---
product_id: 4659492
title: "Psychoanalysis: The Impossible Profession"
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# Psychoanalysis: The Impossible Profession

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Psychoanalysis: The Impossible Profession [Malcolm, Janet] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Psychoanalysis: The Impossible Profession

Review: An Honest Book on Psychoanalysis. - I had the good fortune to discover this book a full seven years after I terminated my rather long term psychotherapy which culminated in a classical analysis of at least several years. My analyst shared offices with Dr. Brenner, who features as a central figure in this book, and having read this, I can only interpret my experience with him as thousands of hours of evidence that he was a true and worthy disciple of the cheerful yet austere doctor whom Malcolm refers to as the "intransigent purist." Joseph Adelson in The New York Times Review of Books goes a bit over the line in paraphrasing: "Dr. Brenner takes the hardest of lines. Psychoanalysis is based upon inducing and interpreting the transference reaction. Anything that interferes with or distracts from it must be eschewed. Strictly. The analyst must maintain the most stringent incognito. Under no circumstances can he make known to the patient his opinions, values, interest or foibles, nor can he offer advice, criticism, reassurance or sympathy. If the analyst is late to a session, he must neither apologize nor explain why. He must attend - and make the patient attend - only to the thoughts, fantasies and feelings produced by his lateness. If the patient's child is gravely ill, the analyst should not express concern or sympathy. His task is limited to evoking and understanding the patient's reactions." He goes on to say that "this is a grim doctrine." On the contrary, I found it kind and accepting, or at least I found that my analyst was able to practice it that way. Frustrating, of course. But ultimately freeing in a way that a less austere approach might not be, leading to a clarity that might otherwise have been compromised. I suspect that much of the sense of grimness that analysts attribute to this purist perspective refers to grim abstinence on the part of the analyst. Certainly, it would be easier -- I would imagine -- to just act naturally, as one might at a party, to explain and indulge oneself and to engage in polite courtesies. This would certainly take a load off of the analyst -- it would be a lot less like work. Maintaining an accepting and encouraging attitude without recourse to these potential diversions is an exacting art. I came to appreciate the discipline most of all. Was my analysis a success? My symptoms are long since relieved. I'm happy with my life. How much of this do I attribute to analysis and how much to my own efforts (and good luck) away from the analyst's couch? I do not think I am supposed to be able to know that, but I find it hard to imagine how I could have worked through all I did and flowered in quite the way I have without that office and couch as workshop. And I find it hard not to admire and appreciate the way my analyst actively helped me in all of that hard work while keeping himself (mostly) out of it. This book was written over thirty years ago. Not knowing what has been going on inside the world of psychoanalysis since then, I could not say what has changed. There are other fascinating characters besides Brenner and his disciple Green (not his real name). I found the pioneering researcher of psychoanalysis and his drive to (tape) record sessions to be fascinating and admirable. I have read that findings from just this sort of research may have poured oil on the disputations as to therapeutic style, while identifying factors in the patient's or client's style and presentation which seem to have greater predictive value as to outcome. For various reasons, it has been said almost since this book was written that the golden age of psychoanalysis is long since over. The world does not have patience or money for long conversations where medications and brief interventions will suffice. If my experience has been an expensive anachronism, I consider it a gift and a luxury worth the time and price many times over. When I read this book, I find a window into something that can be that compelling a journey. Well done, Janet Malcolm.
Review: Brilliant, Exquisitely Detailed, and Accessible - Malcolm is one of the greatest literary journalists of the 20th century; the sober, magisterial yin to the Gonzo yang of Wolf and Thompson, she captures psychoanalysis from within as no one has before. An engrossing, impeccably crafted work.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #175,112 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #133 in Medical Psychoanalysis #137 in Popular Psychology Psychoanalysis #330 in Popular Psychology Psychotherapy |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (251) |
| Dimensions  | 5.19 x 0.44 x 8 inches |
| Edition  | 1st Vintage Books ed |
| ISBN-10  | 0394710347 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0394710341 |
| Item Weight  | 2.31 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 192 pages |
| Publication date  | September 12, 1982 |
| Publisher  | Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An Honest Book on Psychoanalysis.
*by M***O on August 9, 2013*

