The elusive concept of the psychoanalytic process

Although the term psychoanalytic process is frequently used, there is no consensual definition of its meaning. Some authors use it to designate a recognizable set of experiences within psychoanalysis. Others, a majority, use it as a synonym for the entire psychoanalytic experience, describing in detail what analysts do to achieve their goals. A range of views may be found between these extremes. A distinction is drawn here between the structure and content of the psychoanalytic process, which is regarded as a specific, definable entity--a red thread--within the psychoanalytic treatment experience as a whole, consisting of a microprocess and a macroprocess. The former is predominantly an amalgam of the patient's and the analyst's highly subjective experiences and entanglements, while the latter is predominantly an amalgam of the infantile and childhood origin of the patient's difficulties, as well as the analyst's conception of these difficulties based on a preferred theory. These ideas are used to formulate a definition of the psychoanalytic process based on clinical experience and are traced here primarily through lessons learned from a patient, Mr. K, over the course of a long and arduous analysis.     

The concept of energy in psychoanalytic theory

Freud's early attempts to account for repression and for the occurrence of neurotic symptoms in terms of detachable and displaceable quantities of affect‐charge (cathexis) has continued to be a basic aspect of psychoanalytic theory. This is unfortunate since the account is inadequate and its central concept, that of a quantity of energy, is unsuited to the task at hand. We see that, despite the appropriateness of describing neurotic behavior in dynamic/economic terms, the use of energy concepts on the theoretical level is an explanatory dead‐end.     

A core process in psychoanalytic treatment

A core mechanism of the psychoanalytic process is described. This involves the effects of treatment on an ongoing "unconscious intrapsychic process," which has specific points of vulnerability to pathology. The concept of an intrapsychic process described by the author in previous publications is an expanded formulation of the idea of thought as trial action and of the signal theory of anxiety. The psychoanalytic method alters the functioning of the ego astride this unconscious process, strengthening its control over anxiety, defense, trauma, and symptom formation. This is mutative in the psychoanalytic method.     

Some psychoanalytic reflections on the concept of dignity

After reviewing the pertinent philosophical and psychoanalytic writings on the concept of dignity, this paper proposes three categories of dignity. Conceptualized as phenomenological clusters, heuristic viewpoints, and levels of abstraction, these include (i) metaphysical dignity which extends the concept of dignity beyond the human species to all that exists in this world, (ii) existential dignity which applies to human beings alone and rests upon their inherent capacity for moral transcendence, and (iii) characterological dignity which applies more to some human beings than others since they possess a certain set of personality traits that are developmentally derived. The paper discusses the pros and cons of each category and acknowledges the limitations of such classification. It also discusses the multiple ways in which these concepts impact upon clinical work and concludes with some remarks on the relationship of dignity to choice, narcissism, and suicide.     

A critical examination of the concept of gender

Although psychologists have become increasingly interested in such areas as sex differences, gender identity, and sex roles, the concept of gender remains ill defined. We undertake a critical review of this concept and try to show that (a) if the term gender is taken to refer to a set of biological and psychological variables which are related to one another in a complex way, and (b) if gender differences are treated as differences in degree and not in kind, then the concept of gender can be used in a meaningful way to make sense of the things we observe about people.This article is based in part on a symposium entitled Psychosexual Development and the Nature of Androgyny presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Women in Psychology, Pittsburgh, March 1978. Since both authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of this paper, the order of authorship was determined by the toss of a coin. The authors would like to thank James Laird, Dennis Wixon, and Roger Bibace, Clark University, who read and commented on an earlier draft of this paper, and several anonymous reviewers whose comments helped us to clarify our presentation.     

The concept of termination and the evolution of psychoanalytic thought

Termination is a post-Freud contribution to the psychoanalytic process, which is never complete. The concept is illuminated in its analytic history and development. A formal well-defined terminal phase led to a tripartite psychoanalytic process which derived from and contributed to advances in psychoanalytic theory and knowledge. The terminal phase is a valuable addition and conclusion, but may be invested with irrational expectation and analytic myth. Various features and formulations of the terminal phase are explored, and the limitations of termination are noted.     

The Latin American contribution to the psychoanalytic concept of phantasy

The author argues that the ubiquity of phantasies at various levels of mental functioning is undisputed in the current schools of psychoanalytic thought; however, she demonstrates some variations in their understanding of how the psychotherapeutic access to different configurations occurs. In the process of examining and acknowledging the central role played by unconscious phantasies in his patients’ symptoms, Freud gradually broadened the vernacular meaning of the German word ‘Phantasie’ that refers to imagination and the world of imagination, conferring on it the specific features that came to characterize its use in the psychoanalytic vocabulary. Later, the expansion of the concept derived from Melanie Klein’s clinical material obtained from child analyses gave rise to important debates. The author discusses the main points of disagreement that led to these debates, as well as their various theoretical and technical implications. Psychoanalytic associations in Latin America were strongly influenced by Klein and her followers. Thus, most of their scientific writings use the concept of unconscious phantasy put forward by the Kleinian school. Taking Kleinian principles as their starting point, Baranger and Baranger made the most original Latin American contribution to the concept of unconscious phantasy with their works on the unconscious phantasies generated by the analytic pair.     

Regression and psychoanalytic technique: the concretization of a concept

An exploration of the regression concept historically and conceptually reveals that its familiarity and frequent use have resulted in decreasing conceptual clarity and precision. Rooted in an outmoded fixation-regression model of development and psychopathology, the concept has become concretized. This paper is a beginning exploration of problematic aspects of the concept of regression, with emphasis on potentially detrimental consequences for psychoanalytic technique that derive from its unexamined use. Some of the salient issues are illustrated with clinical examples.     

Culture,gender, and the bipolarity of momentary affect: A critical re-examination

This paper re-examines Yik's (2007) hypothesis that dialectic thinking moderates aggregated but not momentary ratings of affect. A reanalysis of Yik's (2007) correlation coefficients shows that culture is a significant moderator of the correlation between ratings of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) for two of the three response formats, and for the latent correlations reported in the original article. The effect size of this difference is similar to the effect size in previous publications with aggregated measures of affect. It is concluded that Asian dialectic thinking styles moderate the correlation of both aggregated and momentary reports of PA and NA.