You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Novey believes that there has been too naïve an acceptance of history in psychiatry and psychoanalysis. His view of history is relativistic. While careful regard for past events is essential, one must realize the inevitability of their meaning in relation to events in the present. Although historical data are valuable for understanding the present, this does not suggest that past events can be known in themselves except in a limited sense.
Novey suggests two approaches to the study of this problem: 1, to validate historical figures by different independent examiners of the same family group; and 2, to compare reported descriptions of individuals with actual interviews with them.
He stresses the living nature of history as a continuing part of the treatment process. Without significant change in the patient's image of the historical picture, it is doubtful whether one can say that therapy has been successful. He points out, however, that the modified image can hardly be proved valid any more than the original one, and he criticizes those who believe that such reconstructions are irrefutable. The primary interest in therapy or analysis is not in validating the historical figures in an absolute sense, but in assisting the patient to adopt a more useful view of these historical figures. This is achieved primarily through the transference relationship.