The British Tradition of Psychoanalysis five Times a Week: Sacrament or Sacred Cow?

Abstract

The British Psychoanalytic Society (BPAS) is identified with the tradition of psychoanalysis five times a week. The paper discusses the history and evolution of this tradition in the BPAS and how this has been and continues to be supported by various institutional structures including training regulations and subsidies. More recent questioning about frequency is discussed as well as the factors both external and internal that make high frequency analytic work difficult to achieve. Clinical material and illustrations form the basis for discussion of some of the issues involved.