Tobie Nathan

About Tobie Nathan

Tobie Nathan was born in Cairo in 1948 and spent his childhood in Egypt. Graduated in psychology and sociology, trained in psychoanalysis and various forms of psychotherapy, an academic, researcher, and clinician, Tobie Nathan has worked throughout his career to deepen and operationalize the connection between psychopathology and society, between psyche and culture. He is recognized for his specific expertise in the psychopathology of non-European populations, both those living in France (originating from the Maghreb, sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, and the French-speaking islands of the Indian Ocean…) and in Africa.

Having initiated in France the “ethnopsychiatric” approach which emphasizes the importance of anthropological knowledge in addressing disorder, illness, and suffering, Tobie Nathan has also had the opportunity to undertake anthropological investigations in several regions: on the island of Réunion, in Brazil, Benin, Mali, Burkina Faso, Kosovo, Burundi, and Rwanda. There, he studied traditional methods of addressing suffering. Along the way, he became convinced that all societies, all cultures, develop knowledge, but also techniques worthy of interest — often as effective as our most modern techniques.

Tobie Nathan was for many years a professor of clinical and pathological psychology at the University of Paris 8. In 1993, he founded the Georges Devereux Center, the first and only university unit of clinical psychology in France. That same year, he became an expert psychologist for the courts of the Court of Appeal of Paris.

In 2003, after twenty-five years of teaching at the University, Tobie Nathan began a career in the diplomatic network. First, he served as the director of the Regional Office of the University Agency of La Francophonie for the Great Lakes region in Burundi (2003-2004), then became Cultural Cooperation and Action Advisor at the French Embassy in Tel Aviv (2004 to 2009), and then in Conakry (Guinea, 2009 to 2011).

Tobie Nathan is the author of numerous works, including scientific publications (latest publications: Democratic Psychotherapy in 2012 in collaboration with Nathalie Zajde, and The New Interpretation of Dreams in 2011) as well as novels, including “ethno-thrillers” (such as Saraka Bô in 1993, which was adapted into a film, Saraka Bô, released in 1997, directed by Denis Amar and featuring Yvan Attal, Richard Bohringer, Sotigui Kouyaté, and Ayssa Maïga).

Tobie Nathan is also present on the radio (he is a regular contributor to the program “La grande Table” on France-Culture) and on television (he is one of the contributors to the morning show “C’est au programme” on France2, presented by Sophie Davant, where he regularly holds a dream interpretation segment).

}