Question of Lay Analysis

Rating:
Summary: A solid introduction to psychoanalytic theory
Review: The "question" alluded to in the title has to do with the proper legal status of psychoanalysts who lack conventional medical training. Freud argues that psychoanalysts, though they certainly need extensive training of some kind before they hang up a shingle, shouldn't be required to go through the med school route, which he finds largely irrelevant to the field of psychology. Subtitled "Conversations with an Impartial Person," this book is set up as a dialogue between Freud and a not quite convinced but sympathetic listener; as a literary device, it functions pretty well.

The whole "lay analysis" angle, which members of the general public (like me) could hardly be expected to find terribly compelling, makes up only part of the book. The chief interest here, I think, lies in Freud's lucid description of how psychoanalysis is conducted (whereas most of his other books provide only brief glimpses of what happens on Freud's couch). It also sums up some key Freudian concepts for those who came in late. All in all, it's readable and informative.

Rating:
Summary: A solid introduction to psychoanalytic theory
Review: The "question" alluded to in the title has to do with the proper legal status of psychoanalysts who lack conventional medical training. Freud argues that psychoanalysts, though they certainly need extensive training of some kind before they hang up a shingle, shouldn't be required to go through the med school route, which he finds largely irrelevant to the field of psychology. Subtitled "Conversations with an Impartial Person," this book is set up as a dialogue between Freud and a not quite convinced but sympathetic listener; as a literary device, it functions pretty well.

The whole "lay analysis" angle, which members of the general public (like me) could hardly be expected to find terribly compelling, makes up only part of the book. The chief interest here, I think, lies in Freud's lucid description of how psychoanalysis is conducted (whereas most of his other books provide only brief glimpses of what happens on Freud's couch). It also sums up some key Freudian concepts for those who came in late. All in all, it's readable and informative.