This past February, our family at the International Society of Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (ISTFP) was struck by a loss that still resonates deeply in our hearts: the passing of George Brownstone, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Although we knew George had been facing this illness for some time, his vibrant energy made it hard to imagine him ever gone.
Some people, even after they leave, continue to light our way. George was one of them.
Speaking of George means speaking of a free spirit and a brilliant mind. His dear friend and colleague Judith Lendvay, who taught alongside him for over a decade and shared a deep personal bond, wrote these heartfelt words about him:
George Brownstone MD was an integral part of TFP long before it was called TFP and he was our dear friend. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio to parents of a Hungarian background. He did his medical training in Vienna and his psychiatry residency at the Weill Cornell Medical College. His colorful personality was reflected in the broad range of his practice of psychiatry – prior to opening his analytic practice in New York, he worked in Bellevue, the city’s main public hospital, and was interested in forensic work. He studied and worked with both James Masterson and Otto Kernberg and so was exposed him to somewhat different views of treating personality disorders. He was not your typical MD. He rode a motorcycle, and smoked a pipe. In 1983 when a new prison opened just outside of Vienna he was asked to lead the initial team. He accepted it and moved back to Vienna. He planned to stay for a couple of years and in fact, in 1986 Otto Kernberg gave him a job offer he “could not refuse’ — but he did refuse it because just around that time he fell in love with Eva, an outstanding Hungarian born gastroenterologist in Vienna. So he stayed there and they married. Eva joined George on his motorcycle riding until she became pregnant with their daughter Mimi. The couple then decided it was better for Mimi to have two parents so George “divorced” the motorcycle. In Vienna, George was in private psychoanalytic practice but maintained close ties with the Kernberg group, with regular visits to Cornell. In 2011, he became an integral part of the Vienna institute. Taking advantage of his Hungarian background, we taught in Budapest where he was one of the first TFP teachers and supervisors, along with the founders, Mathias Lohmer and Corinna Wernz. Besides working with psychoanalytic groups, he was a liaison to ÖGATAP, an Austrian psychotherapy education group that has courses on all types of therapy. With Bernhard Brömmel, he got TFP on their curriculum.
On a personal note, I was fortunate to teach with George for almost 10 years, mostly online and in person when we taught courses in Budapest. We became very close friends, and he was a much beloved supervisor. He will be sorely missed by all of us who knew him.”
Judith Lendvay
Throughout his life, George showed an immense curiosity about the human condition.
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Ps. Veronica Steiner
Veronica Steiner Segal is a Chilean clinical psychologist who graduated in 1998. Since her beginnings she has been working with patients with Severe Personality Disorders in different health institutions in her country, and since 2018 she is a certified TFP therapist. In 2019 she obtained her accreditation as a teacher and supervisor. Since the same year she is coordinator of Grupo TFP Chile. She is the Executive Officer for the Board and she collaborates with the T&E Committee. She also teaches at the University of Valparaiso, in the Department of Psychiatry, where she also teaches in the Diploma of Severe Personality Disorders.
She collaborates in different courses looking for the diffusion of TFP. Together with Luis Valenciano and Pepa Gonzalez she directs an important training in TFP for Spanish speaking students, Instituto TFP Hispanoamerica.