You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
In the hands of Otto Kernberg, the “Impossible profession” comes across as merely difficult and self-defeating. A harsh critic of its adherence to entrenched practices and traditional training models, he notes, as well, its tendency to confine itself intellectually to its familiar and well-worn pathways while maintaining its “hierarchical structure” in the face of a dramatically “changing social scientific and educational environment.”
This collection of articles written over 50 years of a distinguished career, which has included the roles of training and supervising analyst at three very different institutes throughout the world, as well as, a term as president of the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA), exhibits Kernberg's daunting familiarity with our field. Indeed, this book is, at times, magisterial in its scope and attention to the varied theoretical, organizational, and cultural forms we have assumed over the years. Impressive to me, as well, is the fact that he is also familiar with the group relations' tradition, which he uses to explore the organizational dilemmas of larger systems, such as training institutes, and the dangers of regression that can occur in the dysfunctional pursuit of seemingly rational ends.
These articles repeatedly emphasize two major defects in the field. One is the absence of significant research, which allows us to maintain adherence to traditional practices and beliefs while limiting our ability
to defend ourselves against critics and competitors. The other is our dysfunctional and authoritarian system of training analysis, which, even when modified to more easily include younger practitioners, serves to stifle experimentation and perpetuate illusions of competence. In addition, he criticizes the rigidity of our methods of training, still largely based on the Eitingon model established almost 100 years ago, our resistance to exploring larger intellectual perspectives as well as our unwillingness to link up with other d