The Question of Lay Analysis:

by Sigmund Freud, Peter Gay, James Strachey (Editor)

Other edition of 9780393005035 can be found here


Freud believed that a medical education was not necessarily useful to, and might even impede, the psychoanalyst, but he met strenuous resistance among his followers, particularly in the United States. In The Question of Lay Analysis he set forth his views on the issue. The book makes its point energetically and in addition serves as an informal popularization of psychoanalytic ideas.

Genres: Psychology, Psychoanalysis, Nonfiction, Counselling, Philosophy, School

105 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published May 17, 1990

About the author

Dr. Sigismund Freud (later changed to Sigmund) was a neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, who created an entirely new approach to the understanding of the human personality. He is regarded as one of the most influential—and controversial—minds of the 20th century.

In 1873, Freud began to study medicine at the University of Vienna. After graduating, he worked at the Vienna General Hospital. He collaborated with Josef Breuer in treating hysteria by the recall of painful experiences under hypnosis. In 1885, Freud went to Paris as a student of the neurologist Jean Charcot. On his return to Vienna the following year, Freud set up in private practice, specialising in nervous and brain disorders. The same year he married Martha Bernays, with whom he had six children.

Freud developed the theory that humans have an unconscious in which sexual and aggressive impulses are in perpetual conflict for supremacy with the defences against them. In 1897, he began an intensive analysis of himself. In 1900, his major work 'The Interpretation of Dreams' was published in which Freud analysed dreams in terms of unconscious desires and experiences.

In 1902, Freud was appointed Professor of Neuropathology at the University of Vienna, a post he held until 1938. Although the medical establishment disagreed with many of his theories, a group of pupils and followers began to gather around Freud. In 1910, the International Psychoanalytic Association was founded with Carl Jung, a close associate of Freud's, as the president. Jung later broke with Freud and developed his own theories.

After World War One, Freud spent less time in clinical observation and concentrated on the application of his theories to history, art, literature and anthropology. In 1923, he published 'The Ego and the Id', which suggested a new structural model of the mind, divided into the 'id, the 'ego' and the 'superego'.

In 1933, the Nazis publicly burnt a number of Freud's books. In 1938, shortly after the Nazis annexed Austria, Freud left Vienna for London with his wife and daughter Anna.

Freud had been diagnosed with cancer of the jaw in 1923, and underwent more than 30 operations. He died of cancer on 23 September 1939.

Reviews

[Maziyar Yf · Rating 3 out of 5]

اگه برای شناخت افکار آدم پیچیده ای مثله فروید خواندن حداقل 20 کتاب لازم باشه با این کتاب من فقط نصفه گام رو برداشتم .در کل فکر میکنم کتابهایی که افراد دیگر راجع به فروید نوشته باشند بهتر از خود کتابهای فروید باشه .

[کورش · Rating 5 out of 5]

انصافا فروید دانشمند توانایی است در خواندن اثرش این نکته بر ما آشکار می گردد در این کتاب برای من توجه ژرف او به اساطیر وبرداشت از آنها بسیار حایز اهمیت بود

[مِستر کثافت درونگرا · Rating 4 out of 5]

یه کتاب جمع و جور و سَبُک و خوش‌خوان
بنظرم واسه هر فردی واجبه این کتاب رو بخونه
اطلاعت خوبی رو از زبان آقای فروید و بسیار شیوا بدست میارید

[Narges Goudarzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

خب این کتاب کم حجم مدتها بود که نصفحه مونده بود ،دو ساعت وقت گذاشتم و خوندمش.
چیز جدیدی بهم اضافه نکرد ، جز این مطلب که چرا فروید با انحصار روانکاوی توسط پزشکان موافق نیست.
کتاب خوبیه ، واسه کسایی که میخوان مطالعه درباره ی روانکاوی رو شروع کنن.
البته کامل نیست ، فقط یه مقدمه ی خوبه.
دید خاصی از روانکاوی نمیده

[pegah · Rating 3 out of 5]

توضیح مختصر درباره ایگو اید و سوپر ایگو
و بحث سر اینکه روانکاوی باید منحصر به پزشکان بشه و یا لزومی نداره که شخص روانکاو پزشک باشه

[احمد غفاری]

کتاب کم حجم با نثری تمیز و روان که البته محتوای مبسوطی در باب روانکاوی نداره ولی شاید برای ورود به مطالعه آثار فروید انتخاب خوبی باشه.

