the reason for such a big party. Do not they assume that it is an investment for Homayounpoor?! What one’s ambitions should be to spend this much money!? In addition, how could this “young woman” talk about many followers? Are IPA members so inexperienced that accept whatever Homayounpoor claims?!
The poster of this congress was published nowhere in Iran, although it had a Persian version on IPA website [11]. The first public announcement was just 6 days earlier, on October 11 at congress of Sanati!!
10- Some of these “150 people” are those who came out of the congress saloon (Geographies of Psychoanalysis) just like a huge flood to inhibit us from entering the congress, pushed and hit us and called us names. At that time, we were about 9 while they were about 20 or more!
Some of them are also people who cut off the microphone on us while talking in the first congress, pretended not to hear our voice, threatened us and attacked us as well, are included in “150 members” of that group.
I remember a question: why did not they report about us to police? They could call the police: “some people are in our congress, asking something aloud and don’t let us have the closing ceremony”, but they did not do it! They simply knew that, we were right. They knew that we would repeat our question in presence of police: “Dr. Sanati! Where is Psychiatrists Faculty of England University?” (Where he claims to receive his certificate from) Based on this first lie, he has made the second lie: “being psychoanalyst” (although they have nothing to do with each other) and now he has to prove them both.
A great mutual support from 2 heads of “Pivot of Sanati- Homayounpoor”!
Honestly, no matter how much I count, I can’t reach this “150” that she mentions!
There are many years that you know about the name of people register in classes of Dr. Kadivar also you know how many we are (it is being told us when we register for the first time) but about this group (I emphasis: a group not a registered NGO) you can find no information, nowhere on the internet. Let me remind what she says in that congress: “We do not have any official registration with the Iranian government… So how come we have about 150 members in Tehran and Mashhad, and a continuous and insistence desire for new members to join?” She talks about “desire for new members to join” while Dr. Kadivar talks about “…desire to psychoanalyst, then desire to unconscious and word…” [12] in her book.
The name of their group is mentioned only by Homayounpoor or just when somebody introduces her: “…She trains and supervises the psychoanalysts of the Freudian Group of Tehran and is Professor of Psychology at Shahid Besheti University Tehran.” [13] (She was only a lecturer, and not a professor at Shahid Beheshti University, just for one semester, but she still accredits herself by name of that university. Just like venue of first congress that they mentioned wrongly in the first email, they sent you [14].)
11- This is strange that Homayounpoor wrote a book ” Doing Psychoanalysis in Tehran” (September 2012) while she has not lived in Iran continuously for more than 4 or 5 years (at that time) and stranger thing is that a movie director (Abbas Kiarostami) has written the foreword for her book not a “psychoanalyst”. This director was the one who was mentioned to be the spokesman of opening ceremony for Geographies of Psychoanalysis. He did not come by the way and an actor appeared instead.
12- Ghourkhane-chi, the Scientific Committee Chair! of Geographies of Psychoanalysis, was former managing director of Freudian Association of Iran, who was expelled in 2008 and after a while we recognized that in psychology magazine (for Razi Hospital) not only has he misused the lessons of Dr. Kadivar [15] but also introduced 5 analysts of Iran (!) in this order:1- Dr. Homayounpoor, 2- Dr. Kadivar, 5- Dr. Sanati. He was analyzed by Dr. Kadivar for about two years and half but now for the sake of greed in that black market, everything has changed easily.
These are the Members and supporters of “Pivot of Sanati- Homayounpoor”, the ones who plotted to eliminate Dr. Kadivar physically in order to take her spiritual assets and fit them to their own benefit, so they can counterfeit the real analysis and deceive people who come to this “door” [16] with difficulty…
While writing these lines, I cannot help thinking “If Dr. Kadivar had not been here, what would have I been doing now?”
In the end let me express how grateful I am to write to you one more time.
Yours Faithfully
Member of Freudian Association
Soode Rakhsha
1- Remarks of Dr. Kadivar in the 5th meeting of the board of “Iranian Association of Communication with WAP” in 6.10.2007
2- https://freudianassociation.org/?p=2924
3- https://freudianassociation.org/?p=2667
4- From article of Homayounpoor in Geographies_conferences
5- Taken from comment of Ms. Rahele A. on 8.12.2014 on the electronic journal of Freudian Association
6- Presented at the International Congress Geografie della Psicoanalisi, Pavia, 6 October 2012
http://www.ipa.org.uk/IPA_Docs/Gohar%20%20Homayounpour%20IPAWEB%20(1).pdf
7- Postscript of Dr. Kadivar on Minute of Meeting of the 20th meeting of the board of “Iranian Association of Communication with WAP” in 9.3.2008
8- From article of Homayounpoor in Geographies_conferences
9- http://psychodynamic.blogfa.com/post/4
10- podcast of Doing Psychoanalysis in Tehran
12- Kadivar, Mitra. Lacan School-Psychoanalysis in Twenty First Century. 1st publication. Page 75
13- Doing Psychoanalysis in Tehran on MIT press
14- https://freudianassociation.org/?p=6400
15- https://freudianassociation.org/?p=3679
16- Referred to a remark by Dr. Kadivar
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