Psychoanalysis of the older patient

A small informal poll of local colleagues revealed that despite their interest in the subject, many had doubts about the possibility of analyzing persons aged sixty or over successfully. Their specific questions are collated and are offered as a sample of the questions in the minds of many analysts everywhere. Selected material from the ongoing analysis of a sixty-four-year-old patient is presented that bears on some of the questions raised. In addition, changes in the patient are noted. These are discussed in terms of changes in function, which are equated with structural change. The major thrust of the paper is that development continues throughout the life course, and that the criteria for analyzability remain constant. The chronological age of the adult by itself is not an indicator of eligibility or of suitability for psychoanalysis.