This is not psychoanalytic in itself but I can not make it without recognizing its influence on me.
Here's a little tidbit I want to share with you:
Have you ever seen a law firm owned by somebody who is not a lawyer? Probably there are, but I do not know of any. Perhaps, and despite it being a very profitable business, this is because it's hard to be handled by an outsider of the field. Did you notice that the bosses in most accounting firms are usually people with a business related degree? I can't understand it! Those are not easy affairs to deal with. They require someone who has the kind of professional qualifications to deal with them. Although it is a very profitable business too, I never heard about a singer, for example, buying and managing an accountant firm as an investment.
Can you imagine an architecture studio led by somebody other than an architect? Yes, of course, there are many investors. But the head of the projects are architects.
Now lets see what happens in the health care system. Can you imagine a lawyer or an accountant at the head of a health center? Can you imagine someone without any degrees in front of a clinic? Well, you should, because that is exactly what is going on.It seems to me that something is wrong with that.
Don’t you think so?
Fernando Schutt, LMHC
Monday, July 26, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Talk to me please!
A few days ago, someone close to me told me when she mentioned I was a psychoanalyst to some friends, they said they thought psychoanalysts didn’t talk. They said that they didn’t like psychoanalysis because “you’re expecting them to tell you what to do and they don’t even talk.”
I'd like to split this statement in two parts; that the analyst doesn’t speak, on the one hand, and that the psychoanalyst does not tell the analysand what to do, on the other.
Let’s take the first: The analyst does not speak.
It is very common to find this image in comic books and films. Someone goes to the psychoanalyst’s office, lies on a couch and talks while the analyst takes notes. Eventually he emits onomatopoeic sounds. This may be a good filming resource to make the protagonist’s inner speech audible in the scene, but does not accurately reflect the psychoanalytic session in reality.
Of course the psychoanalyst is interested on what the analysand has to say! After all, this is exactly the point of a tratment. Therefore it is correct to say that the psychoanalyst does not talk, if it means that he does not engage in his own personal affairs. Can you imagine going to a medical consultation with pain and the doctor ends up telling you his personal problems rather than focusing on his task?
The analyst will do everything in his power to facilitate that the analysand speaks. That includes questions and silences, among other possibilities. But the analyst will operate with the analysand’s speech. This is part of his function. Sometimes an intervention can be a silence. But sometimes does not mean always. What’s the point of a psychoanalytical treatment if the psychoanalyst is not going to make any intervention with the analysand’s speech?
To be continued…
by Fernando Schutt, LMHC
I'd like to split this statement in two parts; that the analyst doesn’t speak, on the one hand, and that the psychoanalyst does not tell the analysand what to do, on the other.
Let’s take the first: The analyst does not speak.
It is very common to find this image in comic books and films. Someone goes to the psychoanalyst’s office, lies on a couch and talks while the analyst takes notes. Eventually he emits onomatopoeic sounds. This may be a good filming resource to make the protagonist’s inner speech audible in the scene, but does not accurately reflect the psychoanalytic session in reality.
Of course the psychoanalyst is interested on what the analysand has to say! After all, this is exactly the point of a tratment. Therefore it is correct to say that the psychoanalyst does not talk, if it means that he does not engage in his own personal affairs. Can you imagine going to a medical consultation with pain and the doctor ends up telling you his personal problems rather than focusing on his task?
The analyst will do everything in his power to facilitate that the analysand speaks. That includes questions and silences, among other possibilities. But the analyst will operate with the analysand’s speech. This is part of his function. Sometimes an intervention can be a silence. But sometimes does not mean always. What’s the point of a psychoanalytical treatment if the psychoanalyst is not going to make any intervention with the analysand’s speech?
To be continued…
by Fernando Schutt, LMHC
Friday, July 9, 2010
Psychoanalysis in the US
After immigrating to the US, almost ten years ago, I realized that most of the people didn’t know anything about psychoanalysis. Worst still, most of those who had heard something about it, had a negative opinion of it.
Intrigued, I started researching. I quickly realized the inaccurate take on this subject by the textbooks. Later, I got to mingle with university professors that made it evident, for anyone with some understanding of the field, that they hadn’t read anything more than the wrong psychoanalytic references in the textbooks mentioned above.
Many reasons led psychoanalysis in America to this sad situation, I think. But there is one I want to mention: psychoanalysts have not been able to respond appropriately.
My idea is to use this blog to disseminate psychoanalysis and to respond to biases and errors that I keep finding.
This blog will far exceed my expectations if it manages to be useful for someone more than myself.
Intrigued, I started researching. I quickly realized the inaccurate take on this subject by the textbooks. Later, I got to mingle with university professors that made it evident, for anyone with some understanding of the field, that they hadn’t read anything more than the wrong psychoanalytic references in the textbooks mentioned above.
Many reasons led psychoanalysis in America to this sad situation, I think. But there is one I want to mention: psychoanalysts have not been able to respond appropriately.
My idea is to use this blog to disseminate psychoanalysis and to respond to biases and errors that I keep finding.
This blog will far exceed my expectations if it manages to be useful for someone more than myself.
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