Psychodynamic and systemic paradigms: An attempted integration in the light of personal experience with groups

Conclusion Our purpose is not to confuse psychoanalysis with systems theory: Karen Horney defined herself as a psychoanalyst, while the theory of autopoietic systems remains a systems theory. With the exception of the basic matrices that determine the identity of each current of thought, it seems possible to point out interesting points of contact among different anthropological views. They appear to converge on some points that are not to be overlooked, though they may take off from premises that are very different from each other. These are recent working hypotheses, which I have presented as a theme of research that needs to be verified scientifically. If these hypotheses can be rigorously verified in such a way as to avoid superimpositions, the theories would be enriched reciprocally, opening up interesting prospectives of scientific research. This is our wish.