Exploring Theory Integration in Psychoanalysis

Abstract

Theorizing in psychoanalysis has two main components: (1) the constructionof concepts that identify and describe key structural and dynamicproperties of mental activities, especially unconscious ones, and (2) the useof the concepts to construct theories to explain how these mental processeswork. This article sets out a method for exploring alternative psychoanalytictheories. At present psychoanalysis has more theories than it knows howto test against clinical observations and outcomes. The leading psychoanalyticjournals in all languages have long since provided opportunities for theexploration of such theories and their explanatory potentials, as have panelsat local, national, regional, and international meetings. The methodology set out in this article offers a new methodogy for comparing and integrating psychoanalytic concepts and theories.