Difference between revisions of "Psychoanalysis"

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==Sigmund Freud==
 
==Sigmund Freud==
 
[[Freud]] describes [[psychoanalysis]] as comprising:
 
[[Freud]] describes [[psychoanalysis]] as comprising:
# a discipline founded on a procedure for the investigation of mental processes that are otherwise inaccessible because they are [[unconscious]];
+
# a [[discipline]] founded on a procedure for the investigation of [[mental]] [[processes]] that are otherwise inaccessible because they are [[unconscious]];
# a therapeutic method for the treatment of neurotic disorders; and  
+
# a therapeutic method for the treatment of [[neurotic]] disorders; and  
# a body of psychological data evolving into a new scientific discipline.
+
# a [[body]] of [[psychological]] data evolving into a new scientific discipline.
  
<!-- [[Freud]]'s third and broadest category comprises his work on culture (which is based largely on the view that culture is a product of the diversion or [[sublimation]] of sexual energy) and art, which provides the starting-point for the many varieties of [[psychoanalytic criticism]]. -->
+
<!-- [[Freud]]'s [[third]] and broadest [[category]] comprises his [[work]] on [[culture]] (which is based largely on the view that culture is a product of the diversion or [[sublimation]] of [[sexual]] [[energy]]) and art, which provides the starting-point for the many varieties of [[psychoanalytic criticism]]. -->
  
Although the history of [[psychoanalysis]] is inseparable from that of [[Freud]]'s life and of the long self-analysis which led him to write his great ''[[Interpretation of Dreams]]'' (1900), it is clear that his new science is rooted in the traditions of nineteenth-century psychology and biology.  [[Freud]]'s ventures into [[anthropology]], which he views as an integral part of his new scientific discipline, are also influenced by nineteenth-century theories of evolution and by their attendant eurocentrism; hence the analogy between the "mental life of savages and neurotics" posited in ''[[Totem and Taboo]]'' (1913), and the argument that the life of an indiviudal re-enacts or repeats the life of the species.  It is also clear that [[Freud]]'s descriptions of the workings of the [[unconscious]], with it s flows of energy, and of [[libido]] and its mechanisms of discharge, owe much to the physics and hydraulics of his age.
+
Although the [[history]] of [[psychoanalysis]] is inseparable from that of [[Freud]]'s [[life]] and of the long [[self]]-analysis which led him to write his great ''[[Interpretation of Dreams]]'' (1900), it is clear that his new [[science]] is rooted in the traditions of nineteenth-century psychology and [[biology]].  [[Freud]]'s ventures into [[anthropology]], which he views as an integral part of his new scientific discipline, are also influenced by nineteenth-century theories of evolution and by their attendant eurocentrism; hence the analogy between the "mental life of savages and neurotics" posited in ''[[Totem and Taboo]]'' (1913), and the argument that the life of an [[individual]] re-enacts or repeats the life of the [[species]].  It is also clear that [[Freud]]'s descriptions of the workings of the [[unconscious]], with it s flows of energy, and of [[libido]] and its mechanisms of [[discharge]], owe much to the [[physics]] and hydraulics of his age.
  
