In Memory of Edgar A. Levenson: 1924–2026

Edgar A. Levenson, MD, was a beloved and esteemed psychoanalyst who revolutionized the practice of psychoanalysis. He recognized analysis as a mutually influencing, here-and-now relationship rather than a one-person, drive-based exploration. It was impossible, he argued, for an analyst to act as a neutral reflective screen.

Edgar’s profound analytic stance started in the 1970s with his first book, The Fallacy of Understanding (1972) and then The Ambiguity of Change (1983). In 1991, he wrote The Purloined Self, followed by his fourth book, Interpersonal Psychoanalysis and the Enigma of Consciousness, in which his thinking continued to evolve. There is also

a Festschrift1 for Ed being put together by Philip Blumberg and Jack Foehl, which will include pieces about Ed’s work written by many prominent contemporary analysts. All these books are available (or will be) from Routledge.

Ed pithily stated, “You can’t not interact.” He argued that theory-driven “understanding” can obstruct change and that analysts should instead provide a flexible space in which patients change themselves. His quintessential question “What’s going on around here?” highlighted the analyst’s use of self as crucial clinical information and cautioned against turning any of his ideas into a rigid technique. He insisted that “speech is behavior.” That we should try hard NOT to be helpful. Ed is known for many such short but crucial aphorisms. It is not the why something happens, but what is actually occurring, that is critical in psychoanalytic treatment. He truly changed the way we practice treatment today.

Ed spoke of his father being a Russian immigrant, needing to adhere to orthodox rules. Likely as a result, Ed hated reverence, allowing for a fluidity of thinking, continually questioning even his most recent writings.

Ed refused to be cornered by any theoretical model. You can