Welcome back to the Ten Blocks podcast. This is Brian Anderson, the editor of City

drone. Joining me on the show today is

Jonathan Clark. He's a lawyer, essayist critic, and a contributing editor of City Journal. He's written

numerous stories for us on literature, sports, television, and more. Today, we're going to discuss

his essay, What's Left of Psychoanalysis, which appears

in our autumn 2023 issue and examines the value and the limitations of psychoanalysis. So,

Jonathan, thanks so much for coming on 10 blocks. Thanks, Brian. It's great to be with you.

Since its founding in the late 19th century by Sigmund Freud,

psychoanalysis has been both influential and controversial.

The true meaning or the consensus meaning about Freud's work has always been a matter of debate. Doubts about

his methods have arisen and persist. But still, psychoanalysis does remain a treatment for some

for mental afflictions, and its influence on the humanities has been absolutely enormous.

Now, certainly that's where I encountered Freud's work is in philosophy

departments when I was in graduate school. I wonder, you know, can you give us an overview

potted history of psychoanalysis's development and where it stands today in relation to the problems of mental illness.

Well, in the United States psychoanalysis didn't really start to get much traction until

after World War II.

The Defense Department, at the end of the war, found itself confronted with many soldiers

returning from theaters in Europe and Asia and North

Africa, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder.

And they needed a way to treat these veterans and get them functioning again.

And psychoanalysis became an option that the Department of Defense embraced.

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