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In this article, Alistair Black, a Lacanian psychoanalyst, reflects on the fate of psychoanalysis in a cultural, economic and political environment saturated by ‘mental health discourse’ and neoliberal market economics. He contends that contemporary concepts of happiness, mental health and economic
competition have fundamentally changed our understanding of ‘the essence of human existence and of human suffering itself’ (p. 18). This constitutes a fundamental challenge to psychoanalysis which ‘is not primarily concerned with the removal of symptoms and promoting “happiness”, but with an exploration of human life and suffering, its limitations, possibilities and impossibilities’ (p. 25). As editor of this journal, Black describes his own article as a ‘diatribe’ in his editorial for this issue. While the article conveys passion and anger, it also sets out with some clarity problems that are disturbing for many psychotherapists.
The article is presented in six sections: ‘Of mental health and illness'; ‘Psychoanalysis and the economics of happiness'; ‘Capitalism and psychotechnology'; ‘The end of psychoanalysis'; ‘Neither medicine nor psychology'; and ‘Atopic psychoanalysis’.
In the first section, Black describes how ‘Media representations informing public imagination are increasingly occupied with the awareness of “mental health and illness”’ (p. 15). This language is ‘pervasive and usually remains unquestioned in the popular press’ (p. 15). The ubiquitous language of ‘disorders’ (obsessive-compulsive disorder [OCD] and borderline personality disorder [BPD], etc.) is common currency in social media, political debate and, in Britain, debates about NHS provision. In a break while preparing this review, I came across this headline in The Guardian (O'Carroll 2020): ‘Celebrities promoting veganism “damage farmers’ mental health”’. This is according to the President of the Farmers’ Union. In the UK a response to this perceived crisis, Improving Access to Psychological Therapi