Comments on the Correlation of Theory and Technique

Freud's basic principles of therapeutic technique, which were evolved from clinical experimentation, have remained the fundamental guide in present day analytic therapy. But his theoretical formulations and those of his early co-workers concerning technique and therapy were gradually subjected to re-examination as time went on, by Freud himself, as well as others. Attempts at re-examination began on a large scale in 1924 with Ferenczi's Entwicklungsziele der Psychoanalyse. In 1936 at the Marianbad International Congress there was a symposium which dealt with the interrelationship between theory and therapy. The contributions of the symposium are well known, as are the participants; however, contrary to expectations, this wide-scale discussion brought little clarification to the problem. It did make plain, however, that there were many questions in the minds of the analysts, and differing views on the relationship between theory and technique. One important contribution of the symposium was to bring to the foreground of attention the necessity for discussing these problems. From that date, we more frequently find in analytic literature attempts at fresh orientation, and trials at finding and formulating new correlations between technique and theory. It became apparent in these publications that although there was agreement on many basic principles, there was sharp disagreement about various others.

We are all familiar with the comprehensive work pertaining to the problem done by the Institute on Psychoanalysis in London, edited by Edward Glover, entitled: An Investigation of the Technique of Psychoanalysis. The volume represents an attempt to systematize and correlate knowledge and opinion on the technique of psychoanalysis. Glover hoped as a result