Although he died nearly 85 years ago, Sigmund Freud, one of Vienna's most influential citizens, pops up frequently in contemporary discourse.
A New York Times article for March 22, 2023 considers the so-called resurgence of Freudian psychoanalysis. But did Freud's influence ever really disappear? (Answer: no.)
A snippet from the article:
Like anything formative from long in the past, Freud never totally disappeared. Some of his concepts, like denial and libido, are so deeply embedded in popular culture that we no longer even think of them as Freudian. And no young century that has canonized “The Sopranos,” which featured many sessions of Tony’s psychotherapy with Dr. Melfi, as well as episode-long dream sequences, could be completely devoid of “golden Siggie,” as Freud’s mother reportedly called him.
But today, the interest is more literal.
According to a spokesperson, the American Psychoanalytic Association, the country’s main professional organization for psychoanalysts, doesn’t keep data on the number of new analysts — though its 3000 members, in comparison to the 106,000 licensed psychologists in the United States, give a sense of the field’s niche status. But several prominent training institutes say applications are on the rise. And the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research (IPTAR) says the number of sessions performed by its in-house clinic has roughly doubled since 2017, a sign that more people are seeking analytic treatment.
Read the whole thing HERE.