Editorial

This is my first edition of the Journal Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in my new role as its Editor and, as such, I want to share some thoughts about its future direction. First, however, I would like to thank my predecessor, Maureen Marks, for her hard work in developing the Journal over several years and for her very supportive handover. Second, I want to thank David Taylor who is the Guest Editor on this Special Issue on Depression. This series of excellent papers illustrates the rich understanding that results from bringing together diverse perspectives – from psychoanalysis, biology, neuroscience and cognitive science – all of which are relevant to understanding the underlying complexity of both the aetiology and dynamics of depression.

A key question that I have been reflecting on is the purpose of this Journal. Looking back at past issues it is clear that it serves many functions: to communicate within and across our own analytic communities; to support the application of psychoanalysis in the public health sector; to further our learning; and to stimulate thinking and innovate practice. Over many years it has achieved all these things and more besides. It has a long and valued tradition of publishing clinical case studies and practice-based papers from some of our best minds and most talented clinicians, which powerfully illustrate the ongoing relevance of analytic ideas in the NHS. This is a tradition that is very important and that will continue to be preserved, but it should not be privileged over other domains that this Journal also needs to address and engage with if it is to remain relevant to current times.

Those who work in publicly-funded services will know that as a group – diverse though we are – we share a common problem. Moreover, this is not a small problem: psychoanalysis and its applications are under threat. Although we feel this problem most acutely in the NHS, the survival of psychoanalysis in the private sector is closely tied to its surviva