<!--  [[Freud]] constantly revises and reworks his theories, and all the modifications he introduces are closely related to developments at the clinical level as he gradually abandons the therapeutic technique of hypnosis and [[catharsis]] in favor of the [[talking cure]], and moves from his early [[seduction theory]] of [[hysteria]] to a theory of both [[neurosis]] and normal [[development]] that is based upon the discovery of the [[Oedipus complex]] and its vital importance in psychosexual development. Yet despite all the changes that are introduced, there is a constant emphasis on the [[unconscious'' and on sexuality, defined in such broad terms as to include the oral and anal dimensions and not merely the narrowly genital or procreative dimension. It is the emphasis on sexuality that leads to the major disagreements between [[Freud]] and [[Jung]], whom the former at one point regarded as his crown prince. [[Freud]]'s theories are obviously not beyond criticism, but they have had an incalculable impact on the twentieth-century vision of sexuality, not least by insisting the children are not asexual and have a sexual life of their own.<ref>1905a. 1908a.</ref> The best account of the gradual development of the technique of [[psychoanalysis]] is that provided by [[Freud]] himself in his correspondence with [[Wilhelm Fliess]], with whom he collaborated in the 1980s, in the studies n [[hysteria]] coauthored with Breuer, and in the five published case studies. -->
+
<!--  [[Freud]] constantly revises and reworks his theories, and all the modifications he introduces are closely related to developments at the [[clinical]] level as he gradually abandons the therapeutic [[technique]] of [[hypnosis]] and [[catharsis]] in favor of the [[talking cure]], and moves from his early [[seduction theory]] of [[hysteria]] to a [[theory]] of both [[neurosis]] and normal [[development]] that is based upon the discovery of the [[Oedipus complex]] and its vital importance in [[psychosexual]] development. Yet despite all the changes that are introduced, there is a constant emphasis on the [[unconscious'' and on sexuality, defined in such broad terms as to include the oral and anal dimensions and not merely the narrowly genital or procreative dimension. It is the emphasis on sexuality that leads to the major disagreements between [[Freud]] and [[Jung]], whom the former at one point regarded as his crown prince. [[Freud]]'s theories are obviously not beyond criticism, but they have had an incalculable impact on the twentieth-century [[vision]] of [[sexuality]], not least by insisting the [[children]] are not asexual and have a [[sexual life]] of their own.<ref>1905a. 1908a.</ref> The best account of the gradual development of the technique of [[psychoanalysis]] is that provided by [[Freud]] himself in his correspondence with [[Wilhelm Fliess]], with whom he collaborated in the 1980s, in the studies n [[hysteria]] coauthored with [[Breuer]], and in the five published [[case]] studies. -->
  
The technique that evolved is the method of [[free association]], with the patient or analysand lying on a couch and with the analyst sitting slightly to the rear and out of eyeshot.  The [[patient]] is required to tell everything and omit nothing; the [[analyst]] to listen to everything and to privilege nothing. [[Free association]] around [[dreams]] or [[memories]] allows [[unconscious]] [[chain]]s of [[fantasies]] and [[wish]]es to be reconstructed and then interpreted so as to uncover underlying structures, which, typically, relate to the [[Oedipus complex]] and [[repressed]] childhood [[memories]], usually with a sexual content.
+
The technique that evolved is the method of [[free association]], with the patient or analysand lying on a couch and with the analyst sitting slightly to the rear and out of eyeshot.  The [[patient]] is required to tell everything and omit [[nothing]]; the [[analyst]] to listen to everything and to privilege nothing. [[Free association]] around [[dreams]] or [[memories]] allows [[unconscious]] [[chain]]s of [[fantasies]] and [[wish]]es to be reconstructed and then [[interpreted]] so as to uncover underlying [[structures]], which, typically, relate to the [[Oedipus complex]] and [[repressed]] [[childhood]] [[memories]], usually with a sexual [[content]].
  
<!-- Although [[dream]]s are described by [[Freud]] as "the royal road to the unconscious," (1900) it should be noted that the [[psychoanalyst]]'s raw material is not the [[unconscious]] itself (which is by definition inaccesible), but material that has already been shaped by the [[dream-work]]. -->
+
<!-- Although [[dream]]s are described by [[Freud]] as "the royal road to the unconscious," (1900) it should be noted that the [[psychoanalyst]]'s raw [[material]] is not the [[unconscious]] itself (which is by definition inaccesible), but material that has already been shaped by the [[dream-work]]. -->
  
The central factor in the [[analytic treatment]] is the [[transference]] that allows [[unconscious]] or [[repressed]] material to be reactualized in verbal form rather than reproduced in [[symptom]]s, and [[projection|projected]] onto the [[analyst]]. In a classic [[Freud]]ian [[psychoanalysis]], the [[analysand]] has daily sessions of [[analysis]], each lasting fifty minutes (the so-called 'analytic hour'); the payment of fees is held to have great symbolic importance. [[Freud]] never claimed that his method was a universal panacea, but once remarked with typically pessimistic wit that it could transform "hysterical misery" into "common unhappiness."<ref>1893-5.</ref>  
+
The central factor in the [[analytic treatment]] is the [[transference]] that allows [[unconscious]] or [[repressed]] material to be reactualized in [[verbal]] [[form]] rather than reproduced in [[symptom]]s, and [[projection|projected]] onto the [[analyst]]. In a classic [[Freud]]ian [[psychoanalysis]], the [[analysand]] has daily sessions of [[analysis]], each lasting fifty minutes (the so-called 'analytic hour'); the payment of fees is held to have great [[symbolic]] importance. [[Freud]] never claimed that his method was a [[universal]] panacea, but once remarked with typically [[pessimistic]] wit that it could transform "[[hysterical]] misery" into "common unhappiness."<ref>1893-5.</ref>  
  
