ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that psychoanalysis, if it is really being true to itself and its task, ought to be in trouble with important sectors of society. The invention of psychoanalysis is usually attributed to Freud, but its spiritual father could be said to be Socrates. The application of psychoanalysis to group and organizational behaviour has led to the realization that states of mind that are highly pathological in an individual are a normal part of group or organizational behaviour. The main basic assumption that needs to be flushed out of the undergrowth here is that psychoanalysis—and indeed all forms of psychotherapy—are analogous to medical practice. If psychoanalysis is a vocation, and not a profession, it can only be practised by people who have sufficient experience, capacity for concern, and adult functioning to be able to do so. The government has recently declared its firm intention to regulate psychotherapy, counselling, and psychoanalysis through the Health Professions Council.