I had the good fortune to discover this book a full seven years after I terminated my rather long term psychotherapy which culminated in a classical analysis of at least several years. My analyst shared offices with Dr. Brenner, who features as a central figure in this book, and having read this, I can only interpret my experience with him as thousands of hours of evidence that he was a true and worthy disciple of the cheerful yet austere doctor whom Malcolm refers to as the "intransigent purist." Joseph Adelson in The New York Times Review of Books goes a bit over the line in paraphrasing: "Dr. Brenner takes the hardest of lines. Psychoanalysis is based upon inducing and interpreting the transference reaction. Anything that interferes with or distracts from it must be eschewed. Strictly. The analyst must maintain the most stringent incognito. Under no circumstances can he make known to the patient his opinions, values, interest or foibles, nor can he offer advice, criticism, reassurance or sympathy. If the analyst is late to a session, he must neither apologize nor explain why. He must attend - and make the patient attend - only to the thoughts, fantasies and feelings produced by his lateness. If the patient's child is gravely ill, the analyst should not express concern or sympathy. His task is limited to evoking and understanding the patient's reactions." He goes on to say that "this is a grim doctrine." On the contrary, I found it kind and accepting, or at least I found that my analyst was able to practice it that way. Frustrating, of course. But ultimately freeing in a way that a less austere approach might not be, leading to a clarity that might otherwise have been compromised. I suspect that much of the sense of grimness that analysts attribute to this purist perspective refers to grim abstinence on the part of the analyst. Certainly, it would be easier -- I would imagine -- to just act naturally, as one might at a party, to explain and indulge oneself and to engage in polite courtesies. This would certainly take a load off of the analyst -- it would be a lot less like work. Maintaining an accepting and encouraging attitude without recourse to these potential diversions is an exacting art. I came to appreciate the discipline most of all. Was my analysis a success? My symptoms are long since relieved. I'm happy with my life. How much of this do I attribute to analysis and how much to my own efforts (and good luck) away from the analyst's couch? I do not think I am supposed to be able to know that, but I find it hard to imagine how I could have worked through all I did and flowered in quite the way I have without that office and couch as workshop. And I find it hard not to admire and appreciate the way my analyst actively helped me in all of that hard work while keeping himself (mostly) out of it. This book was written over thirty years ago. Not knowing what has been going on inside the world of psychoanalysis since then, I could not say what has changed. There are other fascinating characters besides Brenner and his disciple Green (not his real name). I found the pioneering researcher of psychoanalysis and his drive to (tape) record sessions to be fascinating and admirable. I have read that findings from just this sort of research may have poured oil on the disputations as to therapeutic style, while identifying factors in the patient's or client's style and presentation which seem to have greater predictive value as to outcome. For various reasons, it has been said almost since this book was written that the golden age of psychoanalysis is long since over. The world does not have patience or money for long conversations where medications and brief interventions will suffice. If my experience has been an expensive anachronism, I consider it a gift and a luxury worth the time and price many times over. When I read this book, I find a window into something that can be that compelling a journey. Well done, Janet Malcolm.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Brilliant, Exquisitely Detailed, and Accessible
*by F***L on September 24, 2019*

Malcolm is one of the greatest literary journalists of the 20th century; the sober, magisterial yin to the Gonzo yang of Wolf and Thompson, she captures psychoanalysis from within as no one has before. An engrossing, impeccably crafted work.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ An approachable view into the challenges and rewards of being an analyst today
*by E***N on September 2, 2025*

An easy-to-read, fun, and insightful bit of writing about the psychoanalytic profession. Malcolm's writing is very clear and approachable. Her insights are largely told through a back-and-forth with another analyst—"Aaron"—who talks about being an analyst from training to professional, dealing with difficult and easy patients, successes and failures, stresses and accomplishments. Malcolm cites many traditional sources in her text—Freud, Ferenczi, Kohut, and others. She weighs the traditional, orthodox, stoic psychoanalytic approach with the nouveau, warmer, supportive forms without making a value judgment on which is superior. There are several case studies, historical and contemporary, raised to support the discussion. The book is very easy to read but may not be accessible to those without a background in psychoanalysis. She's not interested in defining the fundamentals. This book is aimed at understanding the the challenges of analysis for analysts in a sort of lighthearted but interesting way. Many people today are turned off by the profession and its assumptions and I think this makes it clearer what analysts are aiming to do to "help" their patients. Some more depth could have been interesting—particularly around the case of the analysts who were dismissed for "traducing" professional mores and the controversy that surrounded that. Overall, a very good read and I recommend to those interested in the field.

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