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We are so appreciative of Chuck Strozier providing an historical context for our paper on permeable boundaries. He traces the development of psychoanalysis from the early days of Freud’s three basic principles for the practice of psychoanalysis: anonymity, neutrality, and confidentiality to Ferenczi’s creative mutual analysis with Elizabeth Severn. Strozier then summarized what he called the Heroic Period where Freud’s principles became enshrined as rigid tenets of practice. This period encompassed what we would call the development of ego psychology where rigid principles created distance between therapist and patient. It was not until Kohut finally introduced the new paradigm of Self Psychology, where empathy was “placed at the center of our practice,” that therapists received permission to become more emotionally involved and humane with their patients.
We find it interesting that two of the leading analysts of the ego psychology period, Erik Erikson and Heinz Kohut, were both terribly disappointed in their analyses, Kohut with Ruth Eissler and Erikson with Anna Freud (personal communication to Dick). According to Strozier, Erikson bravely compared the monastic setting of Martin Luther with training at analytic institutes. And Kohut demonstrated the striking differences that characterize an ego psychological and Self Psychological analysis in his paper the Two Analyses of Mr Z.
Now that we are more emotionally available with our patients, however, Strozier asks an important question; “ … if the boundaries are now permeable, where are the limits?” Importantly, Chuck suggests there are no longer rigid rules that can be universally applied, which leads each analyst to use empathic immersion to guide unique relationships with every patient. That leaves therapists and analysts having to decide both what feels comfortable to him/her to tolerate or provide when patients express their needs and direct those needs toward the analyst. We agree with Strozie