Introduction

At rst blush current day psychoanalysis presents itself to the outsider as a fertile and vibrant mix of approaches. The once seemingly authoritarian Freudian monolith has since given way to a pluralistic “spirit of non-denominational openness” (Fonagy & Campbell, 2015, p. 237), where one can choose from any number and manner of psychoanalytic schools. This pluralism, it is said, not only frees us from the tyranny of a single-minded approach, but is even necessary for the discipline to grow: conformity provides a formula for stagnation, whereas pluralism and the resulting conict act as constructive strife, stimulating development (Schafer, 1990).