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PubMed1995

A classic revisited: clinical and theoretical reflections on Stone's Widening scope of indications for psychoanalysis.

Leo Stone's "The Widening Scope of Indications for Psychoanalysis" has had a major influence on the way almost two generations of American psychoanalysts have been taught to think about and practice psychoanalysis. Contemporary elaborations and extensions of the ideas contained in Stone's paper have, however, been used to move us steadily toward a shift in the treatment paradigm that underlies the way psychoanalysis is currently being conducted. This contemporary tendency to enlarge the scope of the mode of action of psychoanalysis, in order to accommodate the wider range of patients being treated today, blurs those aspects of psychoanalytic technique that distinguish the unique psychoanalytic perspective from the more general psychotherapeutic perspective. Several ideas contained in Stone's paper are considered as a basis for clarifying this distinction and the technical implications deriving from it. Two clinical vignettes are presented to illustrate these issues.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Down to cases: the ethical value of "non-scientificity" in dyadic psychoanalysis.

The efficacy of the dyadic psychoanalytic method cannot be verified empirically, due to the impossibility of counterfactuals, controls, or double-blind experiments, although inventive psychoanalytic researchers have established validation methodologies for analyzing groups of case studies, outcomes, and even theoretical precepts. The unavailability of complete empirical validation for the most basic method of the discipline of psychoanalysis, or of its fundamental "report of findings"--the case study--means that the field's scientific rationale must be supplemented with public reasoning of another sort. Fortunately, the very conditions of uncertainty that make it impossible to falsify the findings of dyadic psychoanalysis lend it its ethical force by compelling its participants to confront the basic human dilemmas of freedom, meaning, and judgment, the ethical horizon of human affairs. One substantial value of psychoanalysis, then, is its capacity for generating "ethical knowledge" of the sort adumbrated by Aristotle's conception of practical knowledge (phronesis). Case studies written for a lay audience to highlight these basic dilemmas can demonstrate that psychoanalysis produces crucial knowledge, specific to individuals, for living a healthy and satisfying life.

Ethics, Medical↗
PubMed1986

On psychoanalysis and neuroscience: Freud's attitude to the localizationist tradition.

This study examines the relationship between psychoanalysis and neuroscience. It argues that the Project, the traditional starting-point for such an examination, provides few substantial links between Freud's neurological and psychoanalytic careers. The neurological model that the Project endorsed was not derived from Freud's formal neurological education, as has so often been assumed. It was based, instead, on the Jacksonian model that he developed in 'On aphasia' in 1891. 'On aphasia' appears to be the real 'missing link' between Freud's neurological and psychological years. The fundamental principles that it endorsed provided the framework within which psychoanalysis developed. After Freud's death, Luria developed the science of dynamic neuropsychology, which is based on the same fundamental neurological assumptions as 'On aphasia'. Dynamic neuropsychology approaches brain functioning in a way that would have been entirely acceptable to Freud. Considering the deep-rooted compatibility between Luria's neuropsychology and Freud's psychoanalysis, it would be beneficial for both sciences if they were to collaborate on issues of common interest. This makes Freud's lifelong ambition that psychoanalysis be rejoined with neuroscience a very real possibility.

Aphasia↗
PubMed1986

[Psychoanalysis and psychometric evaluation].

Concerning the quality of life of former cancer patients both psychometric tests and psychoanalysis lead to better knowledge of problems. However neither their effects nor their efficiency can be compared. While psychometric tests are largely used to establish intellectual and affective attitudes, one must not forget that they are intended for diagnosis. The danger of defining profiles which are too acute or too precise has then to be exposed. Several questions must be raised: is the medical offer compatible or not with the patient's demand? This question opens the space of promise for the doctor and of delusion for the patient. Within this space, there is a place for psychoanalysis including the search of truth about oneself. But too whom should psychoanalysis be suggested? For the patient himself or his relatives? Regarding my own experience in a children's cancer ward where I have worked for more than ten years, I shall say that any psychoanalytical work, long or short, with the mother, the father or members belonging to the medical staff, clearly increases the child's quality of life. Why? Because fears of separation such as fantasies enclosed in the feeling of precariousness can be recognized and analyzed. It is not necessary to be a psychoanalyst to be aware of the role of subjectivity and of over-determination within the evolution of an illness like cancer. Precariousness has no place in the subconscious. That is why, not being able to believe in recovery, as it is often the case of parents or former cancer patients themselves, proves the importance of inner movements which have been hidden by medical reality for a long time. The announcement of recovery has, then, to be considered as a turning point where feelings of omnipotence are mixed with the sensation of being impotent. Fascinating is the former cancer patient regarding his victory over death. Becoming aware of this fascination is relevant to psychoanalysis.

