The will in psychoanalytic theory and practice

In psychoanalytic treatment insight does not necessarily lead to change, because psychoanalysis has not yet integrated into its theory and technique the full significance of two determinants: (1) the resistances arising from the patient's environment, and (2) the role played by the patient's will in his/her analysis. This paper is focused on the second determinant. Freud's elucidation of repression and other defences challenged the assumption that the will operated in an uncomplicated, straightforward manner. When, however, neurotic fears, secondary gain, or guilt underlying the inhibited or misdirected will are thoroughly analysed, patients are enabled to strive for their long‐range aims, as clarified during the course of their analysis. Psychoanalytic theory has not recognized the will for two reasons. (1) Its theory is committed to determinism, which does not characterize its practice. Psychoanalysis does not predict outcome as required by philosophical determinism, but traces it backwards to find that it is meaningful, and not arbitrary or purposeless. (2) It attributes ‘willing’ to the ego, along with other multifarious functions, which confounds the development and operation of distinct functions, and distracts attention from the phenomenological investigation of each separate function

Determinism · Epistemology · Function (biology) · Id, ego and super-ego · Neuroticism · Personality · Psychoanalysis · Psychoanalytic theory · Psychoanalytic Therapy · Psychotherapist · Mental Health and Psychiatry · Philosophy · Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications