A Brief Introduction To Psychoanalytic Theory – Stephen Frosh (1)

It is notable how much traction this approach has gained in the past two decades. As one additional example, take Otto Kernberg, one of the world’s leading psychoanalysts. Kernberg published a paper in the journal Neuropsychoanalysis in 2022, in which he drew heavily on neuroscience to expand understanding of psychoanalytic object relations. Amongst the claims he makes in this short paper, is the following: all subcortical brain regions and non-associative cortical brain regions constitute the primary unconscious.

The affective processes and emotional experiences of infant and small child before the maturation of the associative cortex and hippocampus leave significant behavioral traces, but no memory, and only later, repressed and dissociated experiences determine the dynamic unconscious. (Kernberg, 2022: 7) This quotation, from such an influential psychoanalyst, is a measure of how far neuropsychoanalysis has gone: the brain and the unconscious are treated as one, not just metaphorically but as a statement of fact. In a critique of the move towards neuroscience, Blass and Carmelli (2007) provide a helpful summary of some of its claims, listing the four areas of ‘trauma and memory, motivation and affect, dream theory, and theories of the mind’ as having special interest for psychoanalysts (20).

They sketch the claims in each of these areas as follows: Trauma and memory: ‘Neuroscientific findings regarding explicit and implicit memory systems make clear that memory organization is such that many traumatic memories are not coded explicitly and thus are unrecoverable as memories per se. . . . This has clinical implications as one must no longer search for certain traumatic memories or convey to the patient that it is necessary or always possible to do so’ (21).

Motivation and affect: ‘Neuroscientific research reveals the existence of several motivational centers. This research supports the development of new psychoanalytic theories that view the individual in terms of a variety of motivations, and points to the inadequacy of classical theory, which limits motivation to instinctual motives’ (26). Dream theory: Neuroscientific findings suggest ‘that somatic stimuli . . . instigate a series of events ultimately leading to the dream, but that higher-level motivational processes are responsible for the appearance of the dream.

The involvement of these motivational processes provides neuroscientific support for Freud’s dream theory’ (28). Theory of the mind: ‘The neuroscientific theories adequately explain the empirical data regarding the mind’s functioning and have tested their models according to acceptable empirical standards. Psychoanalysis has failed in these regards.

Preface to the second edition Part I: Freudian theory 1 The appeal of psychoanalysis Why psychoanalysis matters Psychoanalysts and others: A guide to terminology Variations in psychoanalysis Two core assumptions of psychoanalysts Precarious psychoanalysis Defending psychoanalytic values Summary 2 Main schools of psychoanalysis Psychoanalytic history as myth The unconscious of the psychoanalytic movement Schools of psychoanalysis Summary 3 What Freud was trying to do Freud’s ambition Psychoanalysis as science Explanations and causes The occult side of Freud Summary 4 The Freudian unconscious Discovering the unconscious An obsessional case The nature of the unconscious Working with the unconscious Summary 5 Sex, aggression, life and death What drives us on The sexual drive Components of the drive The other drive The death drive Summary 6 Repression and other defences Protecting against threats Repression Primary and secondary repression When repression breaks down Other defence mechanisms Summary 7 The structure of the mind: Id, ego, superego Models of the mind The system Ucs and its friends The ego and the id The superego Summary 8 Oedipus, masculinity, femininity Why Oedipus?

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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