Is it all grist to the mill? Wandering between indications for psychoanalytic treatment and the analytic field

• Main Authors: Marina Bento Gastaud, Julia Domingues Goi, Ana Margareth Bassols, Camila Piva da Costa, Daniela Krieger, Diogo Machado, Felipe Bauer Pinto da Costa, Jair Knijnik, Mariana Torres, Pricilla Braga, Stefania Pigatto Teche, Rafael Wellausen, Claudio Laks Eizirik
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Associação de Psiquiatria do Rio Grande do Sul 2013-01-01
• Series: Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
• Subjects: Psicanálise; psicoterapia psicanalítica; indicação; contraindicação; campo analítico
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2237-60892013000100003&lng=en&tlng=en

Determining the indications and contraindications for psychoanalytic treatment seems crucial to achieve therapeutic success and improve treatment effectiveness. In reviewing the classic literature on the topic, aspects such as age, diagnosis, motivation for treatment, present moment in life, ability to gain insight, psychic suffering when seeking treatment, defensive behaviors, and frustration tolerance are clearly analyzed by therapists/analysts when indicating psychoanalytic treatments. However, traditionally, most criteria underlying such indications date back to a time when the therapeutic relationship was viewed merely as a therapist treating a patient, with no regard to the therapeutic relationship itself. The goal of this article was to critically review the relevance and current adequacy of indications for psychoanalytic treatment, in view of advancements in knowledge on the analytic field. Considering cases that do not evolve as expected according to the indications, patients who are better suited to certain therapists, and therapist-patient pairs that modify their interaction over the course of treatment, the main question remains on how to identify the necessary elements in evaluating a candidate patient for psychoanalytic treatment, as well as the significant elements of therapeutic action.