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I was originally drawn to psychoanalysis as an adolescent when reading Civilization and its Discontents (Freud, 1930/1961), admiring the ideas as well as their clarity and simplicity (in retrospect, oversimplified). The central thesis of the struggle between the individual's drives and urges and the strictures of civilization as the cause of neurosis was particularly appealing. However, as I went through psychiatric and psychoanalytic training I often asked myself the questions: Does psychoanalytic theory really have to be so complex? Why do psychoanalysts hide their ideas behind technical terms? Is the nomenclature a way to demonstrate our “special” knowledge? I also became disaffected by the conflicts between the practitioners of different models, particularly when each one added something valuable to our knowledge and techniques. Later I realized the adverse impact of this complexity and divisiveness on the dissemination and employment of this form of treatment. These factors continue to interfere with our communication regarding the nature of psychoanalytic approaches to students, the public, and patients, and the development of systematic research.
Elizabeth Auchincloss's tour de force, The Psychoanalytic Model of the Mind, demonstrates how psychoanalytic theories and approaches can be clear and comprehensible rather than overly complex and mystifying. She repeatedly demonstrates the various theories do not have to be at odds: the models can be interdigitated or used in sequence according to the needs of patients and our best understanding of them. The book is part of a series of efforts at simplification and clarification that are helping us to better study and teach psychoanalytic treatments. By simplification I am not referring to either an easy task or something not useful for psychoanalytic clinicians. It takes tremendous effort and thought to communicate these concepts in a comprehensible form. The book speaks to all levels of health care workers, from stu