Is Psychoanalysis Still Relevant to Psychiatry?

Abstract

Psychoanalysis is a theory of psychopathology and a treatment for mental disorders. Fifty years ago, this paradigm had great influence on the teaching and practice of psychiatry. Today, psychoanalysis has been marginalized and is struggling to survive in a hostile academic and clinical environment. This raises the question as to whether the paradigm is still relevant in psychiatric science and practice. In a difficult climate for the theory and practice of psychoanalysis, several responses have emerged, either by attempting to bridge the gap with science or by redefining the field as lying outside of science. Thus, some analysts have supported revised paradigms, such as attachment theory, that are better supported by evidence. Others have taken the view that Freud’s ideas concerning the unconscious mind are compatible with modern neuroscience. Still others have moved in the opposite direction, arguing that it is sufficient to offer a coherent interpretation of psychological phenomena. This review will briefly examine all these attempts to revive psychoanalysis.