On February 26, 2026, FREEPSY presented at the at the Archiving from Below series of the MayDay Rooms in London.
In this session, two researchers from Freepsy, Julianna Pusztai and Ewan O’Neill discussed the historical findings from free clinics, grassroots psychoanalytic groups and the future of memory.
The first part explored DIY psychoanalytic movements in the UK during the 1970s, such as the Barefoot Psychoanalyst, the Red Collective, and Red Therapy. The feminist and liberatory social movements of the era critiqued traditional psychoanalysis and introduced new DIY practices that examined how power is maintained through capitalism and political oppression. This history highlights a horizontally structured psychoanalysis that is both a clinical and political exercise, organised in a unique way: the hierarchy between patient and analyst is continually challenged, reassessed, and redefined. Within this framework, DIY methods and self-help suggest mutuality and a horizontal relationship, based on the exchange of skills, knowledge, and resources rather than hierarchy. In this session, we historically explored both hope and despair, examining examples of activism, psychoanalysis, and mutual care as a collective practice of experimentation.
The second part of the session encouraged the audience to reflect collectively on changing archives and archival practice, especially in relation to collective and social memory. We asked how new collaborative relationships between archives and their users are shaping the future of memory. As the concept of the traditional archive is dismantled, we also considered how this reconfiguration is shifting the mode from exclusivity to inclusivity—a central theme shared with the free clinics. Some of the themes discussed were how engagement with archives can be made more ephemeral to encourage a non-linear mode of research and how archives might try to shape their collecting in anticipation of future needs that are related to social changes.
The session was structured as a public forum, with dialogue continuing into the evening between the audience and presenters. The lively discussion reflected a growing interest in the social mission of psychoanalysis and alternative practices. Important questions emerged: why is this history excluded from mainstream knowledge? How can we manage the risks of DIY practices today? And in what ways might the rigidity and hierarchy of training institutions harm both trainees and patients? This proved to be a significant moment of engaging with archival material, prompting calls to imagine a future psychoanalysis built on the infrastructures of unions and activist groups—offering the groundwork for a psychoanalysis that moves away from neutrality and towards political action.
