ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the methods of psycho-analytical research, ultimately to promote the development of an international psycho-analytical research organization. The views expressed are based, first, on personal clinical experience, second, on experience gained as Director of Research of the London Institute of Psycho-Analysis over a period of sixteen years, and third, on reflections stimulated by recent experience of the activities of the Research Committee of the International Psycho-Analytical Association. Turning from the obstacles to research to actual methods of research, the first and most pressing problem is that of applying scientific controls. Nevertheless the general conviction persists in psycho-analytical circles, a legacy from the early days when most students of psycho-analysis were natural investigators, that anyone who is qualified to practise therapeutic analysis is also qualified to conduct research. Moreover, psycho-analysis has not yet provided quantitative measures, for example, measures of the intensity of psychic stimulation determining the persistence or absence of any given mental state.