[Shima MJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

اگه به روانکاوی علاقه دارید، شش فصل اول کتاب مفاهیم پایه‌ش رو به خوبی در قالب دیالوگ توضیح داده، اما فصل هفتم که فصل آخره در مورد اینه که آیا روانکاوی باید به پزشکان سپرده بشه یا نه، که موضوع جالبی برای من نبود و فصل آخر رو نخوندم.

[Ali Zarezade · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتابی نوشته خود فروید برای آشنایی با روان‌کاوی. سبک محاوره‌ای کتاب که با خواننده یا فردی که در واقع مخالف انجام روانکاوی توسط افراد غیرپزشک است، آن را جذاب و ساده کرده است. فروید در خلال قانع کردن این فرد به اینکه لزومی به انجام روانکاوی توسط پزشک وجود ندارد به بیان جنبه‌های تئوری و عملی روانکاوی می‌پردازد.

[Niousha mokhtari · Rating 4 out of 5]

That's so useful for students are in first grade of psychology,
Too cleare and simple for describing theory of psychoanalys
And the important thing is the writer was "Fraud" himself.

[Alborz Taheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

من خیلی در رابطه با روان‌کاوی کتاب نخواندم، امّا به نظرم این کتاب برای شروع کتاب جذّاب و خوبی بود. ذهنیّت و استدلال‌های فروید در کتاب هم برای من دست کم جذّاب بود.

[Mohammad Mokhalled · Rating 3 out of 5]

تا میانه کتاب به نظرم حداقل باید 4 ستاره میدادم اما وقتی دیدم تقریبا نیمی از مطالب این کتاب به این موضوع اختصاص داده شده که آیا روانکاوی باید توسط پزشکان انجام شود یا دیگر افراد، نظرم عوض شد.
توضیحات پایه ای خوبی در این کتاب بود مثل خود، نهاد و ارتباط اینها؛ اما به نظر من عنوان کتاب به اندازه کافی با مطالبش مطابقت نداشت. متاسفانه انتاظر داشتم مطالعات پراکنده ای که از سر علاقه در این زمینه داشتم با مطالعه این کتاب توی ذهنم منسجم بشه اما این اتفاق نیوفتاد.

[Afrooz · Rating 3 out of 5]

این کتاب بیشتر دفاعیه فروید از مبحث روانکاوی هست و مفاهیم اولیه روانکاوی رو هم به خوبی و به سادگی توضیح میده. باتوجه به عنوان و حجم کتاب بیش از این هم نباید انتظار داشت.

[v · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introductions to psychoanalysis in the Standard Edition are in no short supply; but this marginal work, while not as comprehensive in this respect as Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis, is the best from a clinical perspective. And though imperfectly performed, Freud's attempt to write in the dialogue form does merit recognition.

[AFP · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Olga Torras · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pequeño Gran libro. Freud en una prosa moderna y clara presenta a modo de conversación las cuestiones de porque un profano (no médico) puede ejecutar un análisis. Genial expuesto a modo de conversación entre el que increpa y el que responde. Me ha parecido moderno, ágil y divertido de leer. Y me ha descubierto a Freud moderno y con un punto que me cuesta definir por lo juguetón de este formato conversación con el que expone su tesis.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

while it is obviously absurd to evaluate freud on the same scale or with the same criteria one would use for fiction, i will mention that this outline of psychoanalysis -- ostensibly an argument for the legal allowance of lay practitioners, rather than solely medical doctors, to practice analysis -- is flawlessly reasoned and a great primer on the "psychology basics" we all learn in high school (id, ego, etc.).

freud's argument is not circumscribed by medical and psychoanalytical issues only, but rather brings to bear many social sciences on his case for lay analysis, and in turn shows how analysis may bolster those very same sciences (e.g., history, mythology, civilization, etc.).

