On Freud's "The Question of Lay Analysis"

The Question of Lay Analysis (1926) by Freud explores the issues of what psychoanalysis is, what it does, and who can and should practice it. This book examines why the paper has been neglected and underestimated and proposes a hypothesis to bridge the gap between medical and non-medical analysis. It honors the work of Theodor Reik and will be of interest to all psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 300 pages
Publication date: 01 March 2019
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The questions of what psychoanalysis is, what it does, and who can and should practice it remain central to the modern profession. Has the invaluable material packed into Freud's The Question of Lay Analysis (1926) been underestimated by contemporary psychoanalysis? This book explores how the issues raised in this paper can continue to impact contemporary Freudian theory and practice. The chapters examine why the arguably litigious nature of the paper might be contributing to its neglect and underestimation.

The editors of this book put forth a hypothesis: is there an underlying, still unrecognized, but heartrending factor underlying the century-old quarrel between lay analysts and what might be described as medically or psychiatrically trained analysts? They then brought together a selection of major contemporary psychoanalytic thinkers from around the world to attempt to bridge the seemingly unbridgeable gap between medical and non-medical analysis, using The Question of Lay Analysis as a central pivot. The work of the key figure, in social and historic terms, on this issue, Theodor Reik, is also duly honored.

On Freud's The Question of Lay Analysis, all psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists will find great interest.

Weight: 474g
Dimension: 233 x 162 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781782206293