Anxiety, Separation↗
PubMed1983

How Oedipus falsifies Popper: psychoanalysis as a normative science.

The scientific status of psychoanalysis has been the subject of continual debate. Influential philosophers of science have challenged the form of its theories and the nature of the evidence offered on their behalf. Some have concluded that the theories are beyond testing--i.e., they can neither be confirmed nor refuted, and psychoanalysis is thus intrinsically unscientific, akin to pseudosciences such as astrology. From that body of criticism, I have chosen for examination and rebuttal the issue of falsifiability. I refute the charge that psychoanalysis is not scientific because its theories are not "falsifiable." On the contrary, I show that psychoanalysis contains theories which make strong and unequivocal statements that are subject to the test of possible falsification. This capacity has been concealed and the falsifiability criticism rendered plausible because of the normative judgments which are latent in discussions of human development and human society. In explicating these judgments, I will move from the philosophy of science to the anthropology and sociology of science (and of the professions). The normative character of psychoanalytic science reinforces the ethical code of the therapeutic profession, a combination which imposes a disciplinary rigidity of the theoretical system.

Behavior↗
PubMed1995

[From inside to outside? Blind alleys in the discussion of psychoanalysis and society].

The attempt first instituted by Freud to use the instruments of psychoanalysis to improve understanding not only of the individual but also of society as a whole has a long tradition, particularly in Germany. Reviewing the last thirty years of discourse on the range of the applicability of psychoanalysis in this context, the author comes to the conclusion that the fruits of this discussion are negligible. Reiche distinguishes five major lines of discourse to illustrate this failure to establish the relevance of a psychoanalytic approach to illuminating the "out-side" world: the first is one of assimilation and desiccation, reference here being to psychoanalytic culture critique; the second a pathological reaction of collective grieving bound up with the Critical Theory; the third the aggressive rebuffs levelled at psychoanalytic insights by systems theory; the fourth a line of devaluation and usurpation as represented by post-structuralism and deconstructionism. In the fifth and final strand of psychoanalytic application discourse discernible in the theory of communicative action, the author discerns a tentative new rapprochement between sociology and psychoanalysis. The author's final conclusion is that psychoanalysis is suitable for the perspective on the inside world, while the outside world is beyond the scope of psychoanalytic theory.

Freudian Theory↗
PubMed1993

Teaching and learning in an analytic mode--a model for studying psychoanalysis at university.

The neglected issue of teaching psychoanalysis to non-practitioners, specifically in the university setting, is addressed and a model is put forward, which recognises the many difficulties that are inevitable to such an undertaking. Evolved in the course of two decades of teaching psychoanalysis at the university, the model is based on the recognition of certain essential parallels, alongside evident differences, between the teaching and learning of psychoanalysis and the analytic process itself. As in analysis, the inevitable difficulties encountered in the teaching-learning process are treated in this model as integral to the process rather than as interfering with it. The analyst teaching psychoanalysis in accord with the model uses his/her skills to create an atmosphere in which the analytic stance is pervasive, which encourages the student to learn in an experientially-near way. Major features of the model are discussed, and ways of examining, evaluating and refining it put forward.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1996

[The role of biography in psychoanalysis].

The construction of biographical data by the analyst and the remembrance of the past by the patient were regarded as vital for the psychoanalytic cure by Freud. Today the working-through of the transference in the actual therapeutic relationship is regarded as much more important. Whether the past is constructed or reconstructed, whether past events can explain present experiences etc., these questions are discussed not only in psychoanalysis, but also in the historical sciences and in philosophy. The dialogue with these can offer new insights into the relation of past to present, the importance of narrativity etc. to psychoanalysis; at the same time by comparison psychoanalysis can define its proper and specific approach to biography more clearly. These specific methods include the intersubjectivity of psychoanalytic experience in general and of reconstruction of the past, particularly, and the psychoanalytic process of remembering that leads to a differentiation of presence and past. Psychoanalysis is no psychosynthesis; it de-constructs experience, whereas the synthesis of the past is left to the patient's synthetic functions.

