Editorial Introduction

In this group of invited papers the BJP raises the question of the ethics underpinning psychoanalysis. In 1925, aware of the unfinished nature of his work, Freud wrote:

Finally, I am no longer alone, an eager crowd of fellow-workers is ready to make use of what is unfinished or doubtful, and I can leave to them that part of the work that I should otherwise have done myself. (Freud, 1925, p. 249)

Since then the psychoanalytic field has diversified in ways Freud could hardly have imagined, with the evolution of theory and practice in both private and public sector contexts. The theme of Ethics may call to mind organizational frameworks for practice, addressing such important issues as confidentiality and boundaries. In this issue we take a more general view of ethics in the spirit of encouraging breadth and diversity, with the inclusion of papers from Australia, USA and the UK. We present four papers concerned with the nature of psychoanalytic work showing how orientation and context influence the ethical stance of the psychoanalytic practitioner. We hope that readers will identify with some of these ideas, and will be challenged by others, to reflect on how we work and whether there are ethics particular to psychoanalysis beyond technique and moral considerations in the individual case.

Michael Plastow describes the discourse of ‘retail therapy’ and its conflict with that of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Susan Schwartz presents an account of a practice whose ethic pushes against the demands of society for ‘well-being’ and ‘happiness’. Glen O. Gabbard and Gabrielle S. Hobday show how medical practitioners who have acted unethically may be worked with analytically. Caroline Hallett presents the conflict between the demands of the institution and the ethics of treatment.

We open the section with a paper from Australian analyst Michael Plastow, ‘Retail Therapy: The Enjoyment of the Consumer’, in which he presents his view of shopping's inadequacy as a response to psychic suf