[Kianosh Kalantari · Rating 2 out of 5]

گفتگوی فروید با خواننده کتاب یک نوع دایالوگ غیر مستقیم در مورد مفهوم و کاربرد و روش های روانکاوی
در سه بخش و هفت فصل ارائه میشه
بخش اول مربوط به نظرات فروید در مورد روانکاوی
بخش دوم مربوط به نظرات فروید در مورد روش هایی که شخص روانکاوی میکنه
بخش سوم در مورد برخورد جامعه پزشکان و قوانین کشور ها با بحث روانکاوی هستش
در کل باید بگم کتابی هست که دو سه ساعته تمام میشه و اطلاعات خیلی مفیدی دستگیرتون نمیشه چون یک کتاب بسیار ساده و جیبی هست

[Aaron Schuschu · Rating 3 out of 5]

In spite of Freud being in blatant denial of evading his questioner, he layed the groundwork for lay analysis- and even speculated that, at some point in America, something like a TSS worker may happen.

[Abraham Lewik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Between Interpretation and Discontents, superior to the former, inferior to the latter. On my second reading, taking notes also, I'll be confident in the blue-print.

[Brandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is the question of lay analysis? Sigmund Freud’s main thesis is that the preeminent question is not whether an analyst possesses a medical diploma, it is rather: does the analyst have the training necessary to apply the methods of an analysis? In Freud’s opinion, the necessity of a degree in medicine was non-essential to the practice of psychoanalysis. It would seem almost absurd in modernity to suggest that a medical degree is necessary to perform psychoanalysis; yet, this was the case, no less than 100 years ago. (And the argument continues...)

These opening remarks deviate from the real value of what can be found in the pages of The Question of Lay Analysis. The true value is that Freud used this monograph to expound what is possibly the penultimate general exposition of psychoanalysis. The material is rich in theory and the application of therapeutic procedures. Further, there is a strong explanation of the application of psychoanalysis to the field of psychology sui generis. More importantly, the text gives the reader the most mature view of Freud’s development of the craft.

Perhaps the personal value, for me, was evident in Freud’s clear definitions of the familiar terms, Ego, Id, Super-Ego, and his explanation of repression. Moreover, Freud’s explanation of the processes applicable to these terms is easily understood. Here are some examples:

“In the Id there are no conflicts; contradictions and antitheses persist side by side in it unconcernedly, and are often adjusted by the formation of compromises. In similar circumstances the ego feels a conflict which must be decided; and the decision lies in one urge being abandoned in the favour of the other. The ego is an organization characterized by a very remarkable trend towards unification, towards synthesis. This characteristic is lacking in the id; it is, as we might say, ‘all to pieces’; its different urges pursue their own purposes independently and regardless of one another” (p. 20).

“If we survey the whole situation we arrive at a simple formula for the origin of neurosis: the ego has made an attempt to suppress certain positions of the id in an inappropriate manner, this attempt has failed, and the id has taken its revenge” (p. 30).

“We try to restore the ego, to free it from its restrictions, and to give it back the command over the id which it has lost owing to its early repressions. It is for this one purpose that we carry out analysis, our whole technique is directed to this aim” (p. 32).

“This super-ego occupies a special position between ego and the id. It belongs to the ego and shares it high degree of psychological organization; but it has a particularly intimate connexion with the id. It is in fact a precipitate of the first object-cathexes of the id and is the heir to the Oedipus complex after its demise…The super-ego is the vehicle of the phenomenon that we call conscience” (p. 60).

In addition to these wonderful descriptive passages, I have also singled out a few important lines that I find intriguing:

“Only a man who really knows is modest, for he knows how insufficient his knowledge is” (p. 73).

“If life becomes too hard, if the gulf between instinctual claims and the demands of reality becomes too great, the ego may more fail in its efforts to reconcile the two, and the more readily, the more it is inhibited by the disposition carried over by it from infancy. The process of repression is then repeated, the instincts tear themselves away from the ego’s domination, find their substitutive satisfactions along the paths of regression, and the poor ego has become helplessly neurotic” (p. 87).

And lastly,

“We who are analysts set before us as our main aim the most complete and profoundest possible analysis of whoever may be our patient… We seek rather to enrich him from his own internal sources, by putting at the disposal of his ego those energies which, owing to repression, are inaccessibly confined in his unconscious, as well as those which his ego is obliged to squander in the fruitless task of maintaining these repressions. Such activity as this is pastoral work in the best sense of the words” (p. 109).

Ultimately, this is a book I will keep on the shelf and the above quotes are ones that I will try to keep in memory.

Happy Reading!

[The Great Asπ e · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should a non-doctor be able to practice psychoanalysis? That is the question Dr. Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis seeks to answer. The backdrop to this book is a controversy where a non-medical doctor was chosen to perform psychoanalysis in an association.

