Role of Research and Critical Thinking in Psychoanalytic Training and Education: Criticisms and Calls for Change

The authors' basic thesis is that training in critical thinking and inclusion of research findings in psychoanalytic education are essential for the vitality and future viability of psychoanalysis. Despite the calls of significant psychoanalytic voices over many years for such changes, these steps have not been taken to any significant extent in most psychoanalytic institutes. The authors recognize that much research is not directly relevant to clinical work or psychoanalytic theorizing. The authors discuss the kind of research that is likely to be relevant and describe steps that can be taken by psychoanalytic institutes to integrate critical thinking and research findings into psychoanalytic training and education.