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ABSTRACT
This article seeks to articulate a problem I’ve noticed in the field of psychoanalysis—namely, the problem of closed-mindedness and reluctance to tolerate the coexistence of contradictory truths. I believe this problem is inhibiting the field from reaching its full potential to heal and continue to discover effective methods of healing. I call upon psychoanalysts and students of psychoanalysis to confront their own biases and attempt to open their minds to the possibility that all schools of psychoanalysis (i.e., Freudian, Kleinian, Kohutian, Jungian, etc.), as contradictory as their teachings and methods may seem, teach valid truths and valuable insights, the knowledge of which can only help us to become better healers. Essentially, the more we open our minds and welcome ideas from all subgenres of psychoanalysis, the more tools we have in our toolbox, and the better we will be able to treat our patients. If we insist that one school of psychoanalysis is superior, and reject the validity of differing viewpoints—if we are caught up in pride and the politics of our field, we are ultimately doing ourselves, our colleagues, and our patients a disservice.
Notes
1 One of things I love about psychoanalysis is that it already brings disciplines together and blurs boundaries by virtue of (a) not fitting into any one category, and (b) being sort of a homeless nomad, in the sense that it is not fully accepted and welcomed in by the disciplines that do belong to definitive categories.
2 And I think it both funny and fitting that my answer comes from a concept which is so fundamental in self psychology and less so in Freudian theory!
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Notes on contributors
Rin Gentry
Rin Gentry graduated magna cum laude from Colorado College in 2019, with distinction in an independently designed major in psychoanalysis, art, and creativity. Rin is currently living, working, and rock climbing in Colorado, with aspirations to move into the psychoanalytic field.