Discussion

The unusually stimulating papers by Jacob Arlow and Martin Berg-mann are what we have come to expect over the years from these two outstanding contributors to psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic education. Of the many riches offered us, I shall select several themes stimulated by them that bear directly on our conference topic, The Future of Psychoanalytic Training: Contemporary Issues and Controversies.

Obviously, before discussing the future of psychoanalytic education, the future of psychoanalysis takes precedence — for if psychoanalysis ceases to exist, there is no education to talk about. It is no secret that these days the halls of psychoanalysis are dark and gloomy, full of dire foreboding about our future. We are reeling from the blows of managed care, a recession-dominated cost-cutting mentality, an overwhelming pressure toward the quick fix —all contributing to a heavy cultural resistance to psychoanalysis. Resistance has always been present, but it appears it is at an all-time high. Why? There are several interrelated reasons.

Bergmann offers us the intriguing dynamic that no longer can a current generation expect to do better than the previous one, which creates a dark cloud over future expectations. Can it be that we are witnessing a kind of Spenglerian decline of psychoanalysis and that its glorious achievement is now in its demise? What about economics and the laws of supply and demand? Do we need to pay closer attention to the corrosive effects of a diminished patient supply? Are we reduced to wringing our hands and awaiting a predestined