do you believe psychoanalysis causes and creates more problems then prior to treatment?

Question

does it dredge up emotions,feelings,bitter,hurtful,resentful and lead to a prolonged period of naval gazing and introspection?is it the psychiatry of the paltry and faultfinding?

does it cause more harm then help by encouraging people to be self indulgent?

ah student of life Michel Foucault!I wasn't aware he had written on psychiatry,im only aware of his theories on sexuality(i haven't read it yet however)

Answer 1

I think this is a great question. Interpretation of the self has really become a nearly unquestioned cultural value, and psychoanalysis is probably largely responsible for that. It is widely believed that everything must have a subconscious or unconscious motive behind it, and more importantly, IS REDUCIBLE TO THAT MOTIVE.

Of course in some cases this kind of deep introspection can have value, but we take it to be applicable to everybody everywhere. Instead of being seen as a tool useful to cure some neuroses or psychoses, it is taken as something that is necessary for a healthy life. The implication, of course, is that you need paid experts to tell you about yourself if you want to be psychologically healthy. (I don't mean to pick on anybody, but see Char's answer for a good example of this.)

I do think there are some major problems with this, aside from the ones that you mention. I think it really fosters an unhealthy obsession with the self. All of one's problems are seen as something wrong with the individual, and so treated on an individual level, allowing little room for questions of whether the individual problem may reflect social injustices or other broad problems. If your problems are a result of repressed desires or the like, then not only is there no need to look beyond oneself and try to address social concerns, but looking beyond oneself may actually be taken as a sign of repression! Selfishness is a major problem in the modern world, and I am afraid that some trends in psychology tend to make the problem worse.

Also, self interpretation is really a never ending task. Unless you place faith (and money) in the hands of an expert who claims to know you better than you know yourself, you will never be able to verify what your introspection uncovers. Of course to a degree introspection is very good. Most people could probably be a little more introspective. But there are no clear stopping places, and one can drive oneself crazy with self-analysis. I have walked on that line before.

I also think that there is a tendency for psychoanalysis to devalue things like logic and morality. If you do something good, psychoanalysis can be seen as trying to "explain away" the goodness of your action. I think there are very real examples of this in our society. If a person ever dares to make an unusual moral claim, such as people in the first world have a moral obligation to give to famine relief, the immediate reaction of many people is to sniff out the possibility of hypocrisy ("Well, how much do YOU give to charity?") If the "moralizer" is, in fact, not a hypocrite, but also gives to famine relief, he or she is then suspect of being self-righteous, and his or her good actions are analyzed away as actually being actual manifestations of negative psychological traits. In this way, kinds of psychoanalysis can be used as a defense mechanism to defend the morality of the status quo. Those that criticize others are either hypocrites or psychologically unhealthy, or both. Their claims are "psychologized away" before they even get the chance to be addressed on the levels of ethics or logic. If you doubt this, try, just for fun, to claim that somebody morally should do something they do not and examine their initial responses.

I think the real path to finding meaning in life is not to focus on the self, as psychoanalysis often has us do, but instead become a part of something - a community, a movement, a cause, etc.

Answer 2

There are both positive and negative aspects to psychoanalysis. I think a lot of time and money is probably wasted on issues that are chemical imbalances, that all the "talking" in the world isn't going to help.

There are so many factors that contribute ...the root of the issue that is being addressed, the patient's attitude towards the "problem" and the "treatment" itself, and a myriad of others, that even after a "successful" path of psychoanalysis, I would have a problem attributing the success to the psychoanalysis.

Certainly, self-indulgence is a possibility, and I believe that is what a lot of people like about psychotherapy. For some people it is the only person that really "listens", which is easily interpreted into being cared about.

Here is what it is good for: if you do not know WHY you have the issue that you do, or if you feel like you really don't know what to do about it, even after discussing it with a confidant who also has no insights.

Yes, things can get "dredged up", and one can even be misled about the contributing factors to the issue. The idea is, rather than "dredging up", you will be "discovering" and "uncovering", and finally dealing with things that were not previously resolved.

Just my uneducated opinion.

Answer 3

This all depends on the type of analyst and the type of patient. As in any intervention, there are skillful and not so skillful practitioners. In addition, there are patients that want to work and patients that do not want to work. In my opinion, much of the "skill" of an analyst or psychotherapist comes down to how well or creatively he/she can confront the client... to point out patterns and make changes. This is where many therapists are made or broken, so to speak.

I have both studied and received analytically-oriented therapy (not a formal analysis). It was helpful at the time, and I know others have also benefited from this kind of therapy. However, it is not easily studied in efficacy research studies, and it is long, expensive and time-intensive. At this point in my career, it is not the (my) first-choice therapy for most conditions.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

Analyse,Go through results, Diagnose,then give Treatment.These are must in all medical treatments,not necessarily psychiatric.But your case refers to the delay in treatment and strain caused to the patients in psychoanalysis in which aggravates the existing illness(as appears in your question). I do not believe this.Only good analysis with leading questions will disclose the real cause to suggest right remedy.I wish you get relieved of such anxiety.

Answer 6

Psychoanalysis intentionallly examines and so, something overlooked may be uncovered. You can't stipulate which problems you are willing to address because there are connections.
Knowledge is worth the scrutiny. Health is worth the work. C. :)!!

Answer 7

what does this look like?
how do you percieve the grass is allways greener on the other side of the fence.if you lived in a glass house could you see the demoralization you inflicked on an indevidual going through a tough time in his or her life?

Answer 8

I believe our "problems" are like real wounds. When we talk about them, we are opening them up. when we think and pursue ways to overcome them, it allows us to begin the healing process. And just like a real wound, it takes time and there is pain, however, in the end, we are stronger because we have learned from it.

Answer 9

I've often wondered how much it the hindered recovery if there was no rapport between therapist and client.

Answer 10

suck it up and move on . that is my answer to psychoanalysis. people should quit looking for fault elswhere. the fault is in, not moving past whatever made them stronger . we all know that whatever dosn't kill you makes you stronger.