Resurrected from a post of some months ago on another list....

There has been considerable scientific scrutiny of PA theory over the years
and the support of a number of PA propositions. This work has gone on in
areas of motivation, development, cognition and affect. While frequently the
names of the constructs are changed, there are many studies in social
psychology, infant developmental research, motivation etc. which support pa
principles.

I don't have the time nor inclination to engage in polemical discourse over
particular principles..maybe others do (I hope so). But I would recommend the
reading of Drew Westen who has been tireless in his work of empirical testing
of psychoanalytic theory over the past 20 years or so. His article "The
scientific legacy of Sigmund Freud: Toward a psychodynamically informed
psychological science" (Nov.,1998) in the Psychological Bulletin, Vol.124,
#3, 333-371 is a comprehensive treatment on the subject. It can be downloaded
from apa.org (about 68 pages) if you have the psyc-info access.

In 1985 many students of PA like myself were given Fisher and Greenberg's
"The Scientific Credibility of Freud's Theories and Therapy" discussing
various psychoanalytic constructs and how they hold up when scientifically
tested. I remember recently a study which supported the validity of
projection with regard to homophobia. I haven't collected these articles but
I trust others have. In the June issue of the American Psychologist there is
a good discussion of defense mechanisms reiterating that no well-studied
behaviorist will argue the existence of unconscious psychological processes
now (e.g Kihlstrom's work has helped).

The problem is that many who criticize pa ideas do so from a vantage of
ignorance. Nowadays the average psychologist knows little about pa because
he/she has been avalanched in the last quarter century by the expeditious
"quick fix" techniques which the marketplace applauds. What is typically
critiqued in pa are ideas which have long since been carefully and
painstakingly refined. As far as the treatment of symptoms such as obsession
or panic, I am aware of any number of individuals for whom these symptoms
dissipated relatively rapidly in the wake of the surfacing of other issues
(conflicts, maltreatment experiences etc.) Of course, one usually only hears
about such matters in PA circles (journals, meetings, conferences, case
reviews etc.) because professionals there don't threaten to sue you or impugn
your practice integrity when they don't agree with you.

Diane Gartland PsyD
Michigan