Methodology in Psychoanalytic Research: From Transference Flows to Lineages of Affiliation

Abstract

Abstract The presence of psychoanalytic theory in Brazilian Universities is no surprise; however, the creation of Graduate Programs in psychoanalysis has highlighted the issue of research. This paper comes to join the debate on the legitimacy of academic research in psychoanalysis in Brazil, especially regarding its methodological specificity. In highlighting four historical moments, we sought to identify transference flows, which cross the analyzed texts, and to outline lineages of affiliation related to academic research in this discipline. Although the psychoanalytic method escapes the demands of university, psychoanalysts engage in efforts to propose methodologies with their own theoretical and clinical assumptions. The presence of psychoanalysis in Brazilian academy has allowed advances that would otherwise have been impossible given the differences between the demands of university and psychoanalytic institutions.

Keywords

• psychoanalysis
• method
• universities
• research