To what extent is personal experience and external validation essential in psychoanalytic therapeutic training?

Abstract

Based on a paper presented at an International Conference to celebrate Freud's 150th anniversary and entitled Therapeutic Training after Freud, organized by the Centre for Therapeutic Education, Roehampton University and the Freud Museum, Saturday 20 May 2006. With thanks to the Centre for transcribing the original talk.

Keywords:

• Psychoanalysis
• psychoanalytic training
• Freud
• unconscious
• transference
• resistance
• enactment

Notes

[1] In passing I want to note that this introduces serious problems of practicality into training programmes if they are not properly thought through. As the unconscious phenomena of resistance and transference operate outside time measured by the passage of weeks and years, analysis or psychotherapy in a therapeutic training cannot be successfully conducted by a preconceived framework of numbers of hours or sessions. Neither can it be forced on a trainee nor can it be offered with a guarantee of success. This must be clear from the outset and steps be in place to manage failure.