The NEPECC – Núcleo de Estudos em Psicanálise e Clínica da Contemporaneidade (Center of psychoanalytic studies and contemporary clinic) is the result of the partnership between two institutions of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro: the postgraduate program on psychoanalytic theory (PPGTP) – responsible for the master degree and PHD courses on psychoanalytic theory – and the Institute of Psychiatry (IPUB), responsible for specialization, masters and PhD level seminars, as well as programs in multi-professional and MD residency, operating as university research center, teaching and helping mental health. NEPECC is coordinated by the psychoanalysts and university professors Teresa Pinheiro, Julio Verztman and Regina Herzog.

Its purpose is to develop research projects combining theory and clinical practice, emphasizing the creation of new theoretical elements resulting directly from the clinical practice. Its activities combine the clinical work with patients of each line of research (according to the pre-established profile of the research in course) and the theoretical questions arising from such clinical cases, resulting on a theoretical production by means of articles, books, congress presentations, and encounters organized by NEPECC every two years.

We have been observing a specificity in the analytical demand, in the symptomatic production and also in the subject’s ties of transferences of the people who arrive at our office and at the services provided by the public network of assistance to mental health. Such specificity is requiring constant attention from the part of the theoretical devices as well as from the given technicians from the classic psychoanalytical reference point, coming from the hysterical patients’ treatment.

This observation is supported by a wide range of literary sources originated from a variety of knowledge fields such as philosophy, history, social sciences, literature critics, among others; which suggests subjective paradigm changes in contemporaneity, and that would differentiates the central aspects of the present subject which originated psychoanalysis.

Our first project embraced a comparative study between melancholic subjects and patients caring systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), through a partnership with the “Serviço de Colagenoses do HUCFF-UFRJ”, between 2002 and 2006, seeking to better understand psychic dynamic implicated in these subjectivities. As a result, during this period we arrived at a common ground which points that the suffering in the contemporary subject is directly related to the change in the cultural paradigm mentioned above – such as those studied by researchers in other fields of knowledge (mainly anthropology, social sciences and philosophy) – which transforms the temporal experience of the subject and consequently its possibility to project in the future and its sensation of continuity; its perception of the body and intimacy, its relationship with others, its personal experience as well as its ethical relationship with others. This last point, specially, modifies the role of guilty feelings and shame in evaluating conduct, and it has become a privileged theme in our researches.

Moreover, along with the discussions on the results of this first clinical research, it was identified the need to deepens some points related to the conceptual plot of shame and guilt, such query culminated in the elaboration of our second research project which works around the nosological category Social Phobia, such described in the psychiatric manual. This first clinical research, initiated in 2005, refers to the treatment of subjects psychiatrically designated as social phobic. Literature about this theme as well as material native from clinical material from our research show that anguish and shame occupy a central role in these patients psychic dynamics. It is worth to point out that opposite to these two feelings, guilt seems to be dislocated and faded. In 2010, a research project was launched, elaborated by the work being done at NEPECC entitled “Psychoanalyses and mental health: clinical device to respond to contemporary malaise.”

In 2010, a research Project was initiated in occurrence of the work being done by the NEPECC entitled “Psychoanalysis and mental health: clinical devices to respond to contemporary malaise.” A new clinical investigation began in 2014 around subjects presenting compulsions or impulses, especially those with apparent psychiatric diagnoses of OCD. It is our intension to study certain aspects of the currently commonly denominated action pathology and compare them with the conflict model present in classic obsessive neurosis described by Freud. This research, currently on going, articulates itself with previous ones, since our focus is to discuss the relationship between actions and experience itself.

NEPECC has established many exchange programs since its creation. Among them, we find the many Campuses of Federal University Fluminense (UFF) such as Rio das Ostras Campus – under the coordination of the research professors Diane Almeida Viana and Fernanda Ferreira – and the Goytacazes Campus – under the coordination of the professor Ricardo Salztrager. Another link was established with research professor Octavio Souza from the Institute Fernandes Figueira/FIOCRUZ. And, more recently, with the Research Professor Camilo Venturi form the University Fluminense of Volta Redonda branch

From its creation, NEPECC has counted on the support from agencies in the scope of activities (PROAP-Capes), in the scope of material acquisition (FAPERJ) and in the helping researchers’ productivity (CNPq), post doctorate (PRODOC-Capes), PhD, masters (CNPq and Capes-DS), fellowships (PDEE-Capes) and undergraduate fellowships (PIBIC).

Additionally, the NEPECC systematically promotes meetings with researchers outside its own group, which can in turn operate as external evaluators of our work, this practice has significantly contributed in the development of our projects. The clinical work done by the research group, in special, has been a source of great relevance in the understanding of the production of subjectivity and the psychic dynamics of our current time. In this site, it is possible to find materials of individual production as well as collective production from our NEPECC researchers along the years.