Although [[psychoanalysis]] is widely practiced and has had an important influence on related therapeutic methods, it has never been defined in either medical or legal terms.  The profession is self-regulated and its standards of practice are defined by the various national associations recognized by the [[International Psycho-Analytical Association]].  The would-be [[psychoanalyst]] undertakes a personal [[analysis]] before embarking upon a rigorous [[training]] [[analysis]] designed to promote a recognition of the importance of [[transference]] and [[counter-transference]].  Qualified [[analysts]] normally work under the supervision of their seniors, and usually undertake at least one "second analysis." The first generation of psychoanalysts were, like [[Freud]] himself, doctors of medicine, but suitably qualified non-medical or lay analysts were admitted to the profession from the 1920s onwards.<ref>Freud. 1926a.</ref>  The desirability or otherwise of medical qualifications is a matter for the various national associations. The question of the scientific nature of [[psychoanalysis]] remains controversial.
+
Although [[psychoanalysis]] is widely practiced and has had an important influence on related therapeutic methods, it has never been defined in either medical or [[legal]] [[terms]].  The [[profession]] is self-regulated and its standards of [[practice]] are defined by the various national [[associations]] recognized by the [[International Psycho-Analytical Association]].  The would-be [[psychoanalyst]] undertakes a personal [[analysis]] before embarking upon a rigorous [[training]] [[analysis]] designed to promote a [[recognition]] of the importance of [[transference]] and [[counter-transference]].  Qualified [[analysts]] normally work under the supervision of their seniors, and usually undertake at least one "second analysis." The first generation of [[psychoanalysts]] were, like [[Freud]] himself, doctors of [[medicine]], but suitably qualified non-medical or lay analysts were admitted to the profession from the 1920s onwards.<ref>Freud. 1926a.</ref>  The desirability or otherwise of medical qualifications is a matter for the various national associations. The question of the scientific [[nature]] of [[psychoanalysis]] remains controversial.
  
[[Freud]]'s own career was punctuated by a series of breaks with colleagues to whom he had once been close, and the history of the psychoanalytic movement is one of splits and schisms as well as of international expansion.  All the major tendencies within contemporary psychoanalysis claim a [[Freudian]] ancestry, but take as their stating-point different periods in his work or different aspects of his theories. Very schematically, the main post-Freudian currents within [[psychoanalysis]] are [[ego-psychology]], [[Kleinian psychoanalysis]], [[object-relations theory]] and [[Lacanian psychoanalysis]].
+
[[Freud]]'s own career was punctuated by a series of breaks with colleagues to whom he had once been close, and the history of the [[psychoanalytic]] movement is one of splits and schisms as well as of international expansion.  All the major tendencies within contemporary psychoanalysis [[claim]] a [[Freudian]] ancestry, but take as their [[stating]]-point different periods in his work or different aspects of his theories. Very schematically, the main post-Freudian currents within [[psychoanalysis]] are [[ego-psychology]], [[Kleinian psychoanalysis]], [[object-relations theory]] and [[Lacanian psychoanalysis]].
  
