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PSYCHOANALYSIS TODAY
Psychoanalysis has profoundly influenced western thought and culture since its founding over a century ago. By opening a window into the deepest reaches of the human psyche, it has illuminated the most intricate processes of the mind. Through this exploration, psychoanalysis has evolved a rich and complex theory and technique for treating individuals with a wide range of personal difficulties and inner conflicts.
As a treatment in an increasingly fast-paced and technologically-oriented world, psychoanalysis, taking the human relationship as its medium, moves far beyond the range of short-term or intermittent therapies to offer the time, space and depth that any significant individual commitment to growth and change requires.
The application of psychoanalysis to social and cultural thought has a rich history. It makes a fundamental contribution to contemporary philosophical, social, literary and religious debates, including feminism, aesthetics and creativity, the origins of racism, human development and group dynamics. It is involved in a fertile dialogue with the neurological sciences. It would be difficult to find an area of intellectual inquiry that is not affected by the psychoanalytic enterprise. |