ABSTRACT
Freud’s essay “Analysis terminable and interminable” occupies an important place in his legacy. In this text, he represents psychic functioning as hinging on a twofold temporal and atemporal dimension. In the temporal dimension of secondary functioning, it is very difficult to include and address the timelessness of the unconscious, in which analysis is interminable. Surveying the psychoanalytic literature, one encounters two major theories regarding the conclusion of analysis, which rely closely on different theoretical frameworks. One theory puts the emphasis on psychotherapeutic results and the importance of short-term treatment, especially when patients are children or adolescents and therapy can help them get back on a developmental track to face life changes. The other perspective advocates lengthier analysis and harbours different views on recovery.
