Resistances and Progress in Developing a Research Framework in Psychoanalytic Institutes

Abstract

This article explores the resistances against a major research function as part of psychoanalytic education within contemporary psychoanalytic institutes. It stresses the essential function of research development to assure the future of psychoanalysis as a science and a profession, and the self-destructive consequences of the absence of a research framework as part of the psychoanalytic enterprise. This article explores the reason for the state of affairs, and suggests fundamental changes in psychoanalytic education as an essential part of the training of psychoanalysts and the mission of psychoanalytic institutions.

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Notes on contributors

Otto F. Kernberg

Otto F. Kernberg, M.D., is Director of the Personality Disorders Institute at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Westchester Division; Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell University; and Training and Supervising Analyst at Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research.