Poster Feedbacks

I thought the poster presentation day went well. I got really good feedback and a couple of critiques which I intend to incorporate into my final paper. The main thing I need to add are braoder/substantial aspects into some of the factors supporting my main research question. Specifically, I hope to find information on health insurances and Medicaid policies towards psychoanalysis. That should nicely add depth to my point about costs as a social inhibitor of psychoanalytic progression.

Less than a week before everything will be all done. Then I believe I'll be able to breathe again.

Until then, eating sushi will be my engine fuel. haha

Expert Interview

I interviewed my grandmother. She is a psychoanalyst in Brazil. I thought her opinion was good because it gave me an analysts' perspective on some of the issues I've been researching. She also has an "outsiders" view when considering psychoanalysis within the United States.

The only hard part about this assignment was having to translate her email form Portuguese into English. hehe...I think I did a pretty good job.


Interview
Q: On average, how much does it cost for an individual to undergo psychoanalysis?

A: The "value" of analysis is not exclusively quantified by the monetary aspect, but rather by an individuals' "implication" with themselves. I use the word implication to signify the patients' persistence in continuing with the process. Psychoanalysis is of the patient and not of the analyst. The value of the analysis depends on the value the patient gives to them self, and on their socioeconomic conditions. There are people for whom 30 dollars is too much, and yet they pay with satisfaction. For others, 300 dollars is nothing and yet they complain.

Q: Given your knowledge, do you believe psychoanalysis is practiced more within Brazil or the United States?

A: I'm assuming psychoanalysis is more widely practiced in Brazil, but that does not go to say there aren't psychoanalysts in the US. There was a time in which psychoanalysis was greatly developed within Argentina, until the military regime banned the practice and many analysts took refuge in Brazil in order to continue practicing. It was not of the government's interest because they already had "analysts" within their regime.

Q: Would you say there is a specific "type" of person that seeks out psychoanalysis more so than others?

A: I would say yes. A fundamental element needed for somebody to seek out an analyst is the desire to better understand themselves. Few are those that become familiar with their existence.

Q: What are some factors you have found to get in the way of an individuals analysis?

A: Once a client is conscious and more aware of the role psychoanalysis has on them, there may be personal resistance. There isn't really such thing as inhibiting factors, but rather desires on the line. I have found no external factors, but yet it is interesting to see many people resist analysis claiming they have no economic conditions to pay.

Q: Do you think the Brazilian government is in favor of psychoanalysis? Do you think they support it?

A: Here, the government neither supports nor favors it. However, there are public institutions where an analyst may be given a role to fulfill, almost always in the health area.

Q: Given your knowledge, what are some factors differentiating the US from Brazil that ultimately inhibit the progression of psychoanalysis?

A: In the United States, I believe a combination of both cultural and economic factors are fundamental in the inhibition of psychoanalytic development. This is because, as an intensely capitalistic society, Americans are continuously in search of "something" (an "object") they may buy in order to immediately resolve that which they are in search of. That is, the solution to their "problem". Proof of this is the intense use of psychological medications. Both Freud and Lacan do not offer these purchasable objects. The American culture is a consumerist one, always hoping their solution is on the market. What a waste of time! This is good for commerce and the industry, but not for an individual subject to the Unconscious. People buy their psychological medications to find they are still having emotional problems. They buy another brand, and same results. And they buy another...

Annotated Bibliography

I submitted the bibliography today.

Thanksgiving Post

I've dedicated this break to really concentrating on the project. Here is the progress I have thus far. This seems like a long post, and it sort of is. But I'm putting this up to track my progress because not only do I think its important, it helps me to organize the project and motivates me to continue. My goal is to have this bibliography turned in by the end of the break. I'll take the late hits, because rightfully so, I deserve them.

Annotated Bibliography

Source One: book

APA Citation:

Schwartz, J. (1999). Cassandra's daughter : A history of psychoanalysis in europe and america. London: Allen Lane.

Brief Summary and Critical Analysis

Although this book contained several chapters of insignificant information, Chapter 7, titled Expanding the Frontier: Psychoanalysis in the United States I, was very pertinent to my research and in collecting information. Essentially what the chapter discusses are issues in psychoanalytic development within the United States. Europe began the frontier building of psychoanalysis with Sigmund Freud in Austria, and Europe’s high-cultural appeal took this science beyond medical fields. Britain, France, Germany, and Austria – where Freud was from initially – were leaders in expanding on psychoanalytic thought through practices such as literature, philosophy, law, and other natural sciences. The United States, however, presented a different environment catering to an extension of medical practice. Individuals underwent psychoanalytic training as a branch of psychiatric practice.

Source Two: scholarly journal

APA Citation:

Burnham, John C. (1982). The Reception of Psychoanalysis in Western Cultures: an afterword on its comparative history. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 24, 603-610. Retrieved October 31, 2007 from JSTOR.

