Open Door Review

In my capacity as Chair of the Research Committee, I would like to add my sincere thanks and congratulations to those of Stefano Bolognini, President of the Psychoanalytical Association, on the occasion of the publication of this Third Edition of the Open Door Review . It is a major resource to our field, and its Editors have performed a great service to international psychoanalysis. In this edition, they have not only provided us with an accessible overview of the current standing of outcome research with psychoanalytical treatments of various kinds, in various clinical populations, but also with an equally readable overview of the current standing of process research -- which is so important for understanding the therapeutic mechanism of psychoanalysis -- and also with a sophisticated introduction to the epistemological and methodological context within which this research was conducted, and with other related material. In this way, they have struck an ideal balance, between the need for a quick and easy reference guide for practitioners (and for those who must communicate the therapeutic value of psychoanalysis to the wider educated public, who now demand evidence-based support for the claims of any treatment modality, in an increasingly critical and competitive -- sometimes even hostile -- environment) and the need to recognize the real complexities that must be taken into account if we are to obtain a valid picture of what 'outcome' means when the subject of change is something as complex and intangible as the life of the mind. The editors of this volume have embraced the challenge laid down by the commentators and colleagues who demand simple solutions to problems which are far from simple, but they have also stood their ground. To quote what the great Albert Einstein said in 1933: "Everything [in science] should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler".

Mark Solms

Chair of the Research Committee of the IPA

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