La Borde
 | |
| The château of La Borde at Cour-Cheverny | |
| Type | Psychiatric clinic |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1953 |
| Founder | Jean Oury |
| Location | Cour-Cheverny, Loir-et-Cher, France |
La Borde (French: Clinique de La Borde) is a psychiatric clinic in a château near Cour-Cheverny in central France. Founded in 1953 by the psychiatrist Jean Oury, it became the best-known center of institutional psychotherapy, an approach that treats the organization of the institution itself as part of psychiatric care.[1][2]
History
Oury founded La Borde in 1953, at age 29, after leaving another clinic in the region, and established it in an old château in the Loire Valley.[1] He developed the clinic in close collaboration with Félix Guattari, who worked there from the mid-1950s until his death in 1992. Many psychiatrists trained at La Borde and later carried its methods to other institutions.[2]
Practice
La Borde organized daily life through practices meant to break down rigid hierarchies between doctors, staff, and patients. These included regular meetings, a therapeutic club run with patients, the rotation of jobs and responsibilities among staff, and shared everyday activities.[2] Its approach reflects the idea that an institution's routines and relationships can either support or obstruct care.[2]
Influence
The clinic was an important setting for Guattari's thought. His work there informed Anti-Oedipus, written with Gilles Deleuze, and his later writing on schizoanalysis and ecosophy.[2] Lacan's psychoanalysis also shaped Oury's thinking about the clinic.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 2014. "Jean Oury and Clinique de La Borde: A Conversation with Camille Robcis". Somatosphere. Retrieved October 16, 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 L. d'Abbadie de Nodrest, M. Piette, H. Bardi, and T. Gozé (2026). "Institutional psychotherapy: a conceptual review and clinical toolbox". Frontiers in Psychiatry. Retrieved October 15, 2026.