The emperor is still walking around naked

At the Occasion of On Being Normal and Other Disorders

It is an illusion to think that with the DSM in hand one can “solve” a depression or an anxiety disorder within twelve sessions. If this trend continues, however, the consequence will be that psychoanalysis will only be available to a small financial elite. From the perspective of the ethics of psychoanalysis we, and certainly those that work in the university, have to expose as much as possible the illusion of the brief regimental approach. Otherwise there is a real chance that in the not too distant future treatments will be reduced to prescribed pharmacological interventions in combination with ten sessions of additional psychotherapy.

psychoanalysis demonstrates the limits of conscious knowledge.

One time, during a psychoanalytic congress in the Netherlands, an analyst asked me “how I was able to explain all these difficult Lacanian concepts to my analysands”. I responded by saying that I do not explain these concepts to my analysands at all, but that, to the contrary, my analysands explain these concepts to me.

communicating insights to the patient leads to massive resistance, the most important therapeutic factor is the transference relationship, and the degree to which the patient can actively participate in the treatment.

a combination of Anglo-Saxon empiricism and continental contemplative idealism