On the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the American Psychoanalytic Association in 1986, the Program Committee selected the topic of psychic structure for panel discussions. This was chosen to highlight the intellectual and clinical efforts of American psychoanalysis during the last twenty-five years. The papers presented at those panels have been edited into a book divided into four sections: development of psychic structure; current concepts of adult psychic structure; changing psychic structure through treatment; and disciplines such as language theory and neuroscience that interface with psychoanalysis.

One of the surprises is the amount of disagreement among authors regarding the definition of the concept of structure. Disparate frames of reference and different theoretical perspectives and definitions for the same concept make for difficult scientific discourse. Obstacles to effective communication are best expressed by panelist Phyllis Tyson: "Those who think of psychoanalysis as a