Freudian Theory↗
PubMed1981

Meyer's dealings with Jones: a chapter in the history of the American response to psychoanalysis.

Although Adolf Meyer, first director of the Phipps Clinic at John Hopkins, did much to promote a knowledge of psychoanalysis in the United States, he never identified his views with those of Freud. Using unpublished letters and documents, the present paper seeks to clarify Meyer's attitude towards psychoanalysis by focusing on his dealings with one of Freud's most gifted followers, Ernest Jones, at a critical moment in the reception of psychoanalysis in America. In particular, an effort is made to identify some of the personal, intellectual, and institutional factors that shaped Meyer's response to Freud.

Freudian Theory↗
PubMed2001

New heads for Freud's hydra: psychoanalysis in Los Angeles.

This paper describes the transplantation of psychoanalysis from Europe to Los Angeles and the similarities and differences in followers, cultural attitudes, institutional organization, and patient symptoms. Psychoanalysis in both places attracted psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, artists, writers, and movie people, all committed to "modernism" and cultural change. But special American conditions created greater institutional rigidity, medicalization, and a more diffuse patient symptomatology centered on the maternal relationship. Such conditions also fostered bitter disputes over modifications of psychoanalytic theory and practice which have only recently become less acute as the status of psychoanalysis has declined in America.

California↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The neurological legacy of psychoanalysis: Freud as a neurologist.

The discipline of psychoanalysis was significantly influenced by Freud's experience in neuroanatomy and clinical neurology. Sigmund Freud began his medical career as a neuroanatomist and neurologist before he later established the theories and techniques of psychoanalysis. Freud made several significant contributions to research in neuroanatomy and clinical neurology that were overshadowed by his later accomplishments. As the "Father of Psychoanalysis," Freud was, and his legacy always will be, that of a neurologist.

Austria↗
PubMed1998

Directions in psychoanalysis.

This article is intended to familiarize the general practitioner with the important concepts in the practice of psychoanalysis. It provides an overview of the development of the field of psychoanalysis, considering it as theory of personality, as an explanation of psychopathology, and as a research procedure. It also explores psychoanalysis as a method of treatment and presents an outline of the knowledge and training necessary to become a psychoanalyst. A consideration of the analytic process includes a review of the postulates that govern its application--the analytic process, the therapeutic dyad, and psychodynamic interventions. Historical and political issues are examined, including the spread of psychoanalytic theory, the various contributions of important psychoanalytic thinkers, a review of the struggle of nonmedical psychoanalysts to break the one-time monopoly held by medical psychoanalysts, and the ongoing love-hate relationship between clinical practitioners and academic psychologists. In addition to providing this background material, this article explores the issues currently facing the field of psychoanalytic thought--the need for integration of the structural and relational perspectives and the outlook for the future of the discipline.

Forecasting↗
PubMed1994

"Every path will end in darkness" or: why psychoanalysis needs metapsychology.

This article focuses on the dialectic of metapsychology and hermeneutics in psychoanalysis. By combining the causal language of the former with the intentional terminology of the latter, Freud's discourse continuously transgresses the narrowly conceived boundaries of scientific disciplines and places its stakes in both the humanities and the natural sciences. The argument is made that attempts to reduce psychoanalytic theory to either causal explanation or interpretation of meaning turn it into a closed thought system and rob it of its vitality. It is argued, moreover, that although Freud understood himself to be a scientist, by eschewing the dichotomous reductionism characteristic of both his orthodox followers and critics who tried and still try to turn psychoanalysis into either a natural-science-like discipline or a hermeneutics, Freud demonstrated that his self-understanding was far more sophisticated than admitted by either of these two groups. This argument is supported by a detailed discussion of Freud's epistemological premises, his conception of science and reality, and especially, the place he allocated to metapsychology in his interdisciplinary science. It is claimed that metapsychology served Freud as a double-edged sword, both enabling creative and metaphorical thought about the mind's hidden reality and revealing the necessary incompleteness of hermeneutics. The article concludes with the claim that psychoanalysis needs metapsychology in order to pursue this dual task.

History, Modern 1601-↗
PubMed2001

The Hofgeismar lectures: a contemporary overview of Horneyan psychoanalysis.

