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This discussant finds himself in a somewhat difficult situation when asked to discuss Dr. Boyer's contribution because I am in agreement with most points he has raised. However, I am happy for this opportunity to emphasize certain aspects of a problem to which I have dedicated much of my research and my psychotherapeutic activity.
I am happy to see that Dr. Boyer speaks clearly of psychoanalysis and not of psychotherapy of schizophrenia. I concur with Freud who said that any therapy which is based on the concepts of the unconscious, resistance, transference, and interpretation deserves the name of psychoanalysis.
I fully agree with the points Dr. Boyer makes in his theoretical orientation, particullarly with his comprehensive view of all the etiological, psychological, and genetic factors. I do take exception to his emphasizing the “reawakening of unresolved oedipal conflicts.” I think that in a great number of our patients, deeper analysis reveals that preoedipal conflicts play a predominant role. This is especially true for the symbiotic background so important in the psychopathology of many of our patients.
Since Dr. Boyer gives an excellent formulation of the defensive regression of the patients when they become “confronted with their message-sending-and-receiving difficulties,” I would not agree with his describing this theoretical premise as a “bias.”
I am glad Dr. Boyer emphasizes the importance of pathological nonintegrated introjects and their replacement by more adequate mental contents. I have devoted a number of studies to this special topic.
The problem of controlled aggression is one of the most arduous in psychoanalysis of the psychotic. The therapist must deal with this sufficiently firmly and skillfully so as not to allow regression which will enable the patient to slip beyond his control.
The psychotic transference presents special difficulties which can be handled successfully only when the analyst is not frightened by the psychotic potential. I agree t