Psychological testing and analyzability: Breathing new life into an old issue.

Abstract

The construct of analyzability (i.e., selecting for psychoanalysis) has been with us for 101 years. It has been extensively discussed and extensively debated. Most recently, it has been proposed that the construct has expired, due to the shrinking pool of people interested in undergoing psychoanalysis and the expanding meaning of what psychoanalysis is. The present authors briefly summarize the life and near-death of the construct, and suggest resuscitation, but only with revamping. More specifically, we insist that thoughtful treatment planning is always essential for focus, safety, and effectiveness of any treatment, including psychoanalysis. If we transition to a paradigm of "mapping" the patient's structural strengths and weaknesses, via a particular approach to psychological testing outlined in this article, we pay respect to the unpredictable and complex array of shiftings, moment-to-moment, within the psychoanalytic relational encounter, and thereby offer the analyst a chance at foresight that is relevant, intelligent, and attuned.In a chapter titled "The End of Analyzability," Michael Moskowitz (1996) declared, "Even though the issue [of analyzability] is dead, its ghost remains an immortal presence" (p. 179). Remembering Mark Twain, we believe that reports of the demise of the concept of analyzability have been "greatly exaggerated," and the concept warrants rescue from a premature grave. The purpose of this article is to use concepts from the model of psychological testing developed at the Menninger Clinic to reenergize the assessment of

Comprehensive dictionary of psychoanalysis

“…One does look for ego-resilience, honesty, perseverance, and psychological mindedness in a potential candidate in analysis, and there has been some effort (Peebles-Kleiger, Horwitz, Kleiger, & Waugaman, 2006) to rejuvenate the concept of 'analysability'. However, it turns out to be less a matter of 'who is analysable?'…”

From Waiting Room to Mother's Lap: Parameters in Testing a Psychotic, School-Phobic Child

“…As with any treatment process, whether it be brief psychotherapy or psychoanalysis, the postmodern question is not so much whether this patient is treatable or analyzable, but under what conditions the patient can be treated and by whom (Peebles- Kleiger, Horwitz, Kleiger, & Waugaman, 2006). Barring extreme cases, I am generally confident that I can work with most children and adults, if I remain sensitive to conditions that will best allow the testing to take place and even to discover the hidden openings that might not be at first apparent when the child first comes into my office.…”