The Foundations of Psychoanalytic Theories

The normal approach to the study of the foundations of psychoanalysis is to focus on Sigmund Freud's classical texts. In this book, however, Vesa Talvitie approaches the issue from the perspective of the foundations of behavioral sciences in general. He studies the nature of psychological terms and explanations, and the relation between neuroscience and psychology. Due to the wide perspective, the author is able to create a fresh view to the stubborn debate concerning the scientific status of psychoanalysis. The author shows that both advocates and critics of psychoanalysis have a tendency to misconstrue the nature of psychoanalytic theorizing, and thus have had unrealistic expectations of psychoanalytic explanations. The book tries to differentiate between those aspects of psychoanalysis which should be considered scientific, and those aspects of psychotherapies in general which should not come into the scientific category. This book will be found to be a valuable contribution to the field of psychoanalytic studies.

Vesa Talvitie is a doctor of psychology, licensed psychotherapist, and organisational consultant for The Finnish Society for Organisational Dynamics (FINOD). He currently works as an occupational psychologist in Helsinki.