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.
The preceding papers cover a wide range of concerns in the conversion of psychotherapy to psychoanalysis. A method of study of the problem was described. Resistances to psychoanalysis on the part of both the patient and the analyst were examined. There was a discussion of patients originally considered unsuitable for psychoanalysis, who became suitable with psychotherapy, and a case example was given. The idea that the original psychotherapy can be similar to the beginning of any analytic process was considered. Some of the assumptions regarding the nature of the psychoanalytic process which have a bearing on conversion were questioned.
The contributors accept the proposition that the conversion of psychotherapy to psychoanalysis is a legitimate endeavor, even with the same therapist, and is not necessarily doomed to failure. The survey of the institutes of the American Psychoanalytic Association indicated that conversion is now relatively routine for required supervisory cases for candidates.
Conversion of psychotherapy to psychoanalysis has clearly become a common procedure. The contributions to this issue of Psychoanalytic Inquiry have sought to expand our understanding of the process. The change might well be based on economic considerations and the availability of cases, or perhaps on the widening scope; in any event, the overall direction seems to be toward approving conversion to analysis with the same therapist.