Is Empiricism a False Promise? Or, Does the Cure Lie within Ourselves?

Many of us who are engaged in the world of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy feel like underdogs. We feel that our theories have been devalued, dismissed by managed care, American medicine, and are ignored by the public who increasingly want simple cures to complex problems. One possible manifestation of our insecurity is that the 2011 Division 39 meeting in New York City carries the title, “How we Matter.” It seems curious that a field so filled with ideas, evidenced by journals overflowing with clinical material and scientific research, not to mention theoretical disputes, would need to hold a conference with a title that begs such recognition. We do matter, but whether or not anyone else besides us recognize how we matter is apparently an open question.

In a world in which analysts and analytic clinicians can feel lonely and misunderstood, the news about empirical research supporting psychodynamic therapy1 can be met like the only water available in the midst of a severe drought. Indeed, psychodynamic psychotherapy has recently been viewed as vindicated, largely in response to Jonathan Shedler's 2010 American Psychologist article, “The Efficacy of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy”. And while any public acknowledgement of psychoanalytic therapy can nourish those of us who feel marginalized, I have found myself intrigued by the jubilation this publication has brought to some of our colleagues; research suggesting the efficacy of psychodynamic therapy is not new. I remember reading about the efficacy of psychoanalytically oriented approaches in a book published by Anthony Ross and Peter Fonagy in the 90's (though now in it's second edition), What Works for Whom? There has, in fact, been a lot of research over the last couple of decades on the efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy, much of which shows that it works, especially for complicated patients.

Is it the case that we seem to care more about this research now? Some may currently be attuned to the research c