Assessing Progress in Analysis Interminable

Abstract

A case study is provided of a schizoid patient in her mid-sixties who in a lengthy analysis had made significant clinical improvement. The treating analyst's impression of clinical improvement was independently verified through systematic analysis of transcripts of audiotapes of thirty-six sessions over a four-year period of treatment. The patient showed significant improvement on measures of character pathology, object relations, mentalization, and superego anxiety. The results suggest that some patients with entrenched character pathology who seem to be in analysis interminable may still make clinically significant improvement. It is suggested that the scientific status of psychoanalysis would be greatly enhanced if the anecdotal evidence generated in private practice were supported by independent verification. The current study illustrates one methodology, “case study plus,” for providing independent verification while retaining the richness of the traditional case study.