Psychoanalysis today

Psychoanalysis today

Psychoanalysis is probably the psychological theory best known by the public, and Freud is probably the best known analyst even today. However there is a myth that psychoanalysis would be old fashioned and out of date. The current psychoanalysis is not the same as it was in the time of Freud. Experiences of psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists and research into infant and child development have led to new insights. Theories have been further developed and the results of empirical research are now more integrated in the psychoanalytic theory. Nowadays, there are different forms of psychoanalysis and psychotherapies in which psychoanalytic thinking is practiced. Besides classical psychoanalysis there is for example psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Other examples of well known therapies which also use insights of psychoanalysis are Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT), and Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP). There is also a continuing influence of psychoanalytic thinking in different settings in the mental health care. To give an example: in the psychotherapeutic training in the Netherlands, psychoanalytic and system therapeutic theories, drafts, and techniques are combined and integrated.

Psychoanalytical Organizations

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To give some insight on how much psychoanalysis is practiced nowadays, a short overview of the world's psychoanalytic organisations is given and some numbers are provided.

International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA)
The IPA is the world’s primary accrediting and regulatory body for psychoanalysis. Their mission is to assure the continued vigour and development of psychoanalysis for the benefit of psychoanalytic patients. It works in partnership with it’s 70 constituent organizations in 33 countries to support 11,500 members.

Psychoanalytical associations in the USA
There are 77 psychoanalytical organizations, institutes associations in the United States, which are spread across the states of America. The American Psychoanalytical Association (APSaA) has 38 affiliated societies, which are comprised of ten or more active members who practice in a given geographical area.
The aims of the APSaA and other psychoanalytical organizations are: provide ongoing educational opportunities for it’s members, stimulate the development and research of psychoanalysis, provide trainings to professionals and organize conferences and events. There are eight affiliated study groups in the USA (two of them are in Latin America). A study group is the first level of integration of a psychoanalytical body within the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA), followed by a provisional society and finally a member society.

Psychoanalytical organizations in Europe
The European Psychoanalytical Federation (EPF) is the scientific organization that consolidates all European psychoanalytic societies. This organization is affiliated with the IPA. In 2002 there were approximately 3900 individual members in twenty-two countries, speaking eighteen different languages. There are also twenty-five psychoanalytic societies.

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