“The history of civilization, mythology, the psychology of religion and the science of literature...Unless he is well at home in these subjects, an analyst can make nothing of a large amount of his material.” (p. 94)

Freud argues that in some cases, the great mass of medical information a student would learn in med school is useless in the case of psychoanalysis. He isn’t necessarily taught the aforementioned topics that Freud sees as more important.

Freud speculates that doctors disagree with him on this subject because they seek to have an exclusive right to certain practices, a “look at me I’m important” type of attitude. He shows that there is ability and competence in the analysis method irrespective of a medical doctorate. However, he is not arguing that just anyone can read a book and become a psychoanalyst. However, well-read individuals who prove their worth are certainly capable of performing the method without a medical degree.

Freud did not appreciate the charges of quackery being applied to a fellow member who did not have a medical degree. You could figure that perhaps Freud may have been a bit bias and wanted to defend a fellow member of his group, however, Freud’s clear explanations of Psychoanalysis here are valuable. He writes in almost a frustrated tone near the end on how certain individuals have used his analysis, in America specifically, that is so embarrassing Freud says that it would have been better that the analysis would be better off not existing at all.

I think Freud sufficiently answers his critics here and makes a compelling case that psychoanalysis is more than a medical degree.

[Kirk Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminds me of Ayn Rand's Anthem, which summarizes in dramatically shorter form the ideas that were so momentarily mesmerizing in the longer works - but in such abbreviated form the suspension of disbelief is much harder to maintain.

The first sixty pages is a possibly handy primer or review of Freud's theories, though the rest is mostly a discussion of the legitimacy of lay analysis and is of mainly historical interest. The format is structured as a conversation between Freud and an automaton 'Impartial Person', which makes it an easier read but a more dubious or at least less literary experience.

A word on these Norton editions, with which I am now well finished. The type is nice enough, but the edges of the covers are a bit sharp, filled with empty threats of paper cuts, and the cover design - identical throughout the series - is clumsy and unforgiveable, especially compared to the Penguin editions. Including the same hagiographic essay with each book is irritating as well if your shelf space is precious, as for some reason Norton has chosen to chop up many of the standard edition volumes into several separate books with their separate copy of the essay. I now have seven copies, which, I suppose, will impress visitors who shall think I have read the equivalent of an extra book, so now I shall stop complaining.

[elle-angelique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting glimpse into the debates surrounding therapeutic psychology in the 20s, but being so far removed from contemporary problems of psychology it can be a bit of a drag to get through. Undeniably significant for the time it was written, the subject matter can read as obvious and self-explanatory by today's standards (which goes to prove how ahead of his time he was!). Despite this there were some interesting pieces of Freud's established psychological ideas (id-ego-superego, childhood libido, patient-therapist transference, etc.) that served as an interesting introduction into his general concepts.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a fascinating book. The way Freud wrote in this work was beautiful in its apologetic as he sought to defend an uncommon idea of the time. Well worth reading a second time slower and more carefully to truly consider his ideas; few do have true theological merit that is worth recognition. A helpful perspective into his mindset and thought behind only a small sliver of his theory.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first foray into reading Freud after reading countless glosses on Freud and his work elsewhere. His is an interesting, accessible, engaging, and at times even literary voice (albeit in translation in my case). I found "The Question of Lay Analysis" to be a surprisingly interesting and enjoyable read.

[Tony Lee Ross Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Sigmund Freud pushes back against the idea that Psychoanalysis be restricted to just doctors. Psychoanalysis can be mastered by a non-doctor, and a doctor can radically misunderstand and misapply psychoanalysis. Freud, the father of the idea, gives his reasons as to why a non-doctor could and should be able to practice psychoanalysis.

[Micah Larussa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Besides serving as Freud's statement about the place of professional physicians in psychoanalysis, this little volume makes a great intro to his basic theories of human pathology and the practice of psychoanalysis.

[tlrj · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Father of Psychoanalysis explains why psychanalysis shouldn't be limited to just medical doctors.

[T.J. Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Sigmund Freud discusses the idea and answers several criticisms regarding the question as to whether non-doctors should be practicing psychoanalysis.

[Juan Antonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

prácticamente nada q no supiera pero el formato tipo entrevista me ha gustado