Source Three: website

APA Citation:

Kirsner, Douglas (1998) Unfree Associations: Inside Psychoanalytic Institutes. Retreived September 24, 2007, from Wikipedia: http://www.human-nature.com/kirsner

Brief Summary and Critical Analysis

This source reviews the four major psychoanalytic institutes of the United States: New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and Chicago. Each institute underwent splits

New York is the largest institute, in number of analysts, in the United States and the world. Immediately after World War II, membership to the institute was regarded as prestigious because analysis dominated the field of psychiatry. Yet the institute eventually reformed, due to internal conflicts. Its weakness resided in its membership; a small oligarichy of The restructuring helped in reformulating the institution’s purpose and in giving the foundation greater solidarity.

Source Four: book

APA Citation:

Roazen, P. (2001). The Historiography of Psychoanalysis. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers.

Brief Summary

There are particular times which the introduction of psychoanalysis has been more receptive in America. America develops a romance with psychology. People should embrace psychology with an understanding that there are differing standards of what is right and wrong.

- Times if war

- When religion has waned. People are open to looking at ‘selfhood’ and not directing attention towards God.

The bread-and-butter of psychological development is yet to be done. Primary historical documents in the field remain almost untouched.

Part of the research process is discovering that a source is not useful. While the author uses some nicely painted language to describe his work, the essence of the material did not exactly capture the ideas I looked for. However, like I said, there were some points to be taken from the source.

Compared to other sources, this chapter to …approach. The author summarizes distinct analysts’ central to psychoanalytic development, and further discusses their impact on the field.

Philip Cushman looks at understanding modern conception of the self, deviating from traditional views of Freud. Spelling out the strengths of prominent psychologists immediately following Freud, gets away from instinctual orientations, which ultimately leads to understanding inadequacies. In researching these psychologists, Heinz Kohut and Donald Winnicott were important figures. Cushman says the avocation of consumerism promotes the idea of an ‘empty self’ which ultimately inhibits progression of psychoanalysis in the masses.

However, it does not mention cultural influence. I believe unearthing cultural impacts is significantly important in explaining inhibitors of widespread practices of the field. Again, what is important are how these developments have impacted the masses.

This source was hard to sift through. The approach I took to extract useful points was skim the reading, then summarize and condense what I found significant into a summary. This helped me to organize the information the source has to offer, and also better map out the project. I truly feel like I’m going somewhere. What I’ve done thus far is look atresources describing the cultural acceptance of psychoanalysis in America, as well as other parts of the world including: France, Great Britain, and Argentina. I then took a comparative approach and targeted specific causers of inhibitors of psychoanalytic reception in America.




I was looking at the criteria on the assignment sheet, and saw I've formatted my bibliography incorrectly. It's ok though, I'll keep trudging along until I finally put everything together. Leo was right, if you do this right adn do it well, it DEFINATELY helps with the final project. I'm excited about where this is going, and my goal is to do the extra work needed to have a good project.

I need a little break before I come tackle this assignment again.

Class Time

So although my hand hurts from writing so much in class, I felt it was very beneficial to see what others were doing. I can now take ideas that were presented well and apply that to my poster. Thanks guys for going first!

That annotated bibliography is still coming along.

Trouble

Leo told us to blog about our difficulties as we push through the last stretch of this project. Well, if I were to write on end about my difficulties with this project, I'd probabyl take up a good amount of space on my blog. So instead I'll just list a few of the things I'm struggling with.

First off, I haven't turned in my Annotated Bibliography. Yep. It's been a week, and I just can't push through it. I've written about half of it. But for some reason when I sit down to do my work, it's like I huge headache overwhelms me. Know the feeling? haha. Kinda funny. Kinda not.

I'm going to do the best I can to do well in this class. I struggle with getting things turned in on time, and if it means re-doing my bibliographies for the final portfolio and/or writing more bibliographies then that is what I'll have to do.

The point of the class is to learn. It's the proccess, not the end goal. (Well, it's the end goal too - haha - but the proccess is more important). Sounds a little cliche, doesn't it?

Hopefully Leo actually reads these posts.

Class Notes

Issues the class is having with the project:
· Having to ask too many questions about the same topic
· Finding up-to-date studies and data. Too much data…
· How to condense so much information in a 2-3 pg. paper
· Being able to decipher between objective and biased information.
· Hard to understand the language used in sources.
· What if you run out of ideas?
· Technological problems

Solutions:
· Narrow down your questions to one big important question. Everything else can/should be used as sub-questions.
· Prioritize your sources. This helps you to sift through your information.
· Use an expert and your expert interview to help you prioritize the information you’ve gathered. They know more about your topic than you do.
· If it’s in a science area, go to the specific journal.
· When evaluating the source ask: Who is paying for it? What is their agenda? Is it recognized by anybody?
· If you don’t understand what is being said in the source, don’t use it. Find something else.
· If you’re talking about technology, look at what you have, and again ask: who is putting money behind this?

Questions to ask the class about your poster:
· How can I make better connections about my ideas?
· Is there a new approach or angle I can take about this issue?
· Is the information clear?
· Am I communicating the ideas well?