1st Edition

Research on the Couch Single-case studies, subjectivity and psychoanalytic knowledge

By R.D. Hinshelwood Copyright 2013
232 Pages
by Routledge

232 Pages
by Routledge

232 Pages
by Routledge

Is psychoanalysis knowledge? Is psychoanalysis a science, or is it hermeneutics? Can clinical material be considered research data? Psychoanalysis is ambiguous about whether it is about meaning or about truth, and the relations between these two compelling experiences. Psychoanalysts often think of their work as closer to the humanities than to medical and natural science. The wider the gap... Read more

Preface. Part I: Introduction. Holding the centre. Research off the couch. Possibilities. Part II: Basics: What is belief, what is science? Feeling convinced. Reality and objectivity: Concerning the 'psychoanalysis-as-science' debate. What is knowledge? The scientific model of knowledge-production. Single case studies: Their validity. Freud's claims. What about hermeneutics? Is there a post-modern approach? Inference and occurrences. So far, so good; concluding Part II. Part III: Justifying psychoanalytic knowledge. Certainty and single cases: Research designs for psychoanalysis. Selecting facts; circular arguments. Causal theories and hermeneutic theories. Theories and meaning occurrences. Change sequence as evidence. Prediction: Results and false positives. Causes and meanings: again. Part IV – Testing the test. What you can do with clinical material. A moment of repression. Sexual hyperactivity disorder. Clinical archaeology – The Ratman. Comparative research. The two analyses of Dr Kohut. Weiss' Miss P. The Angry Lad. In conclusion.References.

Biography

R.D. Hinshelwood is Professor in the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex. He is a Fellow of the British Psychoanalytical Society, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He has authored numerous books and articles on Kleinian psychoanalysis. Observing Organisations (2000) was edited with Wilhelm Skogstad and is among a number of texts he has written on psychoanalytic methodologies.