About Psychoanalysis
Below are links to a variety of online resources that can assist you in learning about psychoanalysis. You are also invited to contact any analyst in our Institute to find out about psychoanalysis as a treatment approach, psychoanalytic training, or any aspect of the field of psychoanalysis. You can find a list of analysts here.
Links to Websites of Major Psychoanalytic Associations
The American Psychoanalytic Association, APsaA
The American Psychoanalytic Association is the oldest organization in the United States dedicated to supporting and furthering the practice and study of psychoanalysis.
APsaA Home Page
APsaA page discussing what psychoanalysis is
Psychoanalysis Now
psychoanalysisnow.com/home
The International Psychoanalytic Association, IPA
The International Psychoanalytic Association is the leading international organization dedicated to supporting and furthering the practice and study of psychoanalysis.
International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy (IARPP)
IARPP is an international community of professionals and individuals committed to developing relational perspectives and exploring similarities and differences with other approaches to analysis and psychotherapy.
The American Psychological Association, Division of Psychoanalysis (Division 39)
Division 39 the Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology is the 39th division of the American Psychological Association. Members are doctoral level psychologists, graduate students, and allied mental health professionals. It is one of the largest associations of psychoanalytic professionals and scholars in the world.
Resources to Explore Empirical Support for Psychoanalysis
There is a wealth of empiricism attesting to the efficacy of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy as treatment modalities and to the validity of many of the theoretical principles of psychoanalytic models of the mind. The following is a brief introductory list of books, databases, and individual articles documenting empirical bases for psychoanalytic theory and treatment.
Databases for Articles, Books, and Videos:
- The American Psychoanalytic Association, APsaA, Core Research Bibliography
- Institute of Psychoanalysis in Britain
- New Center for Psychoanalysis, Los Angeles, CA: The Research Education Section of the American Psychoanalytic Association, Department of Psychoanalytic Education in collaboration with the New Center for Psychoanalysis (NCP)
- PEP; The Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing Company
The Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing Company, or PEP is searchable online database of psychoanalytic writings. The PEP is not a research database. It includes full-text articles from all the major psychoanalytic journals, the entire Standard Edition of Freud, and some seminal texts, videos, and relevant newsletters. It is updated regularly to include all journal articles up to three years before the current date. There is a fee for access. Several organizations offer low-fee PEP access to their members. See Division 39 for example.
Books
These books are either research-based books that articulate models of development and treatment based on specific empirical methodologies or books that contain chapters that describe a breadth of existing empirical studies of psychoanalytic treatment and theory. This is a small sampling of the kinds of texts that are available, not an exhaustive list.
- PDM Task Force. (2006). Psychodynamic diagnostic manual (PDM). Alliance of Psychoanalytic Organizations.
- Stern, Daniel N. (1985). The Interpersonal World of the Infant: A View from Psychoanalysis and Developmental Psychology. New York: Basic Books.
- Schore, A. N. (2003). Affect dysregulation and disorders of the self. W W Norton & Co.
- Schore, A. N. (1994). Affect regulation and the origin of the self: The neurobiology of emotional development. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Articles
There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of articles that empirically investigate the viability of psychoanalytic theory and the efficacy of treatment. The best resources for those articles are the databases and books listed above. Below is a very small sampling.
- Guthrie, Moorey, Margison et al (1999). Cost-effectiveness of brief psychodynamic-interpersonal therapy in high utilizers of psychiatric services. Archives of General Psychiatry, 56, 519-526
- Leichsenring, F., Rabung, S. (2011). Long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy in complex mental disorders: Update of a meta-analysis. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 199(1): 15-22.
- Milrod, B., et al (2007). A randomized controlled clinical trial of psychoanalytic psychotherapy for panic disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 265-272.
- Shedler, J. (2010). The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Psychologist 65(2): 98-109.
- Taylor, D. (2008). Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapies for depression: the evidence base. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 14, 401-413.
- Town, J.M., Abbass, A., Hardy, G. (2011). Short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy for personality disorder: A critical review of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Personality Disorders, 25(6): 723-740.
- Westen, D, Gabbard, G, & Ortigo, K. (1990). In L. Pervin (ed.), pp. 21—65. Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research. Guilford Press.
Introductory Books to the Theory and Practice of Psychoanalysis
- Safran, J. (2012). Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapies. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
- Mitchell, S. A., & Black, M. J. (2016). Freud and beyond (2nd ed.). New York: Basic Books.
- Glick, R. A. & Stern, G. J. (2018). Entering Analysis: 2 Edition: A Primer for Psychoanalytic Clinicians. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform: North Charleston, SC.