In Defense of Analysis

We write to protest the highly disparaging comments concerning psychoanalysis in the letter by Drs. David Brody and Michael Serby (“Off the Couch”) in the June 8 issue. Most of their criticisms are clearly unwarranted. For example, “Psychoanalysis,” they say, “is simply not effective for addressing the treatment of patients with most psychiatric disorders.” Starting with Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysts have never claimed that psychoanalysis can meet the treatment needs of most psychiatrically disordered patients.

As nonpsychoanalysts, we can attest to the remarkable ameliorative (indeed, curative in many cases) effect that psychoanalytic treatment has had on many patients who have failed to respond to a variety of nonpsychoanalytic psychiatric interventions.