What is Psychoanalysis?
Today psychoanalysis is very familiar for the wide public after it has been either rejected or adulated for a long time. But, as a paradox, the success achieved for example in the fifth decade, especially in Europe, estranged it from its essence.
Psychoanalysis spread everywhere but not only due to the interest incited by its therapeutical method. It could even say that therapy was shadowed by the virtues of the applied psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis applied in literature, sociology, anthropology and ethnology, religion and mythology, incited the interest of a public that had no inclination towards the clinical realm.
Finally, psychoanalysis also distinguished itself through media using the most common means: radio, TV or film scripts. Famous movies put an emphasis on psychoanalysts. There was even a movie dedicated to Sigmund Freud which presented the incertitude years of his beginnings in psychoanalysis.
The multitude and complexity of the sources from which we receive today signals about psychoanalysis raise an important issue: psychoanalysis is no longer clearly defined in the eyes of the wide public. Today nobody knows for sure what psychoanalysis is and wants. Unfortunately no effort is made in order to clarify this crucial aspect
So we must clearly state right from the beginning what psychoanalysis is. Then we will follow the other steps in order to penetrate the mystery of this strange subject-matter.
A Definition
Psychoanalysis designates concomitantly three things:
1. A method of mind investigation. And especially of the unconscious mind;
2. A therapy of neurosis inspired from the above method;
3. A new stand alone discipline who is based on the knowledge acquired from applying the investigation method and clinical experiences.
Consequently there is nothing vague in the definition of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is a specific mind investigation technique and a therapy inspired from this investigation. I would say...