With his passing, academic psychology loses a pioneering clinical psychologist, and as the only psychoanalyst to hold a professorship in psychology at a state university, the psychoanalytic community loses one of its most influential minds. Cord Benecke, who practiced as a psychoanalyst, helped establish the "Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie" (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy) program in Kassel. Psychology students throughout the German-speaking world—even those outside of psychodynamically oriented programs—value his textbook of the same name, which is unparalleled in its breadth and depth.
In his research, Cord Benecke dedicated himself like few others to demonstrating the effectiveness of psychodynamic and psychoanalytic therapies. He was spokesperson for the working group "Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnostics OPD-3." Further, Cord Benecke initiated the DGPT–funded multicenter study on the treatment of anxiety and personality disorders, which was conducted for many years at IPU's Outpatient Clinic, as well as the QVA study (Quality Characteristics and Relevance to Healthcare Provision of Psychodynamic Training Institutes), also held at the IPU. For many years, he chaired the German Psychoanalytical Association (DPG)'s Research Commission and, in this capacity, co-initiated the DPG Practice Study, which was published shortly before his death. Together with IPU's Prof. Dr. Dorothea Huber, he was also a member of the Scientific Board of the Lindau Psychotherapy Weeks.
Photo: Sylvia Willax