The Application of Psychoanalytical Principles to the Hospital In-Patient

Abstract

There is no need for re-stating, in general terms, the importance of the psychoanalytical contribution to psychiatry. This has been discussed here on several occasions, and possibly more seriously than in any other society of psychiatrists. I am referring to the papers read to this section by Bernard Hart (1), David Forsyth (2) and Edward Glover (3). They form a most interesting introduction into the problem of the relationship between psychiatry and psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis has not been the main topic of discussion in this section since Edward Glover's address on the application of psychoanalytical principles in psychiatry thirteen years ago. Since then the psychiatric scene has changed out of recognition. We have entered an era of great therapeutic activity. The hospital in-patient with whom we are concerned to-day has been subjected to a variety of physical methods, and the campaign has still not reached its peak of intensity. It is too early, at this stage, finally to assess the therapeutic value of those treatments, but we can say this much already: it is most unlikely that they will save us the trouble of studying mental illness the hard way. Psychiatry cannot afford to neglect any approach that promises to contribute to the understanding of mental phenomena. It is against this background of psychiatric developments that psychoanalysis has again been chosen for discussion here.