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An Open Ended Approach to Psychoanalytic Theories. Girard Frankin. Pp. 518-540.
The influences of our favorite psychoanalytic theories are restrictive if they interfere with our "essential neutrality" and flexibility toward change. Although psychoanalysis is a science in that it investigates and hypothesizes, it must avoid a "mission … to validate." Theories are essential to organize information and direct attention; however, they must remain open-ended and tentative. Also, a variety of theoretical schools can lead to meaningful clinical conceptualizations. In fact, "studies in comparative psychoanalysis" are sorely needed. The nature of the psychoanalytic process, in itself, blurs psychic and veridical reality. Though a variety of workers have noted the inability to validate clinical data, clinical reports frequently show a need for closure and certainty, ignoring alternative explanations for the data. It is noted that the character traits of the analyst who can best attain neutrality include curiosity and "enjoyment of surprise." Since "theories exist intact only as words on a page," and each reader is destined to interpret the words idiosyncratically, collegial collaboration furthers the understanding of any theory. We can learn from literary critics, who stress the multiple interpretations of any text, and the