Part I of this paper describes Karen Horney's theory of neurosis. In the 1930s, Horney repudiated Freud's view of female developmental psychology. She argued that cultural factors rather than anatomy or innate biological drives were the primary determinants not only of female development but of personality, as well. When genetic and environmental circumstances together lead to basic anxiety early in life, she believed a deep inner conflict emerges in the individual leading to the need for elaborating layers of rigidified protective defenses. She called this the neurotic process. This process can result in discrete symptoms of mental disorder as well as the more generalized problems of alienation from the person's real self and reliance on neurotic solutions. In Part II, the practical application of Horney's theory to clinical work is demonstrated in a case presentation of a notably timid and perfectionistic man. Part III points up elaborations of Horney's theories by later workers of her school, the American Institute for Psychoanalysis, and provides a history of her school within the broader context of American psychoanalysis. The author's emphasis on postmodern and narrativist elements of Horneyan psychoanalysis are illuminated, as well.

Academies and Institutes↗
PubMed1992

The return of the repressed. Psychology's problematic relations with psychoanalysis, 1909-1960.

When psychoanalysis first arrived in the United States, most psychologists ignored it. By the 1920s, however, psychoanalysis had so captured the public imagination that it threatened to eclipse experimental psychology entirely. This article analyzes the complex nature of this threat and the myriad ways that psychologists responded to it. Because psychoanalysis entailed precisely the sort of radical subjectivity that psychologists had renounced as unscientific, core assumptions about the meaning of science were at stake. Psychologists' initial response was to retreat into positivism, thereby further limiting psychology's relevance and scope. By the 1950s, a new strategy had emerged: Psychoanalytic concepts would be put to experimental test, and those that qualified as "scientific" would be retained. This reinstated psychologists as arbiters of the mental world and restored "objective" criteria as the basis for making claims. A later tactic--co-opting psychoanalytic concepts into mainstream psychology--had the ironic effect of helping make psychology a more flexible and broad-based discipline.

History, 19th Century↗
PubMed1988

Psychoanalysis today.

Psychoanalysis as a theory has permeated Western culture in a way that often no longer is conscious. Psychoanalysis as a practice has had a more visible and stormy progress. A similar fate has befallen behavioural, biological, cognitive and social psychology, and it is argued that the attractiveness of reductionism acts to prevent critical appraisal of psychoanalysis and of the other paradigms.

Biological Psychiatry↗
PubMed1998

Psychoanalysis: a dysfunctional family?

The discussion opens with an account of the author's mother's bizarre family in which a strong, charismatic grandmother maintained absolute control over her large family by encouraging a neurotic dependence in them through daily reports of their complaints. Getting interested in psychoanalysis in an effort to understand the dynamics of this dysfunctional family, the author, a biographer, turned to the study of Melanie Klein, becoming entranced by her ideas. Her research also revealed how Klein had discouraged her followers from developing ideas that diverged in any way from her own. Her portrait of the pioneer analyst provoked intense indignation. A similar pattern of absolute loyalty to his person and theories was to be found in Freud's Secret Committee, formed primarily as a means of getting rid of Jung who had been showing disturbing signs of independence. When Ferenczi and Rank began to pursue independent lines of enquiry in their work, they too were though to be undermining the foundations of classical psychoanalysis. Finally, the author concludes that though there have been sorry incidents in psychoanalysis, we should be mature enough to accept both the contributions of the early pioneers and the realizations that new ideas must be permitted to evolve.

Codependency, Psychological↗
PubMed1999

The history of Russian psychoanalysis and the problem of its periodisation.

The formation and spread of the psychoanalytic teaching of Sigmund Freud and his followers is one of the most significant events in the life of the spirit in the twentieth century. The recognition of this as an historical fact--irrespective of its relation to Freud and his ideas--assumes of course and need to gain a proper understanding and appropriate interpretation of psychoanalysis in all its dimensions. Generally speaking, the history of psychoanalysis and the psychoanalytic movement has been researched quite fully, although for a variety of reasons and circumstances there are a number of gaps in it. Perhaps the most important of these is the history of Russian psychoanalysis, which has developed within a country where, at the beginning of the century, Freud's works were translated and published in a most effective and representative way, and where psychoanalytic ideas drew a response both from specialists and among the public at large, although in content and inclination the Russian mentality did not at heart suit a psychoanalytical treatment of man and his culture.

Female↗