An essay by Lucas Klein has just been published in City Journal which provides a very clear and accessible summing up of the issues facing American psychoanalysis in the wake of The Holmes Report.
Klein has already provided a detailed in-depth analysis of the problems concerning the methodology and conclusions of the Holmes Report (see the CTA podcast series here) and he is not alone in his trenchant criticisms (see Jon Mills’ penetrating critique here).
Mindful of the importance of reaching a wider audience, in this piece Klein spells out what is at stake. His piece opens with the chilling statement: “The American Psychoanalytic Association (APsA) is consumed with the idea that the profession suffers from “systemic racism,” requiring a revolution in training and practice. Unlike honesty, which heals the mind, this falsehood will destroy psychoanalysis from within and profoundly harm patients’ mental health.”
Klein focuses on the findings of The Holmes Report and its radical conclusions: “According to the report, psychoanalysis is rife with bigotry, affecting everything from who pursues a career in the field to training curricula to “the experience of race on the couch.” “
He is particularly concerned with the implications for psychoanalytic training (a concern shared by us at CTA) which he argues is being shunted in a nontherapeutic direction, stating that: “The point of our craft is to help people delve deep into the true and specific cause of their problems, not tell them that they’re victims or evildoers whose problems are unsolvable. We’re supposed to empower people with a truer sense of who they are, not immobilize them by shoving them into a predetermined spot in a power structure.”
Read the whole essay here. It is important that this essay is disseminated widely so that the general public understands what is happening within our therapy professions.
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