 
==Jacques Lacan==
 
==Jacques Lacan==
[[Lacan]] trained initially as a [[psychiatrist]], and turned to [[psychoanalysis]] to help him with his [[psychiatric]] research. This then led [[Lacan]] to train as a [[psychoanalyst]] himself in the 1930s. From then on, until his [[death]] in 1981, he dedicated himself to practicing as an [[analyst]] and developing [[psychoanalytic theory]]. In the process, [[Lacan]] constructed a highly original way of discussing [[psychoanalysis]] which both reflected and determined an original way of conducting the [[treatment]]; in this sense it is thus possible to speak of a specifically [[Lacanian]] form of [[psychoanalytic treatment]].  However, [[Lacan]] never admits that he has created a distinctive "[[Lacanian]]" form of [[psychoanalysis]]. On the contrary, when he describes his own approach to [[psychoanalysis]], he speaks only of "[[psychoanalysis]]," thus implying that his own approach is the only authentic form of [[psychoanalysis]], the only one which is truly in line with [[Freud]]'s approach. Thus the three major non-[[Lacanian]] [[school]]s of [[psychoanalytic theory]] ([[Kleinian psychoanalysis]], [[Ego-psychology]], [[Object-relations theory]]) are all, in [[Lacan]]'s view, deviations from authentic [[psychoanalysis]] whose errors his own [[return to Freud]] is designed to correct.
+
[[Lacan]] trained initially as a [[psychiatrist]], and turned to [[psychoanalysis]] to [[help]] him with his [[psychiatric]] research. This then led [[Lacan]] to train as a [[psychoanalyst]] himself in the 1930s. From then on, until his [[death]] in 1981, he dedicated himself to practicing as an [[analyst]] and developing [[psychoanalytic theory]]. In the [[process]], [[Lacan]] constructed a highly original way of discussing [[psychoanalysis]] which both reflected and determined an original way of conducting the [[treatment]]; in this [[sense]] it is thus possible to [[speak]] of a specifically [[Lacanian]] form of [[psychoanalytic treatment]].  However, [[Lacan]] never admits that he has created a distinctive "[[Lacanian]]" form of [[psychoanalysis]]. On the contrary, when he describes his own approach to [[psychoanalysis]], he speaks only of "[[psychoanalysis]]," thus implying that his own approach is the only authentic form of [[psychoanalysis]], the only one which is truly in line with [[Freud]]'s approach. Thus the [[three]] major non-[[Lacanian]] [[school]]s of [[psychoanalytic theory]] ([[Kleinian psychoanalysis]], [[Ego-psychology]], [[Object-relations theory]]) are all, in [[Lacan]]'s view, deviations from authentic [[psychoanalysis]] whose errors his own [[return to Freud]] is designed to correct.
  
From the very beginning, [[Lacan]] argues that [[psychoanalytic theory]] is a [[scientific]] rather than a [[religious]] mode of [[discourse]], with a specific object.  Attempts to apply concepts developed in psychoanalytic theory to other objects cannot claim to be doing "applied psychoanalysis," since [[psychoanalytic theory]] is not a general master discourse but the theory of a specific situation.<ref>{{Ec}} p. 747</ref>  [[Psychoanalysis]] is an autonomous discipline; it may borrow concepts from many other disciplines, but this does not meant that it is dependent on any of them, since it reworks these concepts in a unique way. Thus psychoanalysis is not a brance of [[psychology]], nor of medicine, nor of [[philosophy]], nor of [[linguistics]], and it is certainly not a form of psychotherapy, since its aim is not to "cure" but to articulate truth.
+
From the very beginning, [[Lacan]] argues that [[psychoanalytic theory]] is a [[scientific]] rather than a [[religious]] mode of [[discourse]], with a specific [[object]].  Attempts to apply [[concepts]] developed in psychoanalytic theory to [[other]] [[objects]] cannot claim to be doing "applied psychoanalysis," since [[psychoanalytic theory]] is not a general [[master]] discourse but the theory of a specific [[situation]].<ref>{{Ec}} p. 747</ref>  [[Psychoanalysis]] is an [[autonomous]] discipline; it may borrow concepts from many other disciplines, but this does not meant that it is dependent on any of [[them]], since it reworks these concepts in a unique way. Thus psychoanalysis is not a brance of [[psychology]], nor of medicine, nor of [[philosophy]], nor of [[linguistics]], and it is certainly not a form of [[psychotherapy]], since its aim is not to "[[cure]]" but to articulate [[truth]].
  
  

Latest revision as of 21:33, 20 May 2019

French: psychanalyse

Sigmund Freud

Freud describes psychoanalysis as comprising:

  1. a discipline founded on a procedure for the investigation of mental processes that are otherwise inaccessible because they are unconscious;
  2. a therapeutic method for the treatment of neurotic disorders; and
  3. a body of psychological data evolving into a new scientific discipline.


Although the history of psychoanalysis is inseparable from that of Freud's life and of the long self-analysis which led him to write his great Interpretation of Dreams (1900), it is clear that his new science is rooted in the traditions of nineteenth-century psychology and biology. Freud's ventures into anthropology, which he views as an integral part of his new scientific discipline, are also influenced by nineteenth-century theories of evolution and by their attendant eurocentrism; hence the analogy between the "mental life of savages and neurotics" posited in Totem and Taboo (1913), and the argument that the life of an individual re-enacts or repeats the life of the species. It is also clear that Freud's descriptions of the workings of the unconscious, with it s flows of energy, and of libido and its mechanisms of discharge, owe much to the physics and hydraulics of his age.


The technique that evolved is the method of free association, with the patient or analysand lying on a couch and with the analyst sitting slightly to the rear and out of eyeshot. The patient is required to tell everything and omit nothing; the analyst to listen to everything and to privilege nothing. Free association around dreams or memories allows unconscious chains of fantasies and wishes to be reconstructed and then interpreted so as to uncover underlying structures, which, typically, relate to the Oedipus complex and repressed childhood memories, usually with a sexual content.


The central factor in the analytic treatment is the transference that allows unconscious or repressed material to be reactualized in verbal form rather than reproduced in symptoms, and projected onto the analyst. In a classic Freudian psychoanalysis, the analysand has daily sessions of analysis, each lasting fifty minutes (the so-called 'analytic hour'); the payment of fees is held to have great symbolic importance. Freud never claimed that his method was a universal panacea, but once remarked with typically pessimistic wit that it could transform "hysterical misery" into "common unhappiness."[1]

Although psychoanalysis is widely practiced and has had an important influence on related therapeutic methods, it has never been defined in either medical or legal terms. The profession is self-regulated and its standards of practice are defined by the various national associations recognized by the International Psycho-Analytical Association. The would-be psychoanalyst undertakes a personal analysis before embarking upon a rigorous training analysis designed to promote a recognition of the importance of transference and counter-transference. Qualified analysts normally work under the supervision of their seniors, and usually undertake at least one "second analysis." The first generation of psychoanalysts were, like Freud himself, doctors of medicine, but suitably qualified non-medical or lay analysts were admitted to the profession from the 1920s onwards.[2] The desirability or otherwise of medical qualifications is a matter for the various national associations. The question of the scientific nature of psychoanalysis remains controversial.

Freud's own career was punctuated by a series of breaks with colleagues to whom he had once been close, and the history of the psychoanalytic movement is one of splits and schisms as well as of international expansion. All the major tendencies within contemporary psychoanalysis claim a Freudian ancestry, but take as their stating-point different periods in his work or different aspects of his theories. Very schematically, the main post-Freudian currents within psychoanalysis are ego-psychology, Kleinian psychoanalysis, object-relations theory and Lacanian psychoanalysis.

Jacques Lacan

Lacan trained initially as a psychiatrist, and turned to psychoanalysis to help him with his psychiatric research. This then led Lacan to train as a psychoanalyst himself in the 1930s. From then on, until his death in 1981, he dedicated himself to practicing as an analyst and developing psychoanalytic theory. In the process, Lacan constructed a highly original way of discussing psychoanalysis which both reflected and determined an original way of conducting the treatment; in this sense it is thus possible to speak of a specifically Lacanian form of psychoanalytic treatment. However, Lacan never admits that he has created a distinctive "Lacanian" form of psychoanalysis. On the contrary, when he describes his own approach to psychoanalysis, he speaks only of "psychoanalysis," thus implying that his own approach is the only authentic form of psychoanalysis, the only one which is truly in line with Freud's approach. Thus the three major non-Lacanian schools of psychoanalytic theory (Kleinian psychoanalysis, Ego-psychology, Object-relations theory) are all, in Lacan's view, deviations from authentic psychoanalysis whose errors his own return to Freud is designed to correct.

From the very beginning, Lacan argues that psychoanalytic theory is a scientific rather than a religious mode of discourse, with a specific object. Attempts to apply concepts developed in psychoanalytic theory to other objects cannot claim to be doing "applied psychoanalysis," since psychoanalytic theory is not a general master discourse but the theory of a specific situation.[3] Psychoanalysis is an autonomous discipline; it may borrow concepts from many other disciplines, but this does not meant that it is dependent on any of them, since it reworks these concepts in a unique way. Thus psychoanalysis is not a brance of psychology, nor of medicine, nor of philosophy, nor of linguistics, and it is certainly not a form of psychotherapy, since its aim is not to "cure" but to articulate truth.


See Also

  1. 1893-5.
  2. Freud. 1926a.
  3. Lacan, Jacques. Écrits. Paris: Seuil